Tony Jacklin

 ( English Male Golfers ) 

The 1969 Open Championship was held at Royal Lytham in July. He had rounds of 68-70-70-72 for a total of 280, 5-under-par. Bob Charles was two strokes behind with Roberto De Vicenzo and Peter Thomson a further stroke back. All the four players scored 72 on the final day. Jacklin was the first British winner of The Open since 1951.

Jacklin was involved in one of the most memorable moments in Ryder Cup history at Royal Birkdale in the 1969 Ryder Cup, which ended in a tie. Six places in the team were allocated to the leaders of a points list after the 1969 Open Championship. Jacklin was one of the other six that were chosen by committee the following week. Jacklin played in all four pair sessions on the opening two days, winning three matches and halving the other, He played Jack Nicklaus in two singles matches on the final day, winning the morning match 4&3. In the afternoon match Jacklin made an eagle putt on the 17th to level the match. At the final hole, Nicklaus conceded Jacklin's two-foot putt, halving the match, and ending the Ryder Cup with a tied score. "The Concession" ended with the two golfers walking off the course with arms around each other's shoulders. Jacklin and Nicklaus later co-designed a golf course in Florida called "The Concession" to commemorate the moment.

In February 1973 Jacklin played on the Caribbean Tour, a short series of four tournaments. He was runner-up to Peter Oosterhuis in the Ford Maracaibo Open, and in the last event he won the Los Lagartos Open with a score of 261, 13 strokes ahead of the field. It was the third lowest score ever by a professional at a four-round tournament outside of the United States.

Jacklin played in most of the events on the 1973 European Tour. He won two events, the Italian Open and the Dunlop Masters. He was also runner-up in the French Open, the Scandinavian Enterprise Open and the John Player Classic. Jacklin won £7,000 for his Italian Open win and £7,500 for being runner-up in the John Player Classic and led the prize money list for the season. However he only finished 7th in the points list for the Order of Merit. Selection for the Great Britain and Ireland team in the 1973 Ryder Cup at Muirfield was based on a points list with points earned over a 12 months period up to August 1973. The leading 8 in the points list were guaranteed places and Jacklin, having played most of the events in this period finished in 3rd place. Jacklin was paired with Peter Oosterhuis in all four pairs matches, winning two and halving another. In the singles he beat Tommy Aaron but lost to Billy Casper.

In February 1974 Jacklin again played on the Caribbean Tour and in the last event he successfully defended the Los Lagartos Open. He played most of the season on the 1974 European Tour. He won the Scandinavian Enterprise Open, was runner-up in the Swiss Open and was tied third in the W.D. & H.O. Wills Open Tournament. Despite having a somewhat worse season than in 1973, he again finished 7th in the Order of Merit.

Jacklin returned to the PGA Tour in 1975 but had limited success. He won $10,824 in 1975 to be 123rd in the money list. 1976 and 1977 showed some improvement with winnings of $18,071 and $29,725, to be 111th and 83rd in the list. His best finish in this period was runner-up in the 1977 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, a stroke behind Tom Watson, earning him $22,800. He played a few events at the start of 1978, including a tied for 8th place in the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, but withdrew from the Doral-Eastern Open in March with a wrist injury and didn't return to the tour. Jacklin continued to play some events on the European Tour. He had one win in this period, the 1976 Kerrygold International Classic where he finished a stroke ahead of Eddie Polland.

Selection for the Great Britain and Ireland team in the 1975 Ryder Cup in America was based on performances in 1975 European Tour events. Jacklin was not in the leading 8 who were guaranteed places but he was selected as one of the four remaining places. Jacklin was paired with Peter Oosterhuis in three pairs matches and with Brian Huggett in the other, winning two and halving another of his four matches. However, he lost both of his singles matches on the final day. The same system was used in 1977 at Royal Lytham, and Jacklin was again chosen for one of the four places. Jacklin halved his foursomes match, lost in the fourball and was not selected for the singles.

Jacklin didn't play on the PGA Tour from 1979 to 1984, playing mostly on the European Tour. He won the 1979 Braun German Open, the 1981 Billy Butlin Jersey Open and the 1982 Sun Alliance PGA Championship after a playoff against Bernhard Langer. In 1980 he was in a playoff for the Merseyside International Open but lost to Ian Mosey. In 1979 Jacklin was 9th in the Order of Merit but dropped to 42nd in 1980. He was 13th in 1981, 20th in 1982, 63rd in 1983 before dropping out of the top 100 in 1984. Jacklin won the Venezuela Open in late 1979.

Jacklin made his final Ryder Cup appearance in 1979, the first time European players were included. He finished 8th in the points list with the leading 10 gaining places automatically. Jacklin played three matches with Sandy Lyle, winning one and halving another, but lost narrowly in his singles match against Tom Kite. In 1981 Jacklin finished 12th in the points list. The selectors chose Mark James, who had finished 11th in the list, and Peter Oosterhuis, who had recently won the Canadian Open.