17 November 2011 11:48
GMT
It is now well over 40 years since Tony Jacklin won the 1969 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes but it is not an occasion the Englishman or his legion of fans will ever forget.
The 25 year-old from Scunthorpe had started that historic day two shots ahead of New Zealand’s Bob Charles and he maintained that advantage with a battling 72 to claim the £4,250 first prize and bring to an end a long and depressing run of 18 years without a British win.
Jacklin’s victory brought a sense of pride back to British professional golf and that feelgood factor was to be extended 11 months later when he put together rounds of 71-70-70-70 to emerge with a seven shot victory over Mike Hill in the 1970 US Open at Hazeltine.
Suddenly British golf had a new golfing hero on its hands and he was to go on to play a pivotal role in the development of Europe’s golf into the modern era.
Jacklin came into the 1969 Open Championship as one of the favourites having won the 1968 Jacksonville Open on the PGA Tour and to this day he can still recall almost every single shot he hit as he lived up to those expectations by posting rounds of 68-70-70-72 to become the first Briton to win the title since Max Faulkner in 1951.
“My memories of that last day are as clear now as they were back just after I’d won the title,” Jacklin said from his adopted home in Bradenton, Florida. “I can still recall the immense sense of pride I felt when I stepped up to collect the trophy and I will never forget the level of support I received when playing the last few holes.
“I played the best golf of my career the following year when I won the US Open at Hazeltine but in many ways the win in The Open at Lytham was even more special because it was something I had dreamt about almost from the moment I started to play golf.
“I was ready at that time,” he added. “I am often asked what it felt like to claim the title. I think most of all there was this feeling that I had won something every golfer in the world wants to win.
“It made me incredibly proud.”
Jacklin arrived at Lytham with a game plan which he believes will still work some 43 years later.
“It’s an odd place in some ways because it’s a links that’s not on the coast but it is a very good test of golf and one that invariably provides a good winner,” he said.
“My game plan was to try to get under par early on in the round and then hang on coming home. The back nine never gives much up. The 11th, 12th and 17th are all very good holes and the 18th is one of the toughest driving holes in golf.
“On the 18th there’s nowhere to go but straight,” Jacklin insisted. “You can’t hit an iron because you won’t clear the bunkers. You’ve got to hit the driver and then hope you hit it straight.
“I had a two shot lead over Charles (standing on the last tee) in 1969 but I was still very conscious that Eric Brown and Christy O’Connor had lost a previous Championship (1958) thanks to carding sixes at the last. Back in 1963 Jack Nicklaus took five when a four would have put him level with Charles and (Phil) Rodgers.
“So it was only when I found the fairway that I began to believe I was almost there.”
Since 1969 only one other English golfer — Nick Faldo in 1987, ’90 and ’92 — has been crowned champion but Jacklin believes that might change next summer and he points to one potential champion in particular.
“It’s hard to believe Nick has been the only Englishman to win the title since I did it in 1969 but that’s got to change soon because there are so many good English players around,” he said.
“The human mind is a great computer but you’ve got to programme it to believe you can win the Majors. That’s something I believe very strongly about and that’s what today’s young players have to do if they want to win.
“Seve (Ballesteros), (Gary) Player and me all visualised winning Major titles long before we did. We knew in our hearts we could do it and that removes the element of shock once you get into position.
“Luke Donald is one golfer I believe can win Majors as long as he believes it himself,” the former Open and US Open champion declared.
“I’m not sure his game’s ideally suited to links golf but he’s such a good player that probably doesn’t matter. I played with him in Florida earlier this year and from 100 yards in I’d have to say he’s as good as anyone I have ever seen.
“He’s got unbelievable distance control. He’s a superb putter so if he drives well he’s got to be a threat next July.”