Frustration on the big stage
ALL things considered, last weekend’s Senior Open Championship at my home course, Sunningdale, was probably the biggest tournament I’ve ever played in. I worked as an assistant at Sunningdale before turning professional and have been a member there for over 40 years.
To play there in an Open Championship was pretty special and words can’t describe just what the occasion meant to me.
Finishing fifth brought mixed emotions. While it’s a decent result it was also heart-breaking to finish just two shots of the leading three players, especially having played so well.
I was delighted with the way I was hitting the ball throughout the week by was just undone by one bad hole which cost me. A triple-bogey seven on the second hole of the third round was the only bad hole all weekend. Par that, then I finish on 13-under and win the tournament by one shot. It was that frustrating.
Congratulations to Loren Roberts, who won his second Open after a play-off with Fred Funk and Mark McNulty, who came from nowhere with a final round 64.
The good news, however, is that the fifth place lifts me to third in the Order of Merit, behind McNulty and Ian Woosnam, and winning that for a third time is the main aim now for the season.
The US Senior Open takes place in Indiana this week but it’s a week off for me as I prepare to take my frustrations out on the PGA Seniors Open in Ragaz, Switzerland in ten days time.