Jacklin: Glad I won it before Trevino blitz
TONY JACKLIN experienced bitter-sweet moments in The Open.
From the joy of winning his first at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s in 1969 to the despair of throwing away a winning position three years later at Muirfield, he has been through both the highs and lows.
With the 150th anniversary next week, NEIL MOXLEY took a trip down memory lane with the two-time Major winner.
“How do I look back on my experiences at The Open? With fondness of Lytham and then with grateful thanks that I’d already won one given what took place at Muirfield!
“Of course, it was a different story in 69. “Lytham was always a favourite place of mine. I won a tournament there in 66. Made the cut in my first Open there in 63. I was comfortable there. I played steadily that week. Nothing fazed me.
“I’d won the Jacksonville Open the year before playing with Arnold Palmer in the final round when ‘Arnie’s Army’ was at its most vocal. I got the job done. That gave me huge confidence. The galleries didn’t want me to win. It was a big thing. I was strong mentally.
“I was on the PGA tour, playing against the best every week.
“So, when I came back to the UK, I could sense the galleries here were anticipating something. I had big followings on my practice rounds. There was expectation and a lot of support.
“Obviously, you’re nervous but it was a positive situation – and I managed to deliver.
“That final tee shot at Lytham is one of the hardest in golf because of the way that the bunkers are situated.
“There was no safe shot. There was a cross bunker I couldn’t clear with an iron. It required the perfect drive and I managed it.
“It was a difficult course for anyone to have a run at you and I got home.
“Three years later, I had another crack at it. We were level going into the 71st hole. I had a 15-foot putt for a birdie – I was just short of the green in two – and Lee Trevino (above) was taking his fifth. He was over the green in four.
“He chipped in. In fact, he chipped in five times during the last two rounds and I witnessed all of them.
“I always had the mindset that golf was about skill, focus, concentration... and luck, really in my own psyche, never played that big a role. The stuff Lee did - skulling a bunker shot that went straight in and then chipping in – was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“It was pretty rough – and if that had been my only chance to win it, I’ve have been really down but you do get over these things.”
The historic Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship, is held at Nailcote Hall in Coventry from August 9-12 presented by Champions (UK) Plc.’