Bobby Locke

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Bobby Locke, born in Australia in 1938

Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke (born November 20, 1917 in Germiston , South Africa ; † March 9, 1987 in Johannesburg ) was the first internationally successful golfer in South Africa. With his four victories at the British Open between 1949 and 1957, he broke the decades-long domination of the US and British professionals.

Career

Bobby Locke (right) teeing off during a golf tournament in Rome , World War II

In 1936, at age 18, Locke took part in the Open British part. He was best amateur in eighth place. Two years later he turned pro and played on the South African tour, later known as the Sunshine Tour . His golf career was interrupted during the Second World War by his service in the South African Air Force.

In 1946 he took up golf again and played a series of competitions against Sam Snead , a top American golfer of the time. Locke won 12 of 14 matches. Impressed by his game, Snead invited Locke to the United States and advised him to try the PGA Tour . In two and a half years he won eleven tournaments. In 1947 he was second on the money list after Jimmy Demaret .

In 1949 Locke was banned from the PGA tour. He was accused of not keeping promised starts at tournaments. After his first victory at the British Open , he had preferred to play well-paid exhibition fights in Great Britain. Although the ban was lifted in 1951, he played hardly any tournaments in the USA except The Masters and the US Open .

In 1977 Bobby Locke was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame . He was the first member to come from neither the United States nor Great Britain.

Unorthodox technique, eccentric personality

Locke himself considered putting to be extremely important to successful golf. You drive for show but putt for dough. This saying, which is still common among golfers today, is attributed to him; The long teeing off is for the show effect, but putting brings the money (colloquially dough ). Locke is widely considered to be one of the best putters of all time. Quite a few - like Locke's compatriot Gary Player - even consider him the best. His unusual technology did nothing to change that.

Other aspects of his game were not very common either. Teammates as well as officials found his game pace unbearably slow. He never lost his stoic calm. That is why he was given the unflattering nickname Muffin Face among his American colleagues .

PGA Tour Wins (15)

Major tournament wins are in bold .

Results at major tournaments

Tournament 1936 1937 1938 1939
The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP
US Open DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship T8 LA T17 LA T10 T9
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
The Masters DNP DNP DNP NT NT NT DNP T14 T10 T13
US Open DNP DNP NT NT NT NT DNP T3 4th T4
The Open Championship NT NT NT NT NT NT T2 DNP DNP 1
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP NT DNP DNP DNP T33 DNP DNP
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
The Masters DNP DNP T21 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
US Open DNP 3 WD T14 5 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship 1 T6 1 8th T2 4th DNP 1 T16 T29
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
US Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP CUT CUT CUT CUT DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978
The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
US Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT T49 CUT DNP CUT CUT CUT WD CUT
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP

LA = best amateur
DNP = not started
WD = withdrawn
CUT = failed at cut
"T" = shared rank

Individual evidence

  1. a b Bobby Locke: The Quirky Golfer Who Won 4 Opens. In: liveabout.com , accessed August 30, 2020.
  2. Bobby Locke on the World Golf Hall of Fame website .