OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP: Five great Birkdale moments from the past
ARNOLD PALMER - 1961
Arnie at his best, slashing from the wild undergrowth to the right of the then 15th fairway (now the 16th) with a feat of strength that left the watching three-time Open Champion Henry Cotton awe-struck.
A plaque marks the spot from which Palmer set a course to his first Claret Jug.
Arnold Palmer with the Claret Jug in July 1961
Palmer's infamous plaque
MR LU - 1971
No golfer from the Far East has ever won a major championship and none ever went closer than the littleknown Lu Liang-Huan.
Complete with distinctive headgear, the Taiwanese missed out on the Open title by just one shot to American Lee Trevino.
Runner-up Liang Huan Lu hit a spectator on the head during his last round in 1971 but still birdied the final hole
SEVE BALLESTEROS - 1976
Heatwave conditions caused the Lancashire fire brigade to be called on several occasions.
The 19-year-old Spaniard was on fire, too, introducing us to his unique form of the game to finish second behind Johnny Miller.
HALE IRWIN - 1983
Oh dear. Few players were better ball strikers than the lean American but how he paid for his arrogance on this occasion, nonchalantly flicking at a two-inch putt on the 14th, only to miss the ball completely.
How costly that became when he lost out by one to Tom Watson.
JUSTIN ROSE - 1988
Sir Michael Bonallack, then secretary of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, called it the loudest cheer he ever heard on a golf course.
Ten years on, the memory still burns brightly of the pitch-perfect 17-year-old completing his dream Open with that holed 59-yard effort on the final hole. The birdie from the rough gave the amateur a share of fourth.
