The British Open: A quiz

The first world’s champion

A. Bobby Locke

With Americans put off by the expense question, the window opened during the 1950s from players from other parts of the golf world to make their mark…and several did.

Between 1949 and 1960, four men from what at the time were non-traditional golfing hotbeds dominated the event. Australian Thomson won five times between 1954 and 1965, South African Player won his first Major at Muirfield in 1959, Australian Kel Nagle beat Arnold Palmer in 1960, and South African Locke won three times.

Locke was the first to break through the tournament’s European-American hegemony. At Royal St. George’s in 1949, a third round 68 vaulted him into a three-way tie for first with Ireland’s Harry Bradshaw and England’s Max Faulkner. In the final round, Bradshaw and Locke both shot 70 to force a 36-hole playoff.

That playoff was so one-sided that it probably hastened the end of the idea of settling a 72-hole tournament over 36 additional holes. Locke led by two strokes after the first nine, by seven after the first 18, by 10 at the afternoon turn, and by a dozen shot when the day’s labors were completed.

He would win three more times, in 1950, 1952 and 1957.

Question 7. Jack Nicklaus made his first appearance at the Open in 1962, playing as the defending U.S. Open champion. How’d he do?

You kidding…this is Jack Nicklaus we’re talking about. He won.

He missed the cut.

Somewhere down on the leader board.