This year celebrating 60 years as a professional, legendary South African Gary Player took time out ahead of The 142nd Open Championship to remember his maiden Major triumph 54 years ago on the storied links of Muirfield.
Triumph in The 1959 Open Championship, the 88th edition of the historic tournament, won Player £1,000 and saw him crowned him the then-youngest ever winner at 23 years old.
It was to prove the first of nine Major victories for Player, completed on the hallowed Muirfield turf – a stunning stretch of land which boasts an equally glittering roll of honour.
As well as Player, no lesser lights than the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Sir Nick Faldo and, most recently in 2002, Ernie Els, have all previously prevailed on the East Lothian links.
The passing of five decades has not sapped the colour from Player’s memory of that magical week.
Bullish as ever, he remembered: “I shot 284 at Muirfield with a strong wind and if we have a strong wind like that I’d like to see them beat that this year, even with all the modern day equipment we now have.
“It’s a very intelligent design in terms of the huge variety of shots you have to play. The rough is good, the bunkering is exquisite and because the holes run in each and every direction you are always facing different winds: down, up, cross, the lot.
“Muirfield is a wonderful golf course, a great challenge, a wonderful place to have an Open Championship and what a thrill for me it was to win my first one there all those years ago.”
Player had competed in three Opens before his success in 1959, putting in impressive turns in finishing fourth, tied 24th and seventh, but – as is his relentlessly hard-working way – he was determined to get in as much preparation time at the home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers as humanly possible.
Player said: “I got there ten days before the Championship. The secretary of Muirfield was reluctant to let me go out and practise but I made friends with him and ended up having a cup of tea with him every morning.
“After that, he was very nice to me and I played every day; that made a big difference to get settled and acclimatised and ready to go.”
In those days, the four rounds at The Open were played over three days – 18 on the first and second and 36 on the last – and following opening rounds of 75 and 71 Player found himself well back in the chasing pack.
His confidence, though, was undimmed.
“I was eight shots behind with 36 holes to go and I said to Mr Humphrey McMaster of Slazenger – then the CEO – ‘tomorrow you are going to see a miracle – I’m going to win The Open’,” he continued.
“And the wind blew very hard. At the 15th hole, which was usually a drive and a wedge, I hit a driver and a two-iron in the afternoon and a driver and three-iron in the morning and birdied it both times.”
After the morning session, Player was tied for tenth and back within four shots of the lead.
The afternoon arrived and the man known as ‘The Black Knight’ duly made a thrilling charge, navigating his way serenely through the eye of a searing wind. On reaching the 18th, the 72nd hole of the Championship, a par would have equalled a 66 and all but confirmed victory.
A wayward drive at the last found a fairway bunker, however, sending Player’s mind whirring with the possibilities, pitfalls and potential perils ahead.
He chipped out and managed to find the green with his third, but three putts meant a double bogey and a round of 68, leaving an anxious wait for the Johannesburg native.
“I went back to the hotel for a shower,” Player recalled. “I dressed in a white suit and then paced up and down from the clubhouse to the main road over and over again. I was so agitated and uptight; I thought I had blown it. The club kindly invited me into the upper section of the clubhouse to watch the last twosome finish.
“But I scraped through and it’s one of the proudest moments in my long career – I think The Open is the best there is.”
