Royal Birkdale Open Champions, 1954 – 2017

“The most important facets of golf are careful planning, calm and clear thinking and the ordinary logic of common sense.” – Peter Thomson

Peter Thomson’s fifth and final Open Championship victory came at Royal Birkdale in 1965.  With this win Thomson became one of four men in the history of The Open -JH Taylor, James Braid and Tom Watson – to hoist the Claret Jug five times. (Harry Vardon still holds the record with six Open Championship victories.)

Thomson, who always played better on links tracks than on parkland-style courses, dominated play over a field that included Arnold Palmer, the young Jack Nickalus, Tony Lem, Gary Player, and Christy O’Connor.

Although he started slowly, a good second round put Thomson within reach of the early leaders and in the third round Thomson got the lead and never relinquished it, finishing at 7-under par and two shots clear of O’Connor and Brian Huggett.

Many in the golf world consider Thomson’s 1965 Open Championship victory as his finest hour:

"By that year, most of America’s prominent professionals were competing in the oldest championship, and Thomson beat them all handily."