Dreams of a golf Grand Slam this year died when 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus tied for eighth in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, but Raymond Floyd`s dream of a personal Grand Slam came one step closer to reality Sunday. With a final round of 4-under-par 66 to finish with a 1-under-par 279, Floyd added the Open title to PGA Championships in 1969 and 1982 and the Masters in 1976. The British Open, to be played July 17-20 at Turnberry, is the only major tournament Floyd hasn`t won.
Floyd became the oldest Open champion in history. At 43 years 9 months 11 days, he`s just a little older than Ted Ray, who won in 1920 at 43 years 4 months 16 days.
Floyd`s best finish in 21 previous Opens was sixth in 1965.
”It`s just a phenomenal feeling for me to be able to achieve one of my greatest desires since I was a little guy playing golf,” Floyd said.
”This feels like a British Open win as well. The character is the same, the same conditions, the same feeling is here. Turnberry is a great golf course. I`m looking forward to it, especially now after this win, and hope I can perform admirably.”
Floyd, who won his first of 20 PGA Tour events when he was 20 and has earned more than $3 million, broke open one of the tightest U.S. Opens in history with three birdies in the final nine holes. Midway in the day, nine players had a share of the lead. There were 10 players who could say they led or shared the lead of the 86th U.S. Open.
Floyd began the day three shots behind Greg Norman, who faltered with a 75 Sunday, and finished two shots ahead of Chip Beck and Lanny Wadkins, who tied the course record of 65.
”He`s been in contention so long he knows what to do and how to tune everything out,” said Payne Stewart, one of the one-time leaders. ”He`s not 21, but you all want a star. Raymond Floyd is still a star.”
”I`ve always prided myself that I handled final-round pressure well,”
Floyd said. ”I know how to play golf, and I know about emotions, and that separates a lot of people. I was realistic today. I knew I had to do it here, that this may be my last chance.”
Norman disagreed, saying: ”Everyone says your prime for golf is between 30 and 40. I think it`s 35 to 45. Look at Raymond. He played great golf today.”
A week ago at the Westchester Classic, Floyd was tied for the lead going into the final round. He shot a 77 to finish 12th behind many tour newcomers who were in grade school when Floyd was winning pro tournaments. The winner was 27-year-old Bob Tway.
”I was tied for the lead going to the last round, with more wins by myself than everybody else combined in the top 10 or 12 players of that tournament,” Floyd said. ”I played like the rookies, and the rookies played well. It was not a pleasant experience. This is tremendously significant after what happened to me last week.
”Today, I felt I was in control. I never got a fast swing, and for me, that`s phenomenal. I was in synch. My rhythm was in a groove. I felt together. I knew I was playing well, and I stuck to my game plan. That was a learning experience from last week.”
Floyd hit his driver on just five holes, a three wood on six holes and irons three times to guard against the thick rough on the par 4s and 5s at Shinnecock. As the lead changed hands like a bad penny, Floyd played steady golf. While Norman, Lee Trevino, Tway, Stewart, Mark McCumber, Ben Crenshaw and Hal Sutton played catch with the lead, Floyd was moving steadily to the front.
He joined the leaders with a birdie on the par-3 11th hole, then lost the lead when Stewart birdied the 11th. Floyd made a key par putt of 20 feet on No. 12, then joined Stewart and Sutton at the top with a birdie on 13. He took the lead for good with a par on 14, while Stewart three-putted for bogey on 14 and Sutton bogeyed 12.
Showing the kind of front-runner he can be, Floyd added a birdie on the par-5 16th as Beck and Wadkins, who finished early, watched their chances slip away.
”In my mind, I don`t believe that I won from the front,” Floyd said.
”I think the thing that I will appreciate most from this tournament is that I came from behind to win. I fell in a group of fellows who were very good players, a tremendous group of guys within five or six shots of the lead. To come through and shoot the kind of round that I shot on a golf course of the character this one has, I can`t be more proud of myself.”
Floyd, Wadkins and Beck weren`t the only players to perform on the final round. Trevino began the day a shot behind and had a 71 to tie Sutton, who also had a 71, for fourth. Stewart shot an even-par 70 and tied for sixth with Crenshaw, who had a 69.
Masters champion Nicklaus, who shot 77 in the opening round, shot a 68 and was tied with McCumber, Tway and Bernhard Langer.
Thursday`s opening round was almost as important to Floyd as Sunday`s closer. In wind, rain and chilly temperatures, Floyd kept his head and managed a 75. The Westchester experience came through again.
”We took a bad situation, turned it around and made it positive,” he said. ”I thought I could take that and make it a good learning experience. Fortunately, I did.
”Thursday in the inclement weather, that was as trying as shooting the blowout round at Westchester. It was survival. The thing was to continue, keep trying, do the best you can–don`t deviate from the game plan.
”I won this tournament on Thursday. I played terrible, I had no feel. I just survived. I shot 75 and had 25 putts. That was part of the learning process of the Sunday before.”
