As the cream of European golf descends on Torrey Pines’ formidable South Course this week they will be chasing a milestone. Any European victory will put to rest a 38 year hoodoo that has seen every European attempt to taste victory in the US Open end in failure.
Since Tony Jacklin clinched the 1970 US Open at Hazeltine many have tried, some have come close, but none have triumphed. Nick Faldo managed four top ten finishes but could get no closer than a play off defeat in 1988. Sandy Lyle in his pomp could manage no better than a tie for 16th. Ian Woosnam finished second in 1989, Seve finished third, fourth and fifth and Bernhard Langer got no closer than fourth.
More recently Miguel Angel Jiminez finished second in 2000 but he was 15 shots behind Tiger Woods.
And, of course, Monty has come so very close so often. In 1992 Jack Nicklaus had all but awarded Montgomerie the title before Tom Kite and Jeff Sluman relegated him to third. In 1994, 1997 and 2006. In 1997 he played, perhaps, the finest golf of his career but a missed putt on the final green handed Ernie Els victory.
And so the search goes on. But in 1970 European golf seemed to be full of optimism. After capturing the Open in 1969, and inspiring Great Britain and Ireland to a Ryder Cup draw the same year, Jacklin destroyed the field.
Leading from the start he eventually romped to a seven shot victory over American Dave Hill. Only Tiger Woods freakish display of genius in 2000 has ever secured a larger winning margin. Jacklin’s Open victory was the first by a Brit in 18 years – his US Open title was the first by a European since Tommy Armour in 1927.
Jacklin had the world at his feet. He had earned the respect of the dominant beast in golf’s jungle – giving rise to a friendship that has proved so enduring that Jack Nicklaus chose to honour him at the recent Memorial Tournament.
If Jacklin wasn’t sparking a revival he was at least taking the fight across the pond. He was the standard bearer for a new era. Two years later it all came tumbling down. In the 1972 Open at Muirfield Jacklin lost out to Lee Trevino. The American, improbably, wonderfully, luckily, chipped in five times during the final round.
Years later Jacklin was to write: “My psyche was too fragile. In fact, what Trevino did not only ruined me for that day, it ruined me forever.â€
It took another decade for the Big Five of European golf to reignite the torch that had slipped from Jacklin’s grasp on the East Lothian links.
Their dominance allowed for some redemption for Jacklin. As the conjurer who pulled their talents together he became Europe’s most successful and enduring Ryder Cup captain.
And, to this day, he stands alone as the last European to capture America’s Open.
