NORTHERN IRELAND: GOLF - FORMER OPEN GOLF CHAMPION MAX FAULKNER DIES AGED EIGHTY EIGHT.

Record ID: 532115

  • Title: NORTHERN IRELAND: GOLF - FORMER OPEN GOLF CHAMPION MAX FAULKNER DIES AGED EIGHTY EIGHT.
  • Date: 12th July 1951
  • Summary: ROYAL PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND, UK (JULY 12, 1951) (REUTERS) 1. MAX FAULKNER WALKING DOWN 18TH FAIRWAY 2. CROWD 3. FAULKNER HOLES PUTT TO WIN THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 4. CROWD 5. FAULKNER PRESENTED WITH CUP ALONGSIDE RUNNER-UP ANTONIO CERDA Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 27th July 1951 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ROYAL PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND, UK
  • City:
  • Country: United Kingdom Northern Ireland
  • Reuters ID: LVA5M5RZA73G90H8SNHZTYBFYFWM
  • Story Text: Former Open Golf champion Max Faulkner dies at the
    age of 88.



    Britain's Max Faulkner, winner of the 1951 British
    Open, has died aged 88, the European Tour said on Monday
    (February 28).

    Faulkner, known for his colourful and eccentric
    approach to the game, beat Argentina's Antonio Cerda by two
    shots at Royal Portrush to clinch the only British Open
    played in Northern Ireland.

    He never won another major, something of a surprise for
    a player widely renowned for his natural talent.

    "It was all I ever wanted," Englishman Faulkner said,
    recalling a closing two-over-par 74 at Portrush which left
    him at three-under 285. "The Open meant everything to me.

    "When I was handed the trophy, I looked at the names on
    it -- Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead,
    Henry Cotton -- and thought: 'Wow!'.

    "In fact, it meant so much that one victory in '51
    sapped my will.

    "I remember I had a putt at the second hole of the
    first round at Lytham the following year, from about four
    feet, which I managed to miss and my immediate thought was:
    'That's it, I'll never win the Open again'."
    He never did, and his Open triumph was not matched by a
    British player until Tony Jacklin won at Royal Lytham in 1969.

    Born in England on July 29, 1916, Faulkner represented
    Britain against the United States at five Ryder Cups,
    including the famous 1957 victory by 7-1/2 points to 4-1/2
    at Lindrick, Sheffield.

    In a search for putting perfection, he assembled a vast
    collection of putters said to number more than 300.

    He constantly experimented with subtle variations of
    other clubs and very rarely was he believed to have carried
    a full conventional set of 14.

    A dapper figure out on the course, Faulkner had great
    feel for the shape and flight of shots and was one of very
    few players in the late 1940s and early 1950s able to bend
    lofted approaches into the green at will.

    He was honoured with an Officer of the Order of the
    British Empire (OBE) in 2001 for services to the game.



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