1992 The Story of the Open Championship...

.

The winner of the gold medal and the champion golfer for the year with a score of 272, Ian Baker-Finch.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

In the world of golf, this is The Open Championship.

We from America, the United States, we have our Open Championship

and every person that lives in the United States

considers that THE Open.

But we in golf know that THE Open is this one.

It's muggy and overcast and I'd say about five knots.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

Welcome to The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, Muirfield,

for the first day's play of the 121st Open Championship.

This is a game number one. On the tee, Paul Way.

APPLAUSE

Hello, Dave.

Got Paul Way, first tee this morning -

do you want it in colour or black and white?

The Open Championship is now a massive entity,

a happening each July that takes months to create

and is the result of much careful planning.

As many as 40,000 people a day may come and watch.

Around the world, many millions pause this week and take note

of the goings-on in what is, after all, the game's premier event.

All very different to when Harold Hilton

won of the first of Muirfield's Opens just 100 years ago.

What would he make of the Open today

and, indeed, the assembled cast?

The main hope of the home crowd is Nick Faldo.

He of the steely determination, but also of the all-round game

to handle the questions posed by links and golf

at the very highest level.

Fred Couples, in so many ways the opposite of Faldo.

He's finished well up in recent Opens,

and with his Masters victory in April,

has proved that he too can win.

Then there is Seve.

It's getting on for 20 years since he first burst on the scene

and maybe the well is running a little bit dry.

But you can never count him out.

Muirfield is, for many, the fairest

and some would even say the best of all the Championship venues.

With each hole running in a different direction,

the golfer is constantly faced with an ever-changing variety of shot.

Wide fairways and big greens may seem generous targets,

but danger lurks on every hole,

especially for those whose approach to golf is all-out attack...

-Oh, well. Life goes on, right?

-Yeah.

..whether it be the elegant

and almost old-fashioned power of a Greg Norman...

..or the brash, hi-tech slamming of a John Daly.

That's all I've got.

Yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia, himself once the crash, bang, wallop specialist of golf,

learnt to harness his power to the point

when he could win this championship.

But clearly

he thinks that Daly's driver might be better off in other hands.

-I'm going to get another one!

-You don't need this one!

That's pure.

But whatever else, they are not ignoring the strongman of golf.

Calcavecchia was one of those out early.

Two good shots to the opening hole left him

with this little putt for the first birdie of the Championship.

APPLAUSE

I can see that it's not showing me the call has been accepted.

I'm going to put the phone down and I'm going to hear you

through the headphones, OK?

All the Australians except for Peter Senior are at level par.

He's one over. And Faldo bogeyed the first.

Defending champion Ian Baker-Finch

has clearly enjoyed his year in the spotlight.

While after many years of waiting, the new US Open champion,

Tom Kite, is just setting out to enjoy his.

..more difficult days. I need to stress the field out a little bit.

There really is very little of the countryside around here

that isn't in some way connected with the game of golf.

Muirfield is the jewel in this part of Scotland's golfing crown

with its 200 or so devilish works of art

that are its first line of defence.

It will be skill out of sand as much as a deft putting touch

that may well decide this championship.

And it might also have been one of the reasons

why Gary Player's first win in the Open was here in 1959.

He may even yet harbour dreams of becoming the oldest champion.

I was asking Scott

if you could try to dig out something I'd done on Trevino.

I just wondered if you had had any joy with it?

..and stop it fairly quickly.

Very difficult.

Looks like going over the back.

Instead of that, it goes straight into the middle of the hole

and disappears like a rabbit on the second bounce.

Trevino, too, is back, revisiting scenes of former glories.

As is Nicklaus

who, like Player, won his first Open here and then went on

to collect a couple more across the waters in the Kingdom of Fife.

Muirfield, though, is his favourite,

and 1992 marks 30 consecutive appearances

in the Open Championship.

None will ever challenge Nicklaus's haul of major titles,

but of all the players in the field today, Faldo most closely

reminds one of his single-minded pursuit of the major championships.

A dropped shot at the first only acted as a spur

and he duly went to the turn in 33, three under par.

More birdies coming home and then this great approach to the 14th.

APPLAUSE

It seemed that the championship lead was his for the taking.

But that miss was the end of his run.

Just pars from then on in for a round of 66.

Paul Azinger was the man who, perhaps,

should have won here in 1987.

Once again, he played well,

but this time faded somewhat over the final two rounds.

But on this opening day,

it was one of Azinger's Ryder Cup colleagues, Steve Pate,

who, in his own peculiar way, organised himself around Muirfield

in a meagre 64 to take the early lead.

Others would have given much for that score,

but came undone in a number of different ways.

But one of the great charms of Muirfield is that while it can

extract dire penalties, it can also hand out the occasional present.

CHEERING

And not only on the greens.

CHEERING

Well, when you've been with Seve for a year or two,

there's not a lot you haven't seen.

But for Paul McGinley, it will be a memory to treasure.

Kevin Jones was one of those romantic stories that pop up

so often during the early rounds of Open Championships.

So, too, was the performance of Daren Lee,

an amateur from Wanstead in Essex.

Not yet capped for England, he went round in 68.

But it was his battle with ME that caught the media's imagination.

I'm actually having injections once a month.

It's like other people's immunity and it helps just to build me up.

It's OK. I think I've got used to having glands

and a sore throat all the time, you know.

I've got used to that.

Every now and again I get it back. Yesterday I wasn't too good again.

I had a lot of glands and a sore throat and felt generally achey.

I had a good night's sleep last night and felt good today.

Another Lee, Lee Janzen, from Austin, Minnesota.

He was one of a number of relatively unknown Americans

to outshine the more established stars.

Perhaps not quite so surprising was the 66 of Ernie Els.

This giant young South African had carried all before him

on his own circuit during our winter months,

and this week was to reproduce much of that form.

But it was another unknown American who was to have the media barons

reaching for their tour handbooks as he headed for a first-round 66.

..Didn't know if it was the same John Cook...

Remember there was a John Cook from the UK?

..John Cook.

He missed the third cut after 54 holes, so he's played three rounds.

Another American, Andy McGee, shot a 67.

But neither he nor Cook attracted enormous media attention.

You know, the expense for me to come over always from the West Coast,

it was a lot, and at the time I wasn't really made of money.

You know, I didn't have the confidence in my game

to where I could come over and spend a couple of days and try to qualify.

I have no problem with that, I just never felt that great about doing it.

No, the press were more interested in the deeds of the great names.

Following hot on the heels of Faldo's 66 came Ian Woosnam

with a round of 65.

Many believe he is now ready

to add the Open to his Masters win at Augusta.

Along with Faldo, he is the main hope of the home supporters.

But it's little slip-ups like his dropped shot at the last

that undo so much good work.

But for that, he would have had a share of the overnight lead.

There's not much inspires me, no.

I'm not getting inspirational from looking at the sea or anything,

no, it doesn't inspire me.

Well, with a round of 65, Gordon Brand Jr must have been getting

inspiration from somewhere, even if it wasn't from the press themselves.

Nor your articles.

LAUGHTER

But it was this man, who only needs the open to give himself a full set

of Majors, who came in late to grab a share of the lead, Raymond Floyd.

I hit a five iron about 12 feet past and made the putt for birdie.

And made the putt for birdie.

And made that for par.

The two-iron second that plugged in the wall of the bunker.

Very, very bad lie.

Very difficult shot and I played a marvellous explosion to get it about 10 feet...

Well, you can never get away from politics.

But you don't have to take them seriously all the time.

Someone might have told Mr Perot that during the third week in July,

some people have other matters on their mind.

For them, the Open is just as important as anything else

that's happening in the world.

Well, some Americans did manage to have a nice day.

In all, 35 players broke 70.

But one of them wasn't the current Masters champion

and world number one Fred Couples.

How he would love to find the putting touch that brought him

within striking distance of victory at Birkdale last year.

CHEERING

But it was not to be, and an awful 78 on day two, finishing with

an ugly seven, led to the embarrassment of missing the cut.

After an opening 74, John Daly was in need of inspiration

if he was to survive for the final two days.

While some came and went,

others rode their luck to make the halfway cut.

But for the matching brothers Strange,

Muirfield 1992 was just a two-round affair.

Just about then, Faldo was on the point of making his move.

This, his second at the par five 9th.

I think I had 228 to the front, plus whatever...

about another 15, 12, whatever, 13 to the pin.

I tried a low draw in, and it just came out like a rocket.

So this putt for an eagle three and a share of the lead.

And that was to be the start of a purple patch.

An eagle and four birdies in the space of seven holes.

Elsewhere, a little Latin wizardry was helping

Olazabal to second-round 67 and a halfway total of 5 under par.

But while Seve still showed odd flashes of the old magic,

it wasn't enough and he was to miss the cut.

I work for Allsport. David Cannon, he did those.

-Any chance I can get a copy of this?

-Yes, sure. I'll tell Dave.

-OK.

Nothing went right for Montgomerie either.

And he too had the weekend off.

But the Faldo machine rolled on.

3 at 10, 3 at 12, 3 at 14 and, again, at 15.

And other home-grown players were bringing cheer to what was to be

the largest crowd of the week.

Malcolm Mackenzie, his tee shot to the short 13th.

The basis of a fine round of 67 was his outward 32.

And on his way to a 36 hole total of four under.

Faldo for yet another birdie. And the first hint of daylight

between himself and the rest of the field.

For Ian Woosnam, too many errors all added up to a round of 73.

And Floyd could find nothing on a breezy second morning

and returned a level par 71.

But Ernie Els, who many might have thought would fade

in such exalted company, added a 69 to his opening 66.

The putting has got a new stroke this week.

It's obviously been working well.

The amateur Daren Lee, with dad caddying

and Mum in the crowd, put together a fine 72

to become the sole survivor from the unpaid ranks,

what with the amateur champion Gary Wolstenholme failing to survive.

With five Open titles to his credit and one of them here at Muirfield,

Tom Watson couldn't make it to the last two days either.

But no such problem for Faldo.

Donnie Hammond, another American, was also going well.

And a good round became great

with this second shot to the par five 17th.

Nearly that rarest of all birds, an albatross,

and there have only been two in Muirfield's Open history.

Steve Pate continued to prove you don't need the greatest swing

to score well and added a rather erratic 70 to his opening 64.

And Gordon Brand Jr,

still feeling very much at home with his birthplace

just across the water, put together another round in the 60s

to be nine under at halfway.

But it wasn't making any impression on Faldo.

By now, they all knew which John Cook this was

and he too was to finish 9 under for 36 holes.

But the day belonged to Faldo.

I enjoyed today because every shot I was setting myself a target,

what I was trying to do, how I wanted to hit the ball.

And near as damn it, every hole, I did it.

It didn't matter what club I had in my hand,

I felt good with it, so it's a lovely feeling.

I felt really so good inside and I felt, well, if you're feeling

this good, let's just keep rolling on and see what happens.

I've learnt that I've got to stop being hard on myself

and accept you're going to hit some bad shots.

I've learnt a good lesson.

And it all added up to a 64 to go with his opening 66,

a 36-hole record for the Championship and a lead of 3.

So, the halfway stage

and some big names are not going to be around for the weekend.

Fred Couples has gone, so too Seve, Strange,

Watson and Scotland's Colin Montgomerie.

But perhaps the biggest name is that of Jack Nicklaus,

here chatting with RNA captain Joe Carr.

For the Mizes too, it's time to move on.

-..and the flight museum, that will take us to the A1?

-Yes.

-Are you driving?

-Yes. I'll take it on the side.

-The flight museum, and flight museum.

-Flight museum.

-Do you want a map?

-Pardon me?

-Do you want a map?

I think we have a map.

We had a map.

I don't know what happened to it.

Possibly part of the explanation for Nicklaus's untimely departure

was the absence of his

long-time caddie Jimmy Dickinson.

But replacement Mike Wareham sensed

a little rustiness in the great man's game.

Jack was hitting OK, he just wasn't putting well.

You know, I feel that he's not played enough competitive golf.

That's all it amounts to.

He's every caddy's ultimate, I guess.

To me he's the greatest player who's ever held a golf club.

Jimmy himself was unfortunately sidelined with a dodgy knee.

I am 68 year old now, it's getting a bit...

Specially the bags Jack brings over.

Day three, and the members of the Honourable Company are looking

for a decent breeze to sharpen up their pride and joy.

But it's Nick Faldo they've all got to catch if they want to win this championship.

APPLAUSE

And, lastly, John Daly, still a pleasure to the crowd,

but his round of 80, one of the worst for the day.

A score that would surely only appear in Faldo's darkest nightmare

when addressed in the elegant Greywalls Hotel.

A bright and breezy morning greeted the early starters on day three.

And a pair of Irishmen came across birds rather larger than

these in the course of their rounds.

This one was Ronan Rafferty here at the par four 8th.

A brace of eagles for a Saturday morn.

Ian Woosnam was having his own roller-coaster ride.

A one-putt four saved par at the opening hole.

A birdie at the second was followed by this great tee shot to the

short fourth.

And that was to take him to 200 for the day.

But five shots were to go in three holes from the sixth.

And only four birdies in the last ten holes kept his score respectable.

Now see if you can see anything amiss here.

INDISTINCT

I looked down and it looked like it was on a different spot.

I never saw the ball move. I was looking up at the green

and I looked back down and it seemed to be in a different spot.

One of the spectators said it did move.

When I was looking up, when the ball actually moved,

I know my club was off the ground.

In what was otherwise a remarkably trouble-free

championship for the rules committee,

Pate's dilemma about whether his ball had moved at the fifth

after he'd addressed it, was decided in his favour.

But it was all part of a day that was anything

but trouble free for Pate.

He duly birdied this hole, one of four in a row from the third,

but then dropped shots both seven and nine.

Two more birdies came early coming home.

One here at 11 and another at the 12th.

But three more shots were to go in the last five holes.

In the end, it all added up to a 69.

It might have been 65, it could have been a 75.

Seven birdies, five bogeys and just six pars.

Not exactly a model of consistency.

John Cook, playing in the last match with Faldo,

this his third to the ninth.

CHEERING

A timely eagle indeed and an outward 9 of 35.

Prior to that, he was beginning to lose touch.

But playing with Faldo and all that home-grown support was never going to be a picnic.

As for Faldo, the mixture was very much as before.

Three steady pars, then this glorious tee shot to the fourth.

APPLAUSE

The first birdie of the day.

APPLAUSE

Olazabal at 17, just level for the day,

after a somewhat scrappy outward nine.

CHEERING

What a moment to pick up two shots

and certainly he seems a little more relaxed than for some time.

Maybe the benefit of his three-week break just prior to the Championship.

From the turn, Faldo came home steadily to finish in 69.

His third sub-70 round of the Championship.

Chip Beck along with Hale Irwin turned in a 67,

the best round of the day.

John Cook hung on for a very respectable round of 70 with

par-saving putts like this.

Rather grudging applause for what, after all, was quite a fine shot.

SCATTERED APPLAUSE

And Olazabal at the last.

APPLAUSE

A great shot to save his par and a round of 69.

After all, in the absence of Seve,

it's his job to keep the Spanish flag flying.

And perhaps with his great hero

no longer around,

he could just be finding things

a little less inhibiting this week.

The old Claret Jug. What battles have been waged

for its possession, down the years.

The names, the dates, the venues bring back so many memories.

Jacklin, there, at Lytham in 1969.

And Trevino at Muirfield in 1972.

Trevino chips it nonchalantly down there.

Nobody believes their eyes,

but confound it, that's the fourth time in this championship

that Trevino chips it in from off the green.

Really diabolical.

And there it is. It's six for Jacklin

and a moment that he will remember, and go over and over again

all his life.

Nearly on in two, down in six.

Trevino off in four, down in five.

And possibly the greatest contest of them all - Turnberry, in 1977.

Has he got the right club?

CHEERING

Oh, has he got the right club?! My word, it is only 18-20 inches

from the hole.

What a tremendous battle this young man has had with Jack Nicklaus.

Smashes it, with every sinew in his body.

The crowd gallop across. Jack can't see where it's going to finish.

It's going towards the front, right-hand corner of the green.

and, in fact, it is on the putting surface.

That, I think was one of the most powerful, animalistic golf shots

I have ever seen.

And the cream from recent years -

Nick Price, unable to stem the Ballesteros tide of Lytham in 1988.

Price first. He is -3 for today.

Good going, indeed.

And look, look, look at this!

Well, what can you say?

That is no more than two or three inches from the hole.

Flipped up.

He's got the pace.

Oh, he has got the pace

magnificently!

Someone is going to have to do something similar,

if they want to win today.

But remember, when Seve's in contention,

he is always in blue and white.

And maybe it's no coincidence

that Olazabal has chosen those colours for his final round.

But seven shots back - it is asking a tremendous amount.

CHURCH CONGREGATION SING

Eleven o'clock at Gullane Parish Church.

But where is everybody?

For some reason, this morning,

the Sunday service took place at 9.45. I wonder why(?)

And certainly, the hymn numbers give no clue

as to the likely winning score,

particularly when you look at the best of the winning totals

from Muirfield's illustrious past.

For Daren Lee, the last two rounds are there to be enjoyed.

The amateur medal is his, but mum and girlfriend Christine

there to see him do it.

Other ladies know what it is all about

and savour the calm before the storm.

For those of late, it is how to pass the hours

before the starting gun goes off.

For most, it is a question of just keeping on the move,

to stop the system seizing up,

and finding a rhythm to carry you through the day.

For Faldo, though, it is just a case of finding some quiet corner

of a foreign field.

Two years ago, he also took a handsome lead into the final day.

Maybe this time, he can become the first player to break 70

in all four rounds of The Open.

But now, it is time to get on with the job.

-STARTER:

-On the tee, Nick Faldo!

-FALDO:

-'I want to make sure that I protect myself.

'There may be somewhere where a decision's got to be made

'or something and you may have to use your cushion.'

-STARTER:

-On the tee, Steve Pate!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

-PATE:

-'He is not going to be easy to catch.

'Obviously, if I was going to go and make a bet,

'I think I would go bet on him right about now,

'but it is certainly by no means out of the question

'that he can be caught.'

And a dropped shot at the opening hole

was all the encouragement they needed.

Olazabal was the first to strike.

A birdie at the 2nd.

In the first of several squalls to come through during the afternoon,

John Cook gets his

first blow in, with this putt for a birdie at the 3rd.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And here, for another, at the 5th.

This time, it's for an eagle.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And so, that cushion that Faldo was talking about before the first tee,

is down to a miserly one shot.

Here's Pate, with his second to the 6th.

Level for the day, he has only had one par in the first five holes.

APPLAUSE

Olazabal, his third to the 9th

But at this point, he is one over for the day.

A birdie here puts him out in 36.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Back to the 6th. This is Pate, for his third birdie of the day.

In she goes and that is -11, 2 behind Faldo.

The short 7th and Faldo still seeking his first birdie of the day.

Just one ahead of Cook and two in front of Pate.

All thought of that final round lap of honour very much on hold.

John Cook at the 9th.

Two adrift of Faldo now, having dropped a shot at the 7th.

But here, disaster strikes.

He is out of bounds.

Pate, at the 7th.

Away into the bunker on the right and his topsy-turvy round continues.

-The wind's strong out there.

-Yeah, it's stronger than any other day.

So, suddenly, the heat is off for Faldo.

Both his closest rivals are in trouble, though, of course,

he does not know what has happened to Cook at the 9th.

This time, it's a three iron, back into the wind,

at this 185-yard par three.

And a marvellous shot, considering all the pressure

of trying to win this championship from the front.

John Cook, this his fourth shot to the 9th.

Pate at the 7th and the rescue work continues.

Two holes ahead,

Cook was in the midst of its own personal crisis

and his championship chances diminishing by the minute.

Now Faldo, for a priceless two at the 7th.

Well, they were all going in on the first two days,

but now, it is all very hard graft.

Cook's fifth to the 9th.

And that one is not that much good, either.

Pate escapes again. That is his

fifth one putt in a row.

Cook, to drop just one shot at the 9th.

So nearly, but not quite and it all adds up to a seven.

He is out in 37 and now 4 shots adrift of Faldo.

Olazabal, his second to the 11th.

He may still be six behind Faldo,

but with the two Americans struggling,

he could soon be challenging for second place.

Nice weather, eh(?)

John Cook, in trouble again, at the 10th.

In the rough off the tee and still well short in two.

Not bad, but he needs to hold that

if he is not going to drop yet another shot.

Olazabal, this for a three at the 11th, then.

That is his second birdie in three holes and now he is after Faldo.

Faldo's pitch to the 9th, but still with work to do,

if he is going to find his first birdie of the day.

Oh, good four for Cook, under the circumstances, at the 10th.

Olazabal, second to the 12th.

Into the breeze.

Oh, what a fantastic shot. Surely another birdie coming up.

Faldo, for a birdie, then, at the 9th.

No, so just that dropped shot at the 1st,

means it's 37 shots to the turn.

But Pate has also been in trouble at the 9th.

Yet another one putt green, but this time, for a six.

Now, he is three shots adrift of Faldo.

Took a long time, but Olazabal gets his three

and now he's within four shots of Faldo, but Pate is in second place,

three shots behind.

Cook, at the 12th.

In she goes and the memories of that seven at the 9th beginning to fade.

Faldo at the 11th, having missed the green with a wedge.

And not the greatest bunker shot, either.

Woosnam, at 16.

He was out in 38 and he has not got any sort of a challenge going.

Still +2, with three to play.

A chance here to get one back.

Faldo, then, to save par at 11.

Not to be, and more encouragement for those in pursuit.

So, now, the lead is just two.

And thoughts beginning to appear of yet another title slipping away.

John Cook, second to the par-4 15th.

Oh, and yet another birdie chance.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Faldo, back into the breeze, at 14.

Three putts at 13 has let Cook get within one shot.

And now it is all very tight, and another one could go here.

SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

So, Cook, birdie chance at 15.

He's got it! And now they're level.

Olazabal, second to 17.

Oh, that is a wonderful shot.

He is still -9 and very much in with a chance

of picking up a shot or two here.

Faldo, then, to save his par at the 14th.

SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

No, it's away to the right,

and that's three shots gone in the space of four holes.

And for the first time since midday Friday,

he no longer leads the Championship.

APPLAUSE

Well, Pate had to miss one in the end. That's another shot gone.

Cook now leads by one from Faldo and by two from Pate and Olazabal.

Cook at 16.

SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

He's holed another one. A birdie two.

APPLAUSE

Olazabal. This for an eagle three at 17.

Well, good weight, but not a three. Still a chance of a birdie.

Faldo at 15, his second shot,

facing the biggest disaster of his golfing life.

What about this for a response?

A truly magnificent shot at any time, let alone on this occasion.

Olazabal, this, then, for a four.

He gets it. That's a birdie, and takes him to ten under par with just

one hole left to play in the Championship.

APPLAUSE

Pate at 15, and finally, his round coming completely unstuck.

The man with the Championship very much in his grasp, John Cook,

second to the 17th.

Oh, and a marvellous shot it is too. 550 yards. A drive and an iron.

Exactly right for distance, and that putt for an eagle three.

And another one goes by for Pate. That's a six.

Three shots gone in two holes,

and his championship definitely over for 1992.

But a vital putt now for Faldo.

And he gets it. A birdie three, and moves within one shot of John Cook.

APPLAUSE

Olazabal at the last.

Going to lug it up the far end.

And they like it there as well. Superb drive.

CROWD MEMBER: You're the man!

The 16th.

And it's not the shout that puts him off.

He's hooked it a touch, and through the back.

Well, whatever Faldo does, it's not going to matter

if this man holes this putt.

So close, so close, but still just over two feet for a birdie four.

Faldo from the back of the 16th.

SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

From where he was,

that's a tremendous shot to get the distance right. Excellent shot.

Hit it, wind, a little more!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

A pair of cracking shots from Olazabal for the last hole.

CHEERING

A marvellous three for Faldo as well.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Bisects the fairway once again. Position A.

He can get home in two from there.

Up ahead on the green, Cook, though, to take a two-shot lead once again.

GROANING

Well, well, well.

After two great shots, it's only a five.

And what an opportunity to let Faldo in again.

GROANING

APPLAUSE

Well, it's a great try and it's a fine final round for Olazabal.

Only a four at the last, but it's a round of 68.

Ten under par. It won't win this year,

but once again, a great championship for the young Spaniard.

So, delicately poised.

Cook leads by one, but Faldo still with the 17th to play.

Pate first, his second to the 17th.

Oh, and bearing in mind he was in the rough,

that's a tremendous shot to reach this par five in two.

APPLAUSE

Cook at 18.

APPLAUSE

And right down the middle. Position A.

The second from Faldo at 17.

Oh, that's right at it. What a magnificent shot.

Inch-perfect for distance.

APPLAUSE

Cook, second to the last.

Ooh, he's missed it on the right and up against the fence.

Well, he'll get a drop from there.

He's made the fatal error of missing the final green.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Two.

-A two?

Well, with the railings in his way, John Cook's entitled to relief

either in the dropping zone or to a place not nearer the hole.

Pate missed his long putt for an eagle,

and has this for a birdie four.

APPLAUSE

But, with his problems at 14 and 15, he's playing for the minor placings.

Cook's third to the last.

And that's not bad considering where it was and under the circumstances.

Still eight or nine feet to go.

APPLAUSE

And while Faldo prowls...

..Cook has this for a four.

No, he slides away, and that's a five, five finish.

And now the Championship is once more within Faldo's grasp.

APPLAUSE

The roars and the cheers and the commiserations at the 18th green.

Faldo has this for an eagle three.

SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Well, not the greatest effort,

but it's below the hole and absolutely stone dead.

CHEERING

And now he's one ahead once again.

25-30 minutes ago,

who would have believed he'd ever have a chance of leading this

championship going to the last hole?

Four to win the Open.

The result may be in doubt,

but at least he can get on with the date and the venue.

Faldo, then, just one hole to play

and the Championship within his grasp.

APPLAUSE

CHEERING

CHEERING

EXCITED MURMURING

CHEERING

APPLAUSE

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The Open of course is all about the honour of winning.

But there are financial rewards as well.

Substantial consolation prizes

for all those who fail to take the title.

The winner of the gold medal and the champion golfer for the year,

with a score of 272, Nick Faldo.

CHEERING

So Nick Faldo now stands alongside Henry Cotton as

the winner of three Open titles.

FALDO: Striving for the best is what we should all be

striving for in whatever walk of life we do.

And, you know, I'm committing myself and my life to that.

-COOK:

-You always miss coming to the British Open.

You know, I've watched it on TV from the minute it

comes on on Thursday morning to the time it goes off.

I always say, you know, I've got to get back there.

And Mark O'Meara has always said,

"You've got to come back, you've got to come back."

..On behalf of the Championship Committee of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club,

to thank the members of the Honourable Company

for hosting this, the 121st Open Championship.

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