Scotland on my Mind by Dan King Monday, July 22nd

Today started out poorly. I woke early, ready to get started on my trip back up to Scotland. Quietly, I packed up my things, anxious to get back to Scotland. I was already missing it, after 6 days away. It was fun attending my first Open, but it was time to get back to the links. I got all my things together and headed out to the car. Unfortunately, I was greeted by the site of glass all over the street and open air were the passenger window used to be. St. Anne on the Sea hooligans had broken the passenger window and attempted to steal the radio out of my rental car. All they managed to get out was the face plate, but they did plenty of damage getting to it.

First call was to the police, followed by a call to the rental company. I was informed that the rental insurance didn't cover windows or radios, naturally! They told me of a company to call to get the window fixed. The police took about 2 hours to show up, and took my report. The window company said they'd have to go into Manchester to get a replacement window and it would cost £220. I'm now even more overbudget for this trip than I was the night before!

It took until almost 2:00 p.m. to finally get the window fixed. I figured I didn't really have time for more golf and headed to London. The drive down M6-South went well, until I hit Birmingham. It took about an hour to get to Birmingham and then another hour to get through there. Outrageous traffic queues, and I had no radio to listen to. I arrived at Heathrow around 6:30 and deposited my luggage in the luggage hold area, figuring I'd drive into London to see the sites. I thought Picadilly Circle would be interesting, but parking was too tough, and I was too tired to deal with it. I dropped my slightly damaged rental off at the return and checked into the Forte Hotel. 45 quid for the night! But I needed the shower and a comfy bed.

It's now Tuesday morning and I'm typing this from the United lounge at Heathrow. My flight doesn't leave for another 2 hours, but the lounge is comfy and the snacks and drinks are free. If this entry gets a little slurred, blame it on the Dahlwinnie.

Since I don't really have any golf of my own to report, I figured I'd write a little about the final of the 1988 Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. I was reading the account in a book I bought on this trip. The book is the Golfer's Companion, edited by Chris Plumridge and John Hopkins. The account of the final round on Monday, July 18th, 1988 is supplied by Derek Lawrence in an article titled "Brilliance has its reward." The final that year was a shoot-out between Seve Balesteros and Nick Price.

Price began the round with a two-shot lead over Seve. At the time many felt Seve losing the 1986 Masters to Nicklaus, when he hit his shot into the water on the 15th, was the end of Seve. Faldo and Sandy Lyle were a couple shots back of Seve. Faldo shot level par to finish third, but never really threatened. Lyle shot 77 and finished out of the top-10.

By the 6th hole, it looked like it would be a duel between Seve and Price. Both birdied the par-5 6th hole (The one where Lehman scrambled for his par and Faldo missed his short birdie putt this last Open). On the par-5 7th hole, Price hit a three-iron to within six feet of the hole, Seve followed with a 5-iron, just inside Price's. Both made their eagle putts. Seve pulled level with Price when he birdied the next hole, the par-4 8th. With pars on the 9th hole, Seve went out in 31 to Price's 33.

Seve birdied the par-4 10th hole to go in the lead for the first time in the final round, but then was back in a tie with Price when he bogied the par-3 12th hole. Price's approach on the 13th finished inches from the hole, but when Seve made his long putt, they remained level.

When Balesteros won at Lytham in 1979, the key hole was the 16th, when he birdied from the parking lot. This time he did it more conventionally, when his perfect drive was followed by a brilliant sandwedge inches from the hole, putting him one up on the steady Nick Price. Both players parred the difficult 17th hole (What would Carl Mason give for a couple of those this year?) and they were on the 18th tee with Seve holding onto his one-shot lead.

On the 18th, both drove down the middle, with Price's approach safely on the green. Seve's approach was pulled left, his ball sitting in the heavy rough, a very tough up-and-down. The chances of the first ever five-hole playoff looked very likely. Seve opened his sandwedge as wide as he could, and hit the chip, burning the side of the hole and finishing inches from the hole. Price, trying to make his birdie putt ran it by and missed the meaningless second putt, finishing two shots behind Seve. If Price had birdied the final hole for a 67 to tie, it would have been the lowest final round score ever shot in the Open (excluding Watson's 65 and Nicklaus's 66 at the '77 Open at Turnberry).

Referring to the plaque on the 17th hole that commemorates Bobby Jones's victory in the 1926 Open, Dan Jenkins wrote: "It would not be possible to commemorate Seve's 65 with plaques, for it would render the course unplayable."

Seve Balesteros said, "It was the best round I have played in my life so far. Perhaps once ever 25 years, or maybe every 50 years, a man plays that well." Before arriving at Lytham, Seve had watched videos of himself from 1979. What he saw was that a scowl had replaced his previous smile. Balesteros took a vow to relax, to fall in love with golf again. He went out and birdied the first three holes of the championship, and at one time early on led the field by 5 shots. Perhaps it is time, almost 10 years, later for Seve to start smiling again.

Lehman's victory was wonderful for Tom, and it's hard to imagine a better Open Champion. Who knows, maybe with a Price like challenger, pushing him, his score might have been lower. One will never know. The 1996 Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes certainly lacked the drama of its '88 predecessor.

I'm soon to fly off to the States. I'd love to return to Scotland in the not to distant future. The Auld sod of Ireland beckons, and that might have to take precedence, but I look forward to my return to the home of golf. For those that love this game, the pilgrimage to the links land were golf began is important. I love this game more than 6 weeks ago. My expectations were high, and other than a broken window and broken 3-iron, my trip to the U.K. has exceeded my expectations. It's been brilliant.

I'll be putting the finishing touches on my wrap out over the next few days. I go back to work tomorrow (yes, I do have a day job), and I'm sure I'll be faced with a massive amount of backlog to deal with. Watch for the wrap up, with my best of Scotland section. I'll also be replacing the Apple QuickTake pictures with scanned in pictures from a real camera some time fairly soon.

It's been brilliant fun and writing this diary has added to the fun. I have decided I want to go to college this fall and learn the craft of writing.

Talk to you soon.

Dan King

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