Ian Baker-Finch - "My First Open" SHORT TRACK

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Straight down the middle. It went straight down the middle.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Then it started to hook that 84 was my first and I could go on at the old course at St. Andrews. Yeah, so that was that was a a uh just a great memory and really the start of my belief in myself that I could play the game and it was okay to win in Australia and win a few state opens.

Mike Gonzalez 0:37

Um T9 and your first, that's pretty good.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Yeah, I I I led for three days. Um unbelievable. Tomo came down on the Saturday morning as I was teeing off and he said you can't win it on a Saturday, but you can lose it. And I shot 71 and retained the lead and um played poorly the next day and and finished ninth. So uh just was too nervous early, I guess. Didn't feel nervous, but I guess I was. But it was that was really what started me thinking that I could play the game internationally.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

Leave the open for three days, man. That's uh that's quite a feat.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Yeah, first first time playing there. Uh Bruce, I had a wonderful uh pre-tournament four days. I had Tomo, Kel Nagel, and Graham Marsh and myself played four days in a row practice round Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. And Tomo arranged for Tip Anderson, who was Arnold Palmer's famous caddy. Arnold wasn't arriving till Tuesday. So I had Tip Anderson on Sunday and Monday show me around. So I had Swampy, who won 60 times and won over here as well, as you know so well. And uh Kel Nagel, the winner of the 1960 Open at St. Andrews, and Tomo a five-time winner of the open showing me around St. Andrews.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

If they didn't know they were around, nobody did.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Yeah, it was pretty incredible. Really, really uh one of my fondest memories. I've still got some some photos of Tomo showing me around from that period.

Mike Gonzalez 2:21

Had to put you in a great frame of mind, uh just spending that time with those guys, getting to know that golf course, your first open championship. Uh I can't imagine that would have done nothing but just great things for your for your confidence and comfort uh in your first one.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Yeah, it was different then too. You uh the kids come out of college now, they're ready to go. They're they don't need guidance from us old guys. When we played, we we wanted guidance because that's how we learned. You know, we found our secret in the dirt and we hit thousands of balls and we traveled the world trying to scrap a few dollars together to keep us going to the next week. And uh to have those great players show enough interest in me to to guide me around was very, very special. And uh yes, it gave me confidence, but the confidence that I could go play and play my best, never I never once thought that I could win it, or I'd be uh or I'd be even or I'd be leading or shooting a great score. I mean that week we stayed Mike Clayton, Wayne Grady, myself, my my girlfriend at the time, Jenny, who's now my wife, uh our manager Steve, and Steve Williams, who used to caddy for uh Tiger Woods for all those years. Um staying in the one house, one bathroom, six of us with my girlfriend in the one house. I mean, that's how we did it. We had one car, we'd we'd eat bar meals at night at the local pub. That's just how we travel.

Mike Gonzalez 3:50

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SPEAKER_02 4:06

For the good of the game, everybody, you're okay, but I'm gonna go.