With the Open Championship’s return to Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland it seems only fitting that the exploits of one of England’s finest post-war golfers, Max Faulkner, whose name is inextricably linked with the famous links venue, should be remembered.
A notoriously flamboyant figure, with a penchant for wearing salmon pink plus fours and dragging on a cigarette mid- round, Faulkner arrived at Portrush with just four previous major appearances to his name.
But having finished sixth in the Open in 1949, and fifth in 1950, he was certainly one of the leading fancies, with his chance improved by his liking for the Dunluce Links, where he had twice finished runner up in the Irish Open.
The Sussex man opened with solid rounds of 71 and 70 to claim the halfway lead and was four strokes clear of the field when he reached the 16th hole during the third round.
THE BEST SHOT
After hooking his tee shot on that hole within a few inches of the out-of-bounds fence, Faulkner was faced with either chipping the ball sideways safely back onto the fairway, and probably accept a bogey, or taking a swipe with a wood, starting the ball out of bounds, and hoping to fade it back into play.
Reaching for his three-wood, Faulkner lashed the ball over the fence and, as the gallery watched spellbound, it dutifully turned right, right and right again as it crossed the fence and bounded up the fairway on to the green. It was a shot that only a character like Faulkner would have dared play, and caused his playing partner, America’s Frank Stranahan, to callit the greatest shot he’d ever seen.
Round in 70, Faulkner started the final 18 holes with a six-stroke lead, and looked sure to win by a wide margin, but Argentina’s Antonio Cerda emerged from the pack to lay down the gauntlet and approached Portrush’s last five holes needing one more birdie to tie.
POST OPEN WIN
Thankfully for Faulkner, Cerda’s challenge faded over that testing stretch, and the 34-year-old from Selsey was able to coast home by two shots with a closing 74.
“It was all I ever wanted,” Faulkner said later. “The Open meant everything to me. When I was handed the trophy, I looked at the names on it – Walter Hagen,
Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Henry Cotton – and thought ‘Wow!’ In fact, it meant so much that one victory sapped my will.
I remember I had a putt at the second hole of the first round at Lytham the following year, from about four feet, which I managed to miss, and my immediate thought was: ‘That’s it, I’ll never win the Open again’.”
He never did, although he managed 16 other professional victories, including three Spanish Opens, and won the Portuguese Open at the age of 52 – a pre-European Tour record that still stands today. He also represented Great Britain & Ireland in five Ryder Cups, including the famous 1957 victory at Lindrick.
A popular figure on the charity golf circuit during and after his professional career, Faulkner possessed a wicked sense of humour. When presented with first prize at a small local tournament, he is reported to have said ‘Ladies and gentleman, big prize, big speech, small prize, small speech. I thank you’, and then walked off the stage.
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