‘Not pretty but gritty’

090426wblehmanTHE R&A’s OFFICIAL OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP MAGAZINE

Professional golf can be a cruel game. The ranks of the game’s nearly-men who have laboured manfully in the shadows without ever ascending the sunlit uplands of a Major victory, the ultimate yardstick by which history judges success and failure, is peopled by hard-working, honourable players. Until the summer of 1996, it seemed that Tom Lehman was destined to be amongst their number.

Continue reading

Bernard Darwin, doyen of golf writers

imagesTHE R&A’s OFFICIAL OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP MAGAZINE

Before the internet, television or even radio, golf’s grip on the public imagination was largely down to the power of the written word. Heroic feats performed by the likes of Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen and the immortal Bobby Jones were first revealed to avid enthusiasts of the fledgling sport in their morning newspapers.

Continue reading

Redemption for Master Jones

Portrait of Bobby JonesTHE R&A’s OFFICIAL OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP MAGAZINE

When Bobby Jones stepped onto the first tee of the Old Course for his opening drive of the 1927 Open, his place in the pantheon of St Andrews greats was far from assured. His first visit to the hallowed links six years earlier had ended in public ignominy.

Continue reading

Ian Poulter at the Open

IanPoulter460THE R&A’s OFFICIAL OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP MAGAZINE

Ian Poulter is one of several English players with realistic hopes of Open victory this year. He’s in the top 10 of the official World Golf Rankings, and has a soft spot for the Old Course. “I qualified for the 2000 Open at St Andrews through a regional qualifier and literally the day that tournament ended I went up there. I absolutely loved it.” It was the rookie 24-year-old’s maiden Open.

Continue reading