Big Golf Buddy: 135th Open Championship back at Hoylake

Hi Guys,

I found this article which gives us a flavour of yesteryear when Roberto de Vicenzo the Argentinian won the Open Championship with a shot which some would say is the "ballsiest" shot ever played in a major championship

A Flashback to 1967 - and a famous Hoylake victory
Jul 18 2006By Mike Torpey, Daily Post

Roberto de Vicenzo lifts the Claret Jug after winning the 1967 Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, in Hoylake

ROBERTO de Vicenzo considered the terrain, drew a "spoon" from his bag and rifled a thundering shot across the out-of-bounds practice ground to the middle of the par five 16th green.

Two putts ensured the birdie and with the last of the serious trouble out of the way, he parred the final two holes to win the 1967 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

That three-wood is universally recognised as the shot that won the 1967 Open - and it could well be mirrored when the world's greatest golf championship returns for Hoylake 2006.

A change to the numbering of the holes means that the final moments of the 135th Open will be played out on that same green.

To ensure a more challenging finale to the tournament the 560-yard par five will now be the closing hole, while the 17th and 18th will be played as the first and second.

Back in 1967, de Vicenzo had the spectre of the Golden Bear himself, Jack Nicklaus, applying the pressure over the closing holes.With out-of-bounds threatening the right side, a loose or pushed shot could have seen the Argentinian's hopes of shaking off his "nearly man" tag evaporate. But the shot he played was magnificent, he held firm and the man who had finished in either second or third place in six previous Opens was now the champion.

His score of 67 in the third round, shared with Gary Player, remains the lowest in an Open at Hoylake.

He fired seven birdies - including at all four par fives - and two bogeys, but unless the winds blow relentlessly that mark will almost certainly be beaten this year.

A record far less likely to be broken is another held by de Vicenzo. At 44 years 93 days he was the oldest Open winner since Old Tom Morris in 1867.That famous victory was the only Major championship the Argentinian lifted, though he went close on many occasions, not least of which was in the 1968 Masters.

After completing the final round at Augusta, de Vicenzo signed his card without noticing that his playing partner Tommy Aaron had marked him down for a par four on the 17th, when he had actually birdied the hole.

The Rules of Golf state that the higher score must stand once a player has signed his card, and it meant he missed out on an 18-hole play-off with Bob Goalby the following day.

His remark afterwards was simple:

"What a stupid I am."

The 45-year-old's victory in the Houston Open three weeks later may have been the last of his five USPGA Tour titles, but de Vicenzo had far from finished winning tournaments.

His tally is believed to be 230 including national Opens in 16 countries - the Argentina Open nine times between the ages of 21 and 62 - and he represented his home country in the Canada Cup 17 times.

He became an honorary member of the Royal & Ancient Club in 1976 and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989.