When Bob Charles dressed for work Thursday, his choice of clothes was not by chance. The rain gear was dictated by where he was, its color by what he was.
”I wore my silver because it`s 25 years since I won here and my short game felt like it did 25 years ago,” said the New Zealand left-hander, who shot an even-par 71 to tie for seventh after the first round.
Even more remarkably, the 52-year-old Charles, whose 277 in 1963 was the lowest winning total here, needed just 10 putts over the last nine holes and bogeyed just one hole on the inward nine.
Despite his success, and his contention he stands a chance to win here, Charles said this will probably be his last British Open. That`s primarily because of the U.S. Senior Tour, where he`s the leading money winner this season with almost $300,000.
”I`m here because of nostalgia and to give my son a chance to caddie because he`s never been here. But playing here could cost me $250,000,”
Charles said, ”what with all the bonus programs on the Senior Tour.”
Charles said to come here he must miss three senior tournaments and could lose his money-winnings lead. In addition, he could fall behind in special corporate bonus programs that pay at the end of the season.
– If the wind, cold and drizzle weren`t enough, Jack Nicklaus also had to contend with the English food, an almost lethal combination.
”At 6:30 this morning I was lying on the bathroom floor wondering if I could come to the course or not,” said Nicklaus. ”I was sick. But they gave me something to drink and I took two sips every hole and felt fine.”
So Nicklaus wasn`t that disappointed with his 4-over-par 75. ”The way I felt this morning, a 95 was more likely,” he said.
– Northwestern`s Jim Benepe shot 75, battled the wind (”I hit every bit of a 3-iron on 18, crashed it and just made the green at 170 yards.”), the rough and his game.
”I just didn`t play that well,” said Benepe.
– Attendance was a first-day record 35,191. When Charles won 25 years ago, attendance for the four days was 24,585.
