Sir Bob Charles

"I wasn’t out there to win. I was out there for the love of the game – I just wanted to compete, play the game I love and make a living for my wife and I."

A modest statement from one of sport’s most unassuming stars; Sir Bob Charles.

Champion Golfer of the Year in 1963, Charles broke new ground with his victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes, becoming the first left-hander to win a major. He was also the first New Zealander to claim the Claret Jug.

And he did so with an extraordinary display on the greens, holing putts from every distance.

“The putter was working,” was Sir Bob’s humble assessment during an exclusive interview with The R&A at his home in Christchurch [below].

“I’d won the Houston Open just a few months before … my game was pretty good,” he added.

“I was pretty confident going in there but I didn’t really have any thoughts of winning. I just wanted to play as good as I could, and things fell into place.”

One behind Peter Thomson and Phil Rodgers after the opening round, Charles slipped further back in round two following a charge from Jack Nicklaus.

The New Zealander came to life in round three, compiling a wonderful 66 – the best of the week – to launch himself into contention.

And he demonstrated remarkable composure on the 72nd hole to force a play-off after playing partner Rodgers had cheekily dropped his hat over the cup.

“This was something which I accepted because I knew Phil Rodgers,” said Charles.

“He was an extrovert, I was an introvert. If you were in Vegas and Phil Rodgers was in the casino, you knew exactly where he was because he was yelling and shouting louder than anybody else.

“So for him to drop his hat on the hole didn’t faze me whatsoever.”

Charles calmly landed his par putt to set-up the last 36-hole play-off in Open history. When they returned the following day, Charles left Rodgers trailing in his wake, landing blow after blow on Lytham’s lush greens.

He needed just 56 putts in rounds of 69 and 71 to eventually win by eight. What had been a close contest for 72 holes had turned into a procession.

Despite the lack of true links courses in his homeland, Charles was certainly comfortable on The Open’s unique terrain, posting five other top-10s – including a fifth-place finish in 1962 and back-to-back runner-up finishes in 1968 and 1969.

Sir Bob’s Open victory in 1963 was his only major title, but he collected silverware in 79 other tournaments during a stellar career.

And he waved goodbye to The Open in 2001 when the Championship was once again staged at Royal Lytham & St Annes, the venue for Charles’ crowning moment.