Christy O'Connor Jnr.

The O`Connor finish, although arms will continue on and right shoulder will move around.

Born 1948

The swing of Christy OConnor Jnr.

His uncle was the Irish legend Christy O’Connor Sr.

A legend in Irish golf-ChristyO`Connor senior

Christy Jr turned professional as a teenager in 1967 and made his first big impression by tying for first place with Australia’s Ian Stanley in the Martini International at Royal North Devon in 1975 – the year he made his debut in the Ryder Cup and also won the newly revived Irish Open.

solid contact

He had a successful professional career that spanned three decades with a poor period in the middle, but will always be remembered for one-shot: a majestic two-iron that helped Europe retain the Ryder Cup at the Belfry in 1989.

(Unfortunately, the two-iron was later stolen).

O’Connor’s fearless stroke has gone down as one of the great moments of the modern era of golf and was all the more remarkable because the man who played it had been written off by most sports commentators.

Aged 41, a wild-card pick with the beginnings of a potbelly, O’Connor was making only his second appearance in the Ryder Cup – the other had been 14 years earlier – and on the morning of his eventual triumph, a number of British newspapers had unkindly identified him as a likely loser.

That he rose to the occasion was no great surprise, for O’Connor had proved himself a composed and gutsy campaigner over many years.

While never able to scale the highest peaks of the game, he claimed four European tour titles and 13 other tournaments.