O'Meara needed all facets of his game humming. The course favored a high ball hitter one day, a creative shot-maker the next, a short game wizard the third and an exacting driver on the fourth. Then, for a clincher, O'Meara needed to win a four-hole playoff. That's a tall order and a pretty complete list for finding the best golfer in the world. What we saw at Royal Birkdale last week was a test of stamina, patience, skill and fortitude and it produced in O'Meara the paragon of a golf champion.
Open golf demonstrates how the game began.
Anyone can play a links course very much like those in the rota. Each of the four rounds of the tournament, like rounds in a championship fight, tested a different facet of the champ's game. Day one Mild conditions were ripe for players who make a lot of birdies. Not surprisingly, the leaderboard was filled with players from the U.S. PGA Tour, where making birdies is a key to success. John Huston , who set a PGA Tour record 28-under par at the Hawaiian Open earlier this year, played the inward nine holes at five under 31.