Executive Golf Magazine

As the world’s annual match play spectacular moves on after 44 years, our Playing Editor recalls his greatest moment in a tournament that established his reputation as arguably the game’s grittiest ever competitor.

I suppose it is fair to say that all good things will, eventually, come to an end. And it is certainly going to be very strange to head into the Autumn with no World Match Play
tournament at the Wentworth Club in Surrey.

But, there is good news, in that the event will start again in 2009 at the Finca Cortesín Golf Club near Málaga in Spain with Volvo as the title sponsor. I obviously have very fond memories of the World Match Play which was started by my great friend and manager Mark McCormack in 1964.

With so little match play being played around the world of professional golf, McCormack had great foresight in starting what would become the world’s foremost match play event. What’s more, it was a stroke of genius to play it in England, giving the knowledgeable and supportive British crowds the opportunity to see some of the world’s best players battling it out over what is a magnificent golf course in the West Course at Wentworth.

Having won the event five times, I have had many memorable matches, but it is not any of the finals that I won that I can say was the highlight for me. It was probably the semi-final that I played against Tony Lema in 1965, the first year that I won, that was my best.

I remember I was seven down to Lema after 19 holes and I overheard one of the spectators, who I later found out was a dentist from Australia, saying: “Let’s go and watch somebody else, this match is over!”

So I replied: “Sir, this match is not over yet.” He wrote to me some 15 years later, reminding me of what I had said and telling me that he would never forget that moment. Of course, I managed to fight back and eventually won the match on the first extra hole. That, to me, was what match play was all about. I never felt that a match was over until I shook hands with my opponent and the result was announced.
I suppose my bull-terrier attitude on the golf course was perfectly suited to match play.

At my prime I was never as big as the other great players of the day. certainly couldn’t hit the ball as far, but I never gave up. I was also able to be aggressive with my shots but, all the time, remaining patient. That is one of the secrets of match play. In match play, it is you against your opponent, so things like body language are vitally important; you always need to let your opponent know that you are trying. Whether you are up or down, you have to stay cool and you have to be immune to any sort of gamesmanship that might come your way.

“I was seven down and overheard one of the spectators say: ‘Let’s go and watch somebody else, this match is over!’ So I replied: ‘Sir, this match is not over yet.’ He wrote to me some 15 years later reminding me of what I had said and telling me that he would never forget that moment”

Wentworth is a wonderful club and I am sorry to see such a great tournament leave to go to a new venue. Apart from my days of playing there in the World Match Play and British PGA, we have also held the Gary Player Invitational at the club on many occasions. The Gary Player Invitational, which has been fantastically supported by so many wonderful people, has raised significant funds over the years for my foundation which looks after educational and other needs of needy children around the world. It’s something I am very proud of.

We have traditionally played on the Edinburgh Course which, in the late 1980s, I was privileged to co-design with John Jacobs and Bernard Gallacher. The course opened in 1990 and it has matured over the years into a wonderful course, an excellent venue for championship golf, but also very playable for average golfers, something I strive to ensure in every course I design.

The piece of land we had on which to build the course was magnificent woodlands, which meant that we have a course similar in feel to the famous West Course and its lesser-known sibling the East Course. The mature trees are magnificent and the open landing areas for average golfers mean that they can play their drivers often around the course. The large greens offer plenty of options for pin positions, including opportunities to “tuck” the pins away when the course needs to be toughened up for tournament play.

I must congratulate both the European Tour and IMG on their determination to see the World Match Play continue and, in the new qualification criteria, they will ensure that the event always has an international field of the highest quality. I know that the late Mark McCormack would be very pleased that the tournament that he started as a celebration of match play golf will continue for years to come, albeit in a slightly different guise. Match play really is one of the great forms of golf and I am pleased that we can look forward to some titanic battles for years to come.

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