British Open: Ranking the 25 most dominant performances of all time
By Bill Felber
25. James Braid, 1906, -2.73
This was the third of Braid’s five British Open championships, and he won it in comeback fashion.
Braid had gotten off to a bad start, opening with a 77 he blamed on scheduling confusion. Prior to 1906 the tournament had been contested over two days, 36 holes each day, and Braid assumed that would be the case again. But that year tournament officials changed the schedule to encompass three days, with single rounds the first two days. That left Braid stirring pointlessly in the clubhouse the first morning awaiting his afternoon tee time.
The next day, to avoid such inactivity, he scheduled a morning practice round at another course.
Braid trailed Taylor by three strokes with 18 holes to play. Braid didn’t even begin his fourth round until 4:30 in the afternoon. By that hour Taylor, was well on his way to an 80, opening the window for Braid.
The defending champion took full advantage. His front nine 38 positioned him to win, and Braid sealed it by sinking a 45-foot putt on the 17th green. Taylor, who eventually would match Braid’s five championships, finished four strokes back and Harry Vardon, eventually a six-time champion, was third. It marked the first time that the three dominant players of the era had finished 1-2-3.
Braid became the first champion to successfully defend since Vardon in 1899.