With the open champion returning to Northern Ireland’s Royal Golf Club, it seems appropriate that one of England’s best post-war golfers, Max Faulkner, should remember that his name is ruthlessly associated with the famous link venue.
Faulkner is a notoriously gorgeous figure who prefers to wear two-quarters of salmon pink, dragging cigarettes in cigarettes, and his name has only four main appearances.
But, finishing sixth in the 1949 Open and fifth in 1950, he was certainly one of the leading fantasies as his chances of liking Dunluce Links improved his chances, where he won two championships at the Irish Open.
The Sussex man opened with a steady round of 71 and 70 and won half the lead when he entered the 16th hole in the third round.
The best lens
After hooking the tee into that hole within a few inches of the fence, Faulkner faces tilting the ball sideways, safely facing the fairway, potentially taking bogey, or taking bogey, or sliding with wood to kick the ball off the boundary and hopefully fade away.
Faulkner reached out to Miki and slammed the ball, and as the gallery looked at Spearpbound, it dutifully turned right, right and right as it crossed the fence and tied the fairway to the green. It was only a character like Faulkner dared to play and led to his partner Frank Stranahan defeating his greatest shot of all time.
Faulkner started the final 18 holes with a six-stroke lead in the 70-year race, which looks like it will definitely take a big advantage, but Argentina’s Antonio Cerda emerged from the backpack to put down the gloves and approached the last five holes of Porthush, requiring another birdie.
Win publicly
Thankfully, for Faulkner, the challenge of Cerda faded away from the test range, and the 34-year-old from Selsey was able to go home with two shots with 74 shots.
“That’s what I want,” Faulkner said later. “Opening means everything to me.
Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Henry Cotton – Thinking “Wow!” In fact, it means so much that a victory slashed my will.
I remember the second year I had a putt on the second hole of the first round of Lytham and I managed to miss it, and my immediate thought was: “That’s it, I’ll never win the Open again.”
He never did, despite his 16 other professional wins, including three of the Espanyol openings and won the Portuguese Open at the age of 52, a former European tour record that still exists today. He also represented Britain and Ireland in five Ryder Cups, including the famous Lindrick victory in 1957.
Faulkner was a popular figure on and after his career charity golf course with a wicked sense of humor. It is reported that when he won the first prize at a local small championship, he once said “Ladies and sir, big prizes, small prizes, small prizes, small speeches. I thank you and then step out of the stage.
