‘One of the good guys’
RYDER CUP legendtony Jacklin says he and Peter Oosterhuis were “always good friends”, not the golfing enemies that the media tried to portray. Jacklin also paid a warm tribute to his fellow Englishman, who died on Thursday, aged 75, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.
“We had some great times together,” said Europe’s most successful Ryder Cup captain.
“Oosty was a good guy.after I followed up my Open victory at Royal Lytham in 1969 by winning the US Open by seven strokes at Hazeltine National a year later,
Peter was also making a big impact on our game.
“He finished as No.1 on the European Order of Merit in four straight years from 1971 to 1974 and was twice a runner-up in our Open Championship.
“The media always tried to palm us off as adversaries when he was playing his best golf.
But there was never any of that between us because we were always good friends as well as Ryder Cup partners.”
Jacklin, who turns 80 in July and is now based in Florida, revealed he helped Oosterhuis to become a TV broadcaster.
“I did quite a bit of commentary work towards the end of my playing career,” said Jacklin. “I knew Peter needed another string to his bow so I recommended him to the Head of Sky Sports when he stopped being competitive and had hit the wall with his golf.
“Peter was starting to look at different avenues but I never mentioned to him that I spoke to Sky. He then went on to have a long career in TV.
“Before the Alzheimer’s, he had an Ocd-type of mind. He could remember all kinds of details. He was like an encyclopaedia of
facts.”