British Open: Ranking the 25 most dominant performances of all time
By Bill Felber
15. Tony Lema, 1964, -2.94
Tony Lema’s is one of the great triumph-to-tragedy stories in golf history. A non-entity until winning financial backing from Eddie Lowery, Francis Ouimet’s old caddie, he won a minor 1962 tournament, celebrated by treating the media to champagne, and became an overnight celebrity.
When Arnold Palmer decided to forego the 1964 British Open, Lema latched on to Palmer’s caddie, Tip Anderson. With just nine holes of practice on the course and no links golf experience whatsoever, he listened closely to Anderson’s advice. “It was amazing how often he put the right club in my hand,” he said.
The event turned during Thursday’s second round when Lema fired a 68 to take a two-stroke lead over Harry Weetman, an unknown English pro. Nicklaus, who had opened at 76-74, rebounded with a 66 on Friday, but as the rest of the field receded that was good only for second place, five strokes behind Lema, who shot 68.
Nicklaus did his best to challenge Lema in the final round, but Lema’s three front nine birdies all but settled the issue. At the final hole, Lema chipped through the Valley of Sin for one final birdie and a five-stroke victory.
The victory was the highlight of Lema’s all-too-brief career. Only a bit more than two years later he died in a plane crash at age 32.