Arnaud Massy photographed a few years earlier


qualified with that single stroke to spare. “Most of the competitors had finished the qualifying two rounds and playing the thirty sixth-hole I remember asking George Duncan what the qualifying score was, and it came as a shock that a five was necessary at the last hole to get in,” he recalled. “The last hole is not a difficult four, a driver and a pitch over the cross bunker (why have these wonderful bunkers gone out of fashion?). Most probably it was nerves but I


failed to make proper contact and the ball ended in the bunker. I dug it into some rough stuff at the back, scuffled it out to within a couple of yards. As I faced up to it I remember saying to myself, “Well, Taylor my lad, there’s only one place for this and that is the bottom of the hole and that’s where it went after a wobble on the rim.” The 1913 Open Championship not only


provided J.H. Taylor with his fifth and last win, but also gave him the opportunity to play one of his finest rounds of golf. His third round of 77 in a gale was one of the most wonderful demonstrations of dogged and determined play ever seen at Hoylake. J.H. recalls that, as he approached


the first tee, dear Old Jack Morris was on faithful duty like a Roman sentry and wished him well. He stopped and watched Mike Moran, who was only a couple of shots behind, struggle to even stand up and swing the club in the wind. It seems extraordinary that such a fine


player


(all be it


only about nine stone in weight) would take five shots before he rounded the out of bounds; but he did and word came that he had taken a 10 and his chances were scuppered. In his memoirs J.H. Taylor recalls how sad he was to see such a fine player struggling to such an extent, and added that he was even sadder to hear Moran had been killed only two years later fighting as a trooper in the Irish Horse.


Taylor also struggled at the first and


he took two full wooden shot to reach the corner. Fortunately the wind was blowing off


the out of bounds copse so he could hug closely. Another full Brassie shot failed to reach the green but he took only two more to finish with a creditable 5. Then the rain got up but he continued to score reasonably, even though drenched. A gentleman who was following him helped considerably by providing numerous towels that Taylor suspected had been raided from the lavatories. These towels were kept under his waterproofs and withdrawn one by one so that Taylor


could dry his hand between each shot. At the Briars or 6th hole there was


a mighty carry even in a slight breeze, and on this day the wind was blowing something akin to a hurricane. J.H. made his par by risking the bushes, playing a safe approach and ending with a well planned 5. From then to the end of the round he played solid golf that no one could match and believed it was the finest round he ever played and was 4 shots clear with just one round to go. In the afternoon the wind had died


a little and the rain ceased. He led a procession and recalled the memorable shot again at the Briars. He took a bolder line for his drive and the second he ripped home with a driving mashie which nearly knocked the pin out and left the ball a foot beyond the hole. Bernard Darwin described the shot as follows: “The ball seemed to make a hole in the wind as it bored its way along.” It was a shot of which Taylor would be forever proud. The procession ended in victory and the win was one of Taylor’s greatest


ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB 2013 MAGAZINE


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