My father was a bit put out as his


locker had been commandeered. After The Open we found out it had been used by Gary Player. Well, we assumed this was the case as there were quite a few letters addressed to him left inside. We handed these to Mr MacPherson, the Secretary - and heard nothing more. I


recall sitting in the stand by the


18th on the final round and waited for the presentation and heard Roberto’s now famous declaration: “I speak no Ingleesh.” There were no selfies in the clubhouse,


and no booze because I had to get the train back to school that evening.


…BILL GAULT Three of us were allocated responsibility for making sure the caddies wore a vest bearing their players’ names. We had a small tent by the first tee. There was a signwriter to print the


names. Why the printing had not been done before the competition I do not know. The caddies then were mainly bag


carriers - not the professionals we are used to today. They were very reluctant to wear the vests and stuffed them in the golf bags. A very irate ex-Brigadier, an R&A


…PHILIP STERN Roberto came to Hoylake in July 2000 just before the Millennium Open and I was lucky enough to play with him, Anthony Shone and Kieran O’Brien. This was the day before the exhibition match between Roberto, Sandy Lyle, Tony Jacklin and Sam Snead. Roberto had got off the plane from


Argentina that morning and was then, I think, 78 years old. The course was quite soft with little run on the ball and no wind, and I remember that he was in the middle of the 14th green in 2 off the green tees. The swing was a little shorter but not very different to the one I recall from 1967. He was absolutely charming on and off the course and clearly very fond of Hoylake.


…JOHN RADCLIFFE In those days the players were not segregated and the locker room was open to members. I went in and there was Roberto changing his shoes. Fancying myself as a Spanish speaker (I had been to Madrid University and was involved with the Spanish Society while at Cambridge), I cheerfully addressed a few complimentary sentences to the great man. He looked up from his shoes as though I had been speaking Swahili and then, without a word, continued lacing his shoes. I thought that perhaps my well honed


Castillian accent had confused the indomitable Argentine so I just slunk off, reminding myself that, in the absence of a formal introduction, I should not take impertinent liberties.


representative, said, “You must make sure they wear them.” On telling the caddies this their normal response was, “F*** off.”


…ANDREW WAWN I walked one day with Ian Brown, not then a member. We saw jack Nicklaus by the putting green and Ian asked me if I would get his autograph.


I duly approached the Great Man, who


was standing eating a dish of ice cream, and I remember being struck by how much less tall he was in person than on TV. He was willing to sign, only for me,


an inexperienced autograph hunter, to realise that I did not have a pen or pencil to offer him. He was unimpressed and I, duly embarrassed, went to retrieve one from behind the bar. ■


Right: Anthony Shone,


Roberto De Vicenzo, Kieran O’Brien and Philip Stern


6


ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB MAGAZINE 2 017


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