Royal Birkdale Open Champions, 1954 – 2017
![SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND - APRIL 24: The Claret Jug, the Open Championship trophy, in front of the clubhouse at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, the host course for the 2017 Open Championship during a Media day for the 146th Open Championship on April 24, 2017 in Southport, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND - APRIL 24: The Claret Jug, the Open Championship trophy, in front of the clubhouse at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, the host course for the 2017 Open Championship during a Media day for the 146th Open Championship on April 24, 2017 in Southport, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/4c4f9ac753743eac07751d06fd67b4b72643c01b8017e9c0fd22666cf41ab4d3.jpg)
“It was difficult visualizing winning, because I had lost so many times . .” – Ian Baker-Finch
Australian Ian Baker-Finch ended the American run at Royal Birkdale in 1991 with his sole major championship victory.
Beyond his moment of triumph at Royal Birkdale, Baker-Finch struggled with his game before and after the 1991 Open Championship. He had a beautiful swing and was plagued by a tendency to choke at critical competitive moments. His Royal Birkdale victory should give hope to every golfer who shares this problem.
Baker-Finch started his 1991 Open slowly. In fact, Seve Ballesteros set the pace with a first round 66 which put the Australian five shots back and stuck in the following pack. A second round 71 kept him there. It wasn’t until the third round, when he carded a 64 that Baker-Finch moved into prominence on the leaderboard.
He went into the final round sharing the lead with Mark O’Meara at 4-under par and one shot clear of Eamon Darcy and fellow Australian Mike Harwood.
In the final round it looked for a time as though Fred Couples would move up to challenge Baker-Finch but in the end Baker-Finch finished at 8-under and two shots clear of Couples and Harwood.
Following that single golden moment Ian Baker-Finch suffered a collapse of his game and eventually directed his energies and talent to sports broadcasting and golf course design. He reminds us, however, that it takes only one victory to be a champion.