A history lesson

Fergus and Neil have re-written the history of golf.

Fergus Bisset
By
published

Neil and I have just had an amusing discussion on golfing history that escalated into a minor argument. It started off jovially as we considered re-writing the common consensus on the game's origins, based on Quinta do Peru golf club in Portugal. It would go something like -

"In the 1370s the raft of some brave Inca fishermen was blown off course as they trawled for giant turtles. The currents took them around Cape Horn and across the Atlantic Ocean. They landed on the Portuguese coast somewhere near Lisbon where they settled. Without any source of entertainment they began to hit gull eggs into the sea with the oars from their raft. After a time they started to aim at trees, then dug small holes. Within three years they had formed a club and had contracted a firm of Portuguese landscapers to construct a course. They called it Quinta do Peru."

Anyway, we then got on to the fact that Tappers has a very poor knowledge of golfing history - a fact he vehemently denies. I reminded him of a recent text he sent to me asking, "who won the Open in 1989?" I thought he was joking. How could the deputy editor of Golf Monthly not know it was Mark Calcavecchia?

For a bit of a laugh I'm going to set him a simple little Open Championship test and see how he gets on - here we go.

Q1 - Who won the Open Championship of 1975 and where was it contested?

Tappers - "Watson at Muirfield"

Answer - Watson at Carnoustie

Q2 - Who finished second in the 2004 Open?

Tappers - Much swithering going on... "Wait, it was Ernie Els."

Answer - Yes it was Ernie Els but it really shouldn't have taken three and a half minutes to figure it out.

Q3 - In what years did Seve win the Open?

Tappers - "1984, 1978 and 1976"

Answer - 1979, 1984 and 1988

Q4 - Name every Open champion of the 1990s

Tappers - "Faldo, Lehman, Leonard, Lawrie, was going to say Duval but no. How many have I got? Erm, Daly. Can I have Faldo again? Norman, Oh Nicky Price. Two more... Oh god. When did Lyle win? Calcavecchia - no can I take that back?...... Oh Baker Finch. One more.... Ernie Els?

Answer - He missed out Mark O'Meara

Q5 - Who won in 1970?

Tappers - "Nicklaus"

Answer - Nicklaus - I should point out that was a complete guess by Tappers.

Conclusion is that Neil is just shy of completely ignorant when it comes to the history of this great championship. He says he's, "more about the flavour of these events." Whatever that means.

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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