Steve Elkington

The greatest sporting stories often involve overcoming the odds, and in golf, it does not get much harder than being allergic to grass.

Despite that seemingly insurmountable obstacle, Australian Steve Elkington not only made it as a professional, but ranked among the world’s best for more than a decade.

During that time, he claimed the PGA title in 1995 – beating Colin Montgomerie in a play-off – as well as two Players’ Championship crowns.

Having initially made his name in the college ranks in the USA, the first prominent Australian to do so, Elkington’s career looked to be on the downswing by the turn of the millennium.

And yet his greatest performance at The Open came in 2002 when he managed to get to a play-off before having to settle for tied second.

Seven years earlier, Elkington had shot a final-day 74 at St Andrews to finish tied sixth, two shots behind eventual champion John Daly.

At Muirhead for The 131st Open, it was a different story, as the Australian hit 66 on the final day to clinch a spot in the only four-way play-off in major history.

In the end, a bogey on the fourth hole of the play-off saw Elkington eliminated, along with compatriot Stuart Appleby, with Ernie Els then beating Thomas Levet in a sudden-death play-off. He may not have won, but Elkington had played a role in one of the most memorable finishes in the history of The Open.