Born April 22, 1960
It was 40 years ago this year that a youth of 22 from California set the golfing world on fire.
It was in 1982 on the Troon golf course, that a tanned, blonde, curly-haired young man who looked like a perfect specimen for surfing on the beaches of his home State California was to leave a mark that would make him famous for the rest of his life. Wearing knickerbockers on the cold, wet, and windy west coast of Scotland Clampett led the British Open with a five-under-par first round of 67.
With the Open being accustomed to a first-day surprise start from a lesser-known competitor, it received little attention from the press and public.
In addition to that, one of the greatest icons in the history of the sport had achieved something special by playing a 71 under such grueling conditions.
Click the link for more Arnie
At the age of 53, Arnold Palmer found himself at the top part of the leaderboard once again.
But it was on the second day when the 22-year-old young star pushed on from the second round of the 111th Open golf championship with a two-stroke lead and extended his hold by five strokes that would make fame inevitable.
Having experienced the joys of a good old Scottish summer's day of rain and the chilly wind whistling around his body on the first round, Bobby sensibly swapped the plus-fours for long pants.
On arriving on the 18th green smiling and reveling in the moment Bobby had the enthusiasm of both the local crowd and the onlooking world.
He shot 66, six under par for the Royal Troon Golf Club. His total was now133, just one stroke more than the 36-hole record set by Henry Cotton in the 1934 Open at Royal St. George's in England. At 11 under par, Bobby was five shots ahead of nearest rival Nick Price of South Africa, who was on 138.
Disaster strikes on the third day
To lead the Open for three successive rounds is the stuff of dreams. Yet for the young American, it would be one of the greatest disappointments in his career.
The profound reply from Nick Price to a press question the evening before " I'm glad I'm not leading because I couldn't handle it. But today I realized, if I keep my head, I'll have a chance,'' said it all.
Winning from a position of leading is a gift that only a very few of the very best can handle, and a highly intelligent Nick Price was very aware of it.
The press would say the following morning:
"Bobby Clampett nearly gave away the British Open today, but luckily for him, no one took it. That could happen Sunday in the final round because half a dozen players were within four strokes of him. After five holes, the 22-year-old Clampett had a seven-stroke lead in what appeared to be a runaway. But by the end of the day, he was leading by only one, and the tournament was competitive again. The leader in the first two rounds, Clampett lost six strokes to par, three on the par-5 sixth hole. He finished with a 78 in the third round for a total of 211, five under for 54 holes."
It is at this point we can ask what went wrong. As always there can be only one answer, It was mental.
Yet for Bobby Clampett in 1982, there would inevitably be some other questions concerning his mechanics.
Bobby Clampett and Johnny Miller compare each other's rhythm
The following swing was filmed on the driving range while Bobby practiced(my apologies for the quality and I promise to enhance it in the future). Such a wonderful accident rarely occurs.
As the tournament unfolded another star was gaining notoriety at the same time as Bobby:
"The Golfing Machine," written by Homer Kelly and published in 1969
The book had an impressive following that continues to this day. It is not every teaching professional's "cup of tea."
Many will claim it is too complicated, others say it is the most simple system or method in the world.
Whether its ideas were the cause of Bobby falling apart is impossible to say. The fact that he had arrived at the point of leading the Open after three rounds tells us the method worked for him.
Attempting to explain the method behind the book could best be described as a list of options and priorities. The language used is scientific, and the basis is formed around creating lag. Author Kelly was looking to make the students of his concept able to explain their game on a mathematical basis. Independence and logic are the masters over feel and vaguery.
An admirable goal.
Bill, Lee Trevino was of the opinion that to be competitive on a daily basis, one needed several versions of his/her swing. Obviously we know as teachers, that he is not referring to wholesale changes. He is more likely referring to feelings. He said that on the range when swing version #1 was producing poor results, he would go to swing version #2 and so on until he had confidence in his control. Lee was convinced that Bobby only had the one version, which was learned and worked well on a given day, but he found out under the enormous pressure of the Open Championship that he didn’t have a back up version. Lee’s point is an interesting one given…
I watched him closely in our local PGA event in '82. You may have hit upon something with your "rhythm" comment. He was a master ball-striker at that time (hard to believe he only won a single PGA tour event in his career). His rhythm was different in the respect that it seemed "manufactured". In fact, his whole short game technique had the appearance of being too mechanical to me. No doubt he was talented. I believe he had a top 10 finish in the US Open at Pebble Beach in '82.