Seve Ballesteros - At the Open Championship - YouTube Seve Ballesteros - At the Open Championship Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jun 24, 2012 Seve Ballesteros is a Spanish professional golfer and former World No. 1, who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s. He announced himself to the golfing world in 1976, when at age 19 he finished second at The Open Championship. A part of a gifted golfing family, Ballesteros won five major tournaments between the years of 1979 and 1988, including The Open Championship three times, and The Masters twice. He was also successful in the Ryder Cup, helping the European team to five wins both as a player and captain. He is best known for his great short game, and his erratic driving of the golf ball.

Category Severiano Ballesteros "at THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP" - YouTube Severiano Ballesteros "at THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP" Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Nov 14, 2013 Seve Ballesteros is a Spanish professional golfer and former World No. 1, who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s. He announced himself to the golfing world in 1976, when at age 19 he finished second at The Open Championship. A part of a gifted golfing family, Ballesteros won five major tournaments between the years of 1979 and 1988, including The Open Championship three times, and The Masters twice. He was also successful in the Ryder Cup, helping the European team to five wins both as a player and captain.

He is best known for his great short game, and his erratic driving of the golf ball. Category Lot Detail - Seve Ballesteros Signed 1983 Golf World Magazine 'Masters Maestro' JSA ALOA Seve Ballesteros Signed 1983 Golf World Magazine 'Masters Maestro' JSA ALOA This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/1/2016 Seve Ballesteros Signed 1983 Golf World Magazine 'Masters Maestro' Five-time major championship winner Seve Ballesteros signed this 1983 Golf World Magazine 'Masters Maestro,' following his second Masters win at Augusta National. Ballesteros also won the Masters in 1980 and won the Open Championship three times (1979, 1984, and 1988). Seve signed in black ink and the magazine is in good condition, showing limited wear. It does appear that a previous owner of the magazine removed the address label, see photos. James Spence Authentication (JSA) has reviewed the signature and their letter of authenticity comes with this lot.

Please note: This auction will end at 7:00pm EST on Sunday, JULY 31st with EXTENDED BIDDING to follow. All items in the auction will remain open until no items have received a bid within a 15 minute time period. All lots are free to be bid on until extended bidding has ended Hover Over Image to Zoom Bidding History of Golf - Scottish Perspective Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, Watson, Faldo and Woods. PRE 1400: THE ORIGINS OF THE GAME Throughout recorded history, every civilisation has played a game with a club and a ball. Pangea for example, as described by Roman scribes, would appear to be the father both of modern hockey and the Celtic games of Shinty and Hurling. In one form or another, the variant games of present day golf were clearly enjoyed throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. The game persisted over the centuries and the form that it took and rules that were applied varied as widely as the terrain the game was played over. In short, the game consisted of knocking a ball from one pre-designated place to another where the ball was to be struck off a predetermined object in the least number of blows.

Games often extended from village to village. That this game was ousted from the towns and onto the commons land beyond is one possible solution to the question of how it all began. Whatever the exact origins, it is known that by the 15th century, "kolf" as it was known in the Netherlands and "goff" as it was referred to in England, was a pastime enjoyed by Kings and Commoners alike. It's kinship to the Great Game however, remains entirely questionable. So widespread was the game of "Gowf", as it was known in Scotland, that an Act of Parliament was passed to prevent the playing of the game on Sundays and thus preserve the skills of Archery. The citizens of Aberdeen, St. Andrews and Leith on Scotland's East Coast were the principal "gowfing" miscreants and it was no coincidence that rolling sandy links land was commonplace here. On this very terrain, a game that started with a cleek and a ball took on a form that started an evolutionary process that continues to this day. The question of how it all began may be of pressing concern to some but to the Scot, it is sufficient to know that the game was born on the links land of eastern Scotland.

Here, the game has been nurtured for over five hundred years and from here, it has been raised to the great game played and loved by millions throughout the world. 1750 - 1850 : THE ROBERTSONS OF ST ANDREWS This was the period when golf as we know it today came to be. It was in this time that many of today's great golf clubs were founded and the leading players of the era started to gain renown. The great club-makers and ball-makers of the era began to emerge and the clubs produced by these skilled craftsmen were coveted to the extent that forgeries became commonplace. Top players began to regularly gather for 'meetings' when medal and match-play rounds were organised, with distinctions made for the first time between amateur and professional players. Allan Robertson, of the famous ball-making family in St Andrews, is widely credited as being the first golf professional. But before Allan, his Grandfather Peter was described as a professional golfer and although history knows little of this man, his reputation survived him and his prowess was widely acknowledged. One epic contest in 1843 was between Allan Robertson and Willie Dunn, two of the best players of that time.

The challenge was held over 20 rounds (2 rounds per day over 10 days) and it was Robertson who triumphed - two rounds up with one to play. The Robertson dynasty in itself reflects the emergence of the great game. The family can be traced back to one Thomas Buddo, a ball-maker in St Andrews in 1610. His daughter married a Robertson and from this pair was bred the stock that led to Allan himself and along the line produced generations of ball-makers. At least four separate Robertson families employing over 25 hands were engaged in making balls in St Andrews during the mid 18th Century. Allan by the way, who died in 1859, became the first man to break 80 on what is now the Old Course in 1853. 1850 - 1890 : THE MORRIS AND PARK ERA If golf as we know it had its birth in the dim and distant past of the 17th century and its upbringing under the Robertson family on the links of St Andrews, then its adolescence occurred abruptly between 1848 and 1852.

Three highly significant events occurred in St Andrews that were to turn the game from the parochial into the global. The first of these events was the discovery of the "gutta percha" based ball, known as the "gutty" by James Patterson in 1848. More importantly, the durability of this new ball in turn encouraged the development of iron-faced clubs and so continued the process of evolution. Then in 1852 the railway came to St Andrews and with it the progenitors of the millions who have made the pilgrimage since. Now the links was played by all and sundry throughout the year and not simply restricted to the busy spring and autumn meetings. The R&A erected it's now famous clubhouse in consequence of the railway, scores of ex-pat colonialists retired to the town and families took up residence so that their sons could attend the University, which was gradually assuming a stature comparable with Oxford and Cambridge. If the 'gutty' transformed the game, the railway certainly transformed the town of St Andrews. The third event of this period, which comes in two parts, is surely one of the most important events in the long history of the game.

Every individual who has made a living out of hitting a golf ball should hold April 20th 1851 as the nativity for that was the birth date of Young Tom Morris, one of the game's greatest early exponents. Similarly, every green-keeper, designer or administrator should express some word of gratitude on the 1st of July for it was on that day in 1851 that Old Tom Morris left for Prestwick to create the first purpose built golf course on the links of Monkton parish. It was in 1860 that the first Open Championship was held at Prestwick and was contested by eight leading professionals. The first winner was Willie Park for which he received a red Morocco leather belt with silver clasps as the first prize. The Open continued to be held at Prestwick for 11 years and the Morris's dominated the early events. Old Tom had won the event four times by 1867 and Young Tom subsequently completed a quartet of wins, after which he was allowed to keep the Belt.

Young Tom Morris was raised on the links of Prestwick Golf Club and it was there that he honed a game that was as revolutionary as the new iron clubs that he had purpose made by Stewart in St Andrews. Irons that were previously resorted to for a bad lie were now used for driving, lofting, jiggering and putting. Young Tom Morris also knew his worth and he demanded and obtained a good living from the flair that he brought to the game. In this sense he was the first true modern professional golfer. There may well have been greater players since Young Tom but if there has been, few have left a greater legacy to the game. The Morris's accrued an incredible record, with Old Tom winning the Open in 1861, '62, '64 and '67, while Young Tom won in 1868, '69, '70 and 72. Across the Firth of Forth in Musselburgh another family came close to matching them when Willie Park Sr. and Jr. won the Open six times between them. Willie Sr.

won the first Open in 1860 and again in '63, '66, '67 and '75. His brother Mungo Park won in 1874, while Willie Jr. won in '87 and '89. Old Tom and Willie Sr. won all but one Open (1865) prior to the emergence of Young Tom. Both were much-loved figures and were responsible for the standards of sportsmanship with which the game is synonymous today. 1890 - 1914: THE GREAT TRIUMVIRATE This era will always be remembered for the mark left on the game of golf by John Henry Taylor, Harry Vardon and James Braid. Known as the great triumvirate, they collected sixteen Open Championships between them and have left an indelible impression on the game of golf. Harry Vardon hailed from the Channel Island of Jersey and Henry Taylor from Devon in England. The emergence of Vardon and Taylor before the end of the 19th century attests to the rapid spread and widespread play of the game. Both had already established themselves as Open Champions before they were joined by James Braid.

The three between them collected 16 Open titles and 13 second-place finishes and almost completely excluded a host of great Scots players from the records of the game during that particular period of time. John Henry Taylor won the first of his five Open titles in 1894 at St George's in England, now Royal St George's, while Harry Vardon pipped Taylor in a play off in 1896 to land the first of a record six titles. James Braid won his first of five Open Championships in 1901 to join Vardon and Taylor as the dominant forces of the day. Though also winning the French Open, unlike Vardon and Taylor, Braid never made the transatlantic crossing to enjoy the spoils of the newly emerged golfing scene in the USA. While Vardon won the US Open of 1900 during a tour of America where he played in approximately 80 matches and winning 70 of them, Braid's decision to remain at home was well rewarded as an exhibition match player. Braid also established himself in course design, building Gleneagles and Nairn to name but two of his many jewels.

What started as a trickle of Scots golfers to the US, became commonplace by the turn of the century when anyone who could swing a club on a Scots links was able to find a lucrative niche as a professional in the US. The early US Open Champions were all Scots born players who, as teachers and mentors produced players that would come to further transform the game. One notable such player was Willie Anderson from North Berwick in Scotland, who won the US Open four times including a present day record of three in a row from 1903 to 1905. 1920 - 1939 : BETWEEN THE GREAT WARS The First World War decimated Scottish golf. Every village war memorial attests to the numbers who fell in France and few clubs are without a memorial to some rising star, who played out his last match on the fields of Flanders. Some great players survived but the consequence of terror gutted their game. Those that came through unscathed were few in number, determined never to see the like again and often took the decision to play in America - golf's promised land. There was one notable exception in the mercurial George Duncan.

Born near Aberdeen, George served his time as a carpenter before rejecting his trade and the offer of professional football with Aberdeen FC to become the professional at Stonehaven, before moving to the lucrative South and acclaim. He won the first post-war Open at Deal in 1920 when Sandy Herd at the age of 51 was runner-up. Duncan also played in the Ryder Cups of '27 and '29, captaining the side in 1931. Scottish golfers were sorely tried by the wave of first generation Americans that returned to assault the Championships after the War. These players transformed the game, bringing a flair and lifestyle that induced some disquiet in the home based players. Though life in America did not suit all tastes, with the Dunne's and Willie Park Jr. among those who went and returned, there were many more who did not make the return journey. Alistair Mackenzie and Donald Ross from Dornoch were just two who left an indelible mark on America as course architects.

The Smiths from Carnoustie, Ben Sayers from North Berwick, Tommy Armour from Edinburgh, the Simpsons from Elie and many others from St Andrews all left lasting impressions in the States and left Scotland bereft of its best and dearest. Jock Hutchison was the last St Andrews born player to win the Open, while Paul Lawrie was the last native Scot when he won at Carnoustie in 1999. After Jock's win, the Open was dominated by the American, Walter Hagen who won the first of his four Open titles in 1922 at St George's and followed up with victories in '24, '28 and '29. Together with his compatriots Jim Barnes (1925), Gene Sarazen (1932) and the incomparable Bobby Jones who won in 1926 and '27, this was an unprecedented period of Open Championship domination by US players. The year 1922 saw 20 years old Gene Sarazen burst onto the scene in dramatic fashion, landing both the US Open and US PGA Championship, retaining the latter the following year after a play off with Walter Hagen.

Hagen bounced right back after this setback and won the next four PGA Championships from 1924 to 1927. 1923 witnessed the mercurial talent of Bobby Jones winning the first of his four US Open titles and Jones followed this with victory in the Open at Royal Lytham in 1926, retaining it at St Andrews in 1927. The Ryder Cup was held for the first time in 1927, when the United States, captained by Walter Hagen, took on and comprehensively defeated their counterparts from Great Britain & Ireland. 1946 - 1960 : THE EMERGENCE OF THE WORLD GAME If the First World War decimated Scottish golf, the second came close to gutting it completely. The First War took the players - the Second War took the golf courses. The Scottish links lands border long sandy beaches, usually in remote places of low population density. As a result, it did not take a brilliant military mind to reason that the links beaches would make for ideal disembarkation sites and the courses equally perfect places for airborne landings.

The huge concrete blocks that were erected to stop the movement of tanks from the beaches can still be seen today. The hallowed fairways of the Old Course were staked with massive wooden poles to prevent aircraft landings and Turnberry made the ultimate sacrifice when it was turned into a runway. Few courses remained unscathed - golf was not only suspended for the duration of the War, it was very nearly extinguished. US golf became pre-eminent and though the Americans may not have been entirely responsible for winning the war, they did win the battle of post-war golf. One could argue that not having experienced the social and economic upheaval of Europe or the long interruption of play, they were infinitely better prepared for the resumption of golfing hostilities. Equally, the sheer numbers that were now playing golf in the US made pre-eminence statistically inevitable. Whatever the reason however, American golfers certainly came to the fore, following the War years. The US domination of the Open Championship itself however, did not occur after the war as it had in the pre-war era of Hagan and Jones. Sceptics argue that the Americans did not play because doing so would have resulted in loss of earnings at home but history tells a different story.

Though Sam Snead won the first post-war Open at St Andrews in 1946 and Ben Hogan was victorious in his only visit to Carnoustie in 1953; every other major figure in US golf had come and gone with notably less success. English players were dominant in the immediate post-war years, with Cotton, Burton, Faulkner and Daly (Irish) all winning. It was the Colonials however, who were to do the real damage as far as the Open was concerned. Bobby Locke from the Transvaal, a first generation South African Irishman and Peter Thomson, an Australian of solid Scots stock were about to take the golfing world by storm. These two overwhelmed golf in a period of a few years when Locke won in 1947 and '51 and Thomson in '54, '55, '56, '58 and again in '65. Indeed, Thomson never finished worse than second from 1952 to 1958. Their achievements, although less impressive in the US, were nevertheless significant. Thomson beat Hogan on his home turf to take the Texas Open, while Locke was the leading money winner on the US tour.

Both these players found their spiritual home on the Scottish links where their best golf was played. Locke was a near resident visitor throughout his life and Thomson now has his home in St Andrews, only a wedge away from the R&A. 1961 - TODAY: THE TRULY GLOBAL GAME OF GOLF The record books do not lie and Scottish Golf, though healthy at home, was faring ill abroad. The game had become truly global with players from Taiwan and Japan threatening for major honours. The Swedes were gathering amateur honours throughout Europe and there seemed no end to the talent emerging from Spain. American Golf had come into maturity with a vengeance in the form of Arnold Palmer. Palmer played the game as it should be played - with verve and a swashbuckling style. Palmer was of course idolised in his own country but he found real appreciation in the discerning crowds that lined the links fairways of the Open Championship. Together with Tip Anderson, his St Andrews caddie, Palmer was lord of every links he surveyed. In Palmers absence in 1964, Tip Anderson carried the bag of Tony Lema through the most testing gales on the Old Course.

It was Lema's win more than any other event that put paid to the excuse that the game had changed and that the new form of golf required only an accurate lofted shot to a soft pulpy green - a shot at which the Americans were clearly adept. The leader board of the '64 Open showed that Jack Nicklaus and plenty more US stars could play the chip-and-run under the wind as well as any that had gone before and as well as any of the home bred players. The reason for the Scottish golfing hiatus during this period may be simply statistical, as the game had grown to the extent that the numbers now playing in every developed country dwarfed the numbers playing in Scotland. There is no doubt that the game itself had changed with the new courses that were being built throughout the world. American architects led by Robert Trent Jones were building courses that were both long and difficult. Greens were soft and holding in contrast to the hard running greens of the links. The grassy fairways presented another type of problem as the ball sat up on the lush grasses and required club contact quite different to that on the tight lies of the links.

Possibly of greater significance was the early adoption in the US of the 'big ball' - the 1.66-inch ball that required a different strike and made for greater control. Great exponents of the game poured out of the US and the US Tour was becoming a multi-million dollar industry with even mediocre golfers, grossing millions of dollars not only through tournament play but also through commercial endorsements. Tip Anderson was still caddying at home in St Andrews when he attained celebrity status in the US without ever setting foot outside the British Isles, backing Palmer in a beer commercial. Television coverage ensured star-status for many players and the American College System, to their credit, acted as a virtual conveyor belt of talent. Following the foundation of the European Tour and the opening of the Ryder Cup to European players, sponsorship grew and European golf blossomed into a money market comparable to that of the US tour. One final ingredient was required however - a star with the charisma of a Palmer and the appeal of a Nicklaus. And so as they say, a star was born.

1979 saw a smiling young genius becoming the first Spaniard to win the Open, with Jack Nicklaus coming second in the race for the Claret Jug for a record seventh time - Seve had arrived on the world scene. The 1980's began with Seve Ballesteros becoming the first European to win the Masters and at 23 years old, the then youngest champion. Nicklaus however, continued his remarkable career with his fifth double-major year, winning his fourth US Open and fifth PGA title. Seve won his second Masters title in 1983 and the following season, he collected his second Open Championship when finishing two strokes ahead of Bernhard Langer and Tom Watson, who was attempting to equal Harry Vardon's record of six Open Championship successes. Lee Trevino won his second US PGA Championship in 1984, made all the more special by the fact that only eight years previously, he was seriously injured having been struck by a lightning bolt. Germany's Bernhard Langer turned the tables on Ballesteros in 1985, beating him in the Masters and gaining revenge for his two-shot defeat in the Open the previous year.

1985 also witnessed the first European success in the Ryder Cup and two years later the US team tasted defeat again but this time on home soil. The Masters of 1986 was perhaps the most thrilling of all. A fantastic late surge from the Golden Bear saw him win his sixth Masters title at the age of 46 - his 21st major victory in an as of yet unparalleled career. The glory days of Scottish golf briefly returned in 1985 when Sandy Lyle triumphed in the Open Championship at Royal St George's and the amiable Scot added a further major title at the Masters in 1988. Though Ballesteros won his third Open with a scintillating final round of 65, domination of the world game by Nick Faldo had already begun when he won his first major title at Muirfield in 1987, shooting par on every hole in his final round. Two years later, Faldo shot an amazing closing 65 to force a Masters play off with Scott Hoch, which he duly won on the second extra hole. Faldo's best year came in 1990 when he became the only player since Nicklaus to defend his Masters title.

Just a few months later, Faldo played the most devastating golf of his life in winning his second Open title at St Andrews and he duly added his third Open two years later, again at Muirfield. Greg Norman's second Open success came at Royal St George's in 1993. His two-stroke victory over Faldo prompted the late, great Gene Sarazen to comment that this was the greatest championship of all time. Major champions have come and gone over the years, with O' Meara, Olazabal, Stewart and Lawrie among those whose names are now etched on the most prized possessions in golf. Not until 1994, did a player with the potential to match the greatness of past legends, come along. Speculation started when Tiger Woods won the US Amateur Championship, continued when he retained it the following year, grew when he became the youngest ever champion at the Masters and climaxed as he stormed to six wins out of six starts in the 1999/2000 season. Though Tiger may have a long way to go to be classed in the same league as Palmer and Nicklaus, there are not many who would bet against it.

Ranking the 10 Greatest Stars in British Open Golf History | Bleacher Report Ranking the 10 Greatest Stars in British Open Golf History Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Don Morley/Getty Images Tom Watson's win over Jack Nicklaus in 1977 was one the best Opens ever. 39.7K 10 Comments Considering the British Open, officially known as the Open Championship, is the oldest event in professional golf, the possibilities for the greatest stars to ever perform at the fabled tournament are almost endless. There have been many great players to win the British Open, as well as relative unknowns who shocked the world to win. There have also been some wild and unpredictable finishes through the years. The following is my personal list of the 10 greatest stars to have walked the fairways of the British Open. Walter Hagen was the game's first full-time professional. Open Titles: 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929 Most Impressive Feat: Walter Hagen, the man regarded as golf’s first full-time professional , became the first American to win the Open Championship.

It occurred in 1922 when he defeated Jim Barnes after trailing by a pair of shots following three rounds before rallying to win by a shot. Legacy: Not only did Hagen win the Open four times, but he also set a standard for professional golfers. He was always well-dressed and traveled in first-class style all the time. Jack Nicklaus made the 1970 Open a special victory. Open Titles: 1966, 1970, 1978 Most Impressive Feat: Jack Nicklaus did not get off to a good start in 1970, losing his father, Charlie, in February. Five months after that, he won his second British Open title. With the wind howling over 50 miles per hour on the course, fellow American Doug Sanders missed a short putt on the final hole to force a playoff. Nicklaus then drove the famous 18th green at St. Andrews, chipped back to eight feet and made his birdie putt to win. Legacy: Of Nicklaus’ record 19 runner-up finishes , seven of those came in the Open Championship. Nicklaus had a record six top-five finishes. St.

Andrews, the home of golf, where Tom Morris Jr. got his start. Open Titles: 1868, 1869, 1870, 1872 Most Impressive Feat: The fact that Tom Morris Jr. won the Open Championship four straight times is impressive enough, so impressive that no one has repeated the feat. The fact that Morris Jr. won the first of those titles at age 17, making him the youngest major title-holder in golf history, is even more impressive. Legacy: Long before Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie , young Tom opened the door for young golfers. He entered his first Open Championship at age 14 and won at age 17, becoming one of professional golf's groundbreakers. Seve Ballesteros created unforgettable memories in the Open Championship. Open Titles: 1979, 1984, 1988 Most Impressive Feat: Flamboyant Spaniard Seve Ballesteros always brought a special flavor to any event he entered and he seemed to come up with extraordinary shots in the Open Championship.

In each of his three wins, he trailed by a pair of shots after 54 holes and came back to prevail in regulation. In 1979, Ballesteros beat Jack Nicklaus and Ben Crenshaw. In 1984, he beat Bernhard Langer and Tom Watson. In 1988, Ballesteros beat Nick Price. Legacy: Ballesteros' reputation as a swashbuckling, go-for-broke player will be associated with his name forever. The old-time Open Championship rotation of courses provided him with plenty of opportunities to show off his tremendous creativity and skill. A statue of Bobby Jones stands at the Atlantic Athletic Club. Open titles: 1926, 1927, 1930 Most Impressive Feat: Bobby Jones' win at the 1930 Open Championship gave him both the British Amateur and Open titles before he went on to win both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open as well, completing his grand slam. In his three Open championships, he never posted a round higher than 75. Legacy: From 1924 through 1930, Jones won five U.S.

Amateurs and finished second in another. He won three British Opens and three U.S. Opens, where he finished second three other times. James Braid won the Open four times in six years. Open Titles: 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1910 Most Impressive Feat: James Braid overcame a two-shot deficit after three rounds to beat Sandy Herd by four shots at the 1910 British Open. He put together rounds of 76-73-74-76 for a total of 299. Braid's total was only nine shots more than Jack Nicklaus’ 290 total in the 1972 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Legacy: After retiring from competitive golf in 1912, he became the golf professional at Walton Heath and concentrated on designing courses. Most of his designs were parkland rather than links, and he was given credit for some of the first uses of dogleg holes. J.H. Taylor was the first chairman of the British PGA.

Open Titles: 1894, 1895, 1900, 1909, 1913 Most Impressive Feat: In 1895, a year before losing in a British Open playoff to Harry Vardon, J.H. Taylor overcame a three-shot deficit after three rounds to beat Sandy Herd by four shots at the British Open. Legacy: Taylor was one of the pioneers of the game in Britain as a co-founder and the first chairman of the British PGA , which was the first association for pro golfers in the world. He had a long and storied career, winning all five of his British Open titles before World War I and being a contender in the Open Championship from age 22 to 55. Tom Watson was one of the most popular Open champions ever. Open Titles: 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983 Most impressive Feat: The 1977 Open is on the very short list of the greatest major championships ever.

It was the "Duel in the Sun" at Turnberry as Tom Watson battled Jack Nicklaus down to the wire. The two were tied after 54 holes, and the duel lasted until Watson, who had already beaten Nicklaus in the Masters earlier that spring, made his final shot. Legacy: Watson joins four other British Open champions with five titles. No other American has won more often there than him. Peter Thomson with the King. Open Titles: 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965 Most Impressive Feat: Peter Thomson is the only golfer to ever win three consecutive Open Championships in the 20th century. Legacy: In each of his Open Championships wins, Thomson either led or was tied going into the final round of the tourney. In 1958, the Australian had a two-shot lead going into the final round where he shot a 73 and ended up beating Dave Thomas in a playoff. Harry Vardon exhibiting his bunker skills.

Open Titles: 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914. Most impressive Feat: In Harry Vardon's first British Open win in 1896, he started the Championship Open at Muirfield with an 83 and followed that with a pair of 78s. He was four shots out of the lead after 54 holes, but posted a 77 in the final round to get into a playoff with J.H. Taylor, who was trying to win three straight Open Championships. Vardon won the 36-hole playoff by four shots, 157-161. Legacy: All told, Vardon, Taylor and James Braid won 16 Open Championships in 20 years and became known as the "Great Triumvirate" of their era, predecessors to Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player who were known as the "Big Three" of the modern era.

British Open | golf | Britannica.com British Open Alternative Titles: the Open, the Open Championship Related Topics PGA Championship British Open, officially the Open Championship or the Open, one of the world’s four major golf tournaments—with the Masters Tournament , the U.S. Open , and the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Championship—and the oldest continually run championship in the sport. Best known outside the United States as the Open Championship or, simply, the Open, it has been held annually (with a few exceptions) on various courses in Scotland , England , and—on one occasion— Northern Ireland since 1860. (For more on the tournament’s name, see Researcher’s Note: British Open? Open Championship? .) Jack Nicklaus competing in the British Open (Open Championship) at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club … Steve Powell—Allsport/Getty Images History The first Open Championship was played on October 17, 1860, at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. A field of eight professionals played three rounds of Prestwick’s 12-hole course in one day.

Willie Park, Sr., won the inaugural tournament and was presented with the Challenge Belt, a silver-buckled leather belt that each champion was to keep until the following Open. The tournament was opened to amateurs in 1861. In 1863 a purse of £10—which was to be shared among the professionals who finished in second, third, and fourth place—was introduced, and a first-place cash prize of £6 was added in 1864. In 1870 Tom Morris, Jr. , won the Open for the third consecutive time and was thus allowed to keep the Challenge Belt permanently. As there was no award to present to the winner, the Open was not held again until 1872, when it was determined that the winning golfer would receive the Golf Champion Trophy, now commonly known as the Claret Jug. In 1892 the Open became a 72-hole event (four rounds of 18 holes), and in 1898 a cut (reduction of the field) was introduced after the first two rounds of play.

Similar Topics World Cup The Open has always been dominated by professionals, with only six victories by amateurs, all before 1930. The last of those was Bobby Jones ’s third Open, which was part of his celebrated Grand Slam (four major tournament victories in one calendar year). The popularization of golf in the mid-20th century produced a string of noteworthy Open champions, including England’s Sir Henry Cotton (winner in 1934, 1937, and 1948), South Africa’s Bobby Locke (1949–50, 1952, 1957), Australia’s Peter W. Thomson (1954–56, 1958, 1965), and the United States’ Arnold Palmer (1961–62) and Tom Watson (1975, 1977, 1980, 1982–83). Watson’s final win in 1983 ended an era of U.S. domination, during which American golfers won 12 times in 14 years.

For the next 11 years there was only one American winner, with the Claret Jug going to Spain’s Seve Ballesteros , Australia’s Greg Norman , and England’s Nick Faldo, among others. Arnold Palmer. Courtesy, Arnold Palmer Enterprises; photograph, Eiko Oizumi In 1995 the Open became part of the PGA Tour’s official schedule. American John Daly won that year after a play-off with Italy’s Costantino Rocca, beginning another period of American supremacy at the Open in which 10 of the next 13 winners hailed from the United States, including Tiger Woods , who won three championships (2000, 2005–06). Subsequent years saw a number of victories by golfers for whom the Open was their first major tournament triumph, including Paul Lawrie in 1999, David Duval in 2001, Ben Curtis in 2003, and Padraig Harrington in 2007.

American golfer Tiger Woods kissing the Claret Jug after winning the British Open (Open … Leo Mason/Corbis Another notable Open champion is Jack Nicklaus , who won in 1966, 1970, and 1978 and placed in the top five 16 times, including seven second-place finishes. Harry Vardon won the Open six times—more than any other player—and four golfers, including Thomson and Watson, won five championships. South African Gary Player , who won the title in 1968 and 1974, holds the record for the most appearances in the Open, with 46. Harry Vardon. Scientists Ponder Menopause in Killer Whales The Open Championship has always been played on links courses (mostly treeless golf courses that are built along a coast and retain the natural uneven terrain of their locations). From 1860 to 1870 the Open was played exclusively at Prestwick Golf Club . Since 1872 it has been played at a number of courses in rotation. Initially the three courses were Prestwick, St. Andrews , and Musselburgh, all located in Scotland.

The nine courses in the current rotation are the Old Course at St. Andrews; Carnoustie Golf Links in Carnoustie, Scotland; Muirfield in Gullane, Scotland; the Ailsa Course at the Westin Turnberry Resort, outside Girvan, Scotland; Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland; Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England; Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport , England; Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes, England; and Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. A Hole in One The Open is a unique event and is of great importance to professionals and amateur golfers alike, as well as to fans of golf. Unlike the play of other majors—which are typically contested in sunny locales in the United States—the outcome of the Open is often influenced by the weather. On a links course, morning and afternoon tee times can produce vastly different playing conditions, depending on the breeze that comes in off the sea. The weather is just one of the many unique features of the Open that combine with its long history and prestigious reputation to make it an event unparalleled in golf.

This author, who experienced a warm reception from his home crowd when he finished second to Tiger Woods at St. Andrews in 2005, looks forward to competing in the Open every year. To him, the Open is pure romance and theatre, and it truly is a special event that every golfer dreams of winning.

Question: Who won the golfing Open Championship 3 times between 1979 and 1988?
Answer: Seve Ballesteros