Locke conquered the world, but his heart belonged to Parkview

Y 1959 the eccentric golfing maestro Bobby Locke, then 42, had won more than 80 tournaments around the world, including four British Opens (inside just eight years), 15 events on the American PGA Tour, and the national opens of – wait for it – Ireland, New Zealand, Holland (the Dutch Open), France, Mexico, Egypt, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and, not surprisingly, South Africa (he won his own SA Open nine times, and – as an aside – the nowdefunct Transvaal Open 11 times).

Unerringly accurate from tee to green, his shots often hit with a pronounced draw, he could out-putt anyone on the planet and, had there been world rankings in his heyday, he could well have been No 1.

In 1947, in a limited campaign in the US, he won

Bsix tournaments on the American tour, four of them in five weeks. In 1948, also in the States, he annexed the Chicago Victory National by 16 shots – a margin of victory that remains to this day a PGA Tour record.

In 1959 a serious car accident ended Locke’s competitive career on the tours of the world and left him with migraines and eye problems.

Once he was back on his feet, the portly golfer – who had become known as “Old Muffin Face” because of his changeless expression on the course and “Old Baggy Pants” because of his never-changing attire (grey flannel knickers, white buckskin shoes, linen dress shirts with tie, and white Hogan caps) – drove down to his muchloved home club in Joburg, the Parkview Golf Club, ordered a Castle (Bobby adored his beer) and put his name down for a game with the members. And that was the beginning of a tradition that lasted 28 years until his death, at 69, in 1987.

Although Locke was an honorary member of several other clubs, at which he also played from time to time, he enjoyed nothing more than an afternoon of golf at Parkview, which held a special place in his heart.

Then, after he’d shot the lights out – even after his accident he had plenty of game – he’d head for his favourite spot at the 19th hole. Often the beer and the banter would flow for a good few hours, and Bobby would play his ukelele and lead a boisterous sing-along.

The point of all this is that because of his close association with the club, Parkview decided in 2007 to stage an annual, week-long Bobby Locke Festival culminating in the 36-hole Bobby Locke Invitational for some of the country’s top amateurs on the Sunday.

“We wanted to honour the man, and the festival has grown in numbers and stature,” says Parkview’s club director Jerry Fraser.

“Bobby had such a rich association with the club going all the way back to 1935 when, as a 17-year-old, he won the SA Amateur and the SA Open inside two weeks here.”

Leading American professional Lloyd Mangrum once said of Locke: “That SOB was able to hole a putt over 60 foot of peanut brittle!”

This past Sunday, Krugersdorp’s Darin de Smidt won the eighth edition of the Invitational on an immaculately groomed Parkview with a 36-hole score of 141 (72, 69), finishing five shots ahead of Brynn Flanagan, Jarred Miltz and Jason Froneman.

And like Old Muffin Face, Darin was rolling in the putts.