Rory McIlroy is riding some momentum heading into this week’s British Open at Royal Liverpool, where he won the 2014 British Open. He’s coming off a dramatic triumph in the Scottish Open this past weekend, firing birdies on the last two holes to claim a one-shot victory over Scotland native Robert MacIntyre.
Yet, when it comes to the British Open — one of my two favorite major golf tournaments (yes, the Masters is the other) — the 34-year-old, four-time major champion from Northern Ireland might deep within his mind harbor the dream about matching Harry Vardon’s record six British Open titles.
The person who came closest to that grand accomplishment was American Tom Watson, who won eight major titles, collecting five of those at the British Open. He almost won a record-tying sixth in 2009, coming within inches of doing so at age 59 at Turnberry in a four-hole playoff with Stewart Cink. And this was nine months after hip-replacement surgery.
Watson’s inspiring quest for the record was transpiring while we were at the Paragon Casino, and I turned down a chance to work the slots to watch the tournament broadcast on a TV elsewhere at the casino. Needless to say, it was a sad letdown when “Old Tom” (not British Open legend “Old Tom” Morris) couldn’t sink that last putt in his duel with Cink.
Speaking of duels, at the same course, no less, Watson was part of one of the epic duels in golf history at the 1977 British Open at Turnberry. He and Jack Nicklaus clashed in what would be called the “Duel in the Sun.” Those two were head and shoulders and even hips above everyone else in the field — as if playing another game in another stratosphere. Nicklaus posted his lowest aggregate score in a major championship, 269, but lost by a stroke to Watson, whose 268 total beat the record by eight shots.
In his biography, Nicklaus wrote the match was “by far the most thrilling head-to-head battle” he’d ever been involved in.
One of the day’s incredible shots was at the 15th where Watson holed out a 60-foot birdie from the hardpan to even the match.
That’s when Watson, the youngster, looked at the veteran Golden Bear and said, “This is what it’s all about, isn’t it Jack?” Nicklaus’ reply: “You bet it is.”
Bob Tompkins enjoyed a 43-year newspaper career as an award-winning writer and editor, serving the last 39 years at the Town Talk in Alexandria through most of 2015. He is a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as a past winner of the LSWA’s Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism. An Alexandria resident, Tompkins is a contributing columnist sharing his talents with Rapides Parish Journal readers.