278) had finished


EVEN THOUGH IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY AT


1967=


1967, THE 96TH OPEN AT 44 ROBERTO DE VICENZO became the second oldest ever champion golfer behind Old Tom Morris, who was 46 in 1867.


De Vicenzo had first played in The Open back in 1948 and in ten previous appearances


runner-up


once, third five times and no worse than sixth in all but two attempts. The Claret Jug always remained agonisingly just out of reach. As he told the BBC’s Harry Carpenter, “I want to win this tournament so bad. I lose my hair in England, see? Look at that!” After a third round in which he


matched Gary Player’s course record of 67 set moments earlier by the South African De Vicenzo had a 2 shot lead. Player struggled on the final day and tied for third with 22-year-old Yorkshireman Clive Clark, with


another young


Englishman, Tony Jacklin, finishing fifth. Instead it was Jack Nicklaus who


threatened to dash De Vicenzo’s hopes when he finished with a 69 and total of 280. Key to the Argentine’s victory were his


birdies at the two par 5s, the 14th and 16th holes. The 16th doglegs around the practise


ground which is also an internal out-of- bounds. A sublime fairway wood sent his ball over the OB and into the heart of the green. Two more pars and he scored a 70 for a total of 278. The warmth of the ovation Roberto


received revealed that only a homegrown winner could have been more popular.


2 ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB MAGAZINE 2 017


“I want to win this tournament so bad. I lose my hair in England, see? Look at that!”


BOB CHADWICK RECALLS… Although Roberto had played Hoylake before – including a close finish in the 1956 Open – what is less well known is that he had the chance for some secret “practice” in 1966 which must have refreshed his local knowledge for his championship triumph in 1967. He was involved in filming a ‘made


for TV’ match against Mason Rudolph as part of a series of USA v The Rest of the World. Rudolph, with bottle-bottom thick glasses, was a mid-ranking US pro. Apart from the televised match itself,


Roberto also played a practice round the day before. Being on university vacation I was able to watch both rounds. A memorable highlight was playing the


Above: Roberto and Harry Carpenter in 1967


15th. It was into a stiffish wind and Roberto’s drive had only made it to the upslope on the fairway level with the first bunker of the left (in those days there was a bunker on the right too). He looked at his lie and decided to take his driver ‘off the deck’ - and knocked his ball onto the green about 20 feet away from the flag. One of the few other spectators


was John Crawshaw – a longstanding member at Hoylake and at that time Captain of the Oxford University golf team. Crawshaw said, “I bet you couldn’t do that again.” Roberto replied, “How much?” Crawshaw offered a few shillings (or maybe only pence) as the stake and I doubled it. Roberto proceeded in his casual way


HOYLAKE OF ARGENTINE, ROBERTO DE VICENZO, STILL LOOMS LARGE IN THE MEMORIES OF ROYAL LIVERPOOL MEMBERS WHO WITNESSED IT.


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