Andy Farrell - The 100 Greatest Ever Golfers

A fascinating book that serves not only as a celebration of the finest exponents of the game since the first Open Championship in 1860 but also provides a bite-sized history of championship golf.

THE SPORTS BOOKSHELF

A book to argue with as well as to learn from. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

BRIAN VINER, THE INDEPENDENT

Enjoyable and informative ... Dip in and you will find characters to delight and surprise. There is a mixture of the astonishing, the unusual, the wacky and the uplifting.

PETER DIXON, THE TIMES

Everyones story is different and inspiring in their own way which is what makes this wonderful compilation of biographies such a treat. I could never tire of hearing the stories of our great champions so whether you are an aspiring golfer or an oldtimer like me who enjoys the history of the game, I have no hesitation in recommending Andy Farrells fascinating book.

ARNOLD PALMER

Hugely informative and entertaining.

THE IRISH INDEPENDENT

Enjoyable musings on the legendary figures of the past and present.

DEREK LAWRENSON, THE DAILY MAIL

Dont be put off by the list aspect this is a cracking book. Not just 100 mini-biographies, but full of good stories and some fantastic quotes. Farrell also makes some excellent and intriguing left-field picks. Full of nuggets such as the fact that Hale Irwin won more money heading the 1997 Champions Tour money list than Tiger Woods did topping that years PGA tour.

DAVE TINDALL, SKYSPORTS.COM

More than just a list, Andy Farrells book asks what qualities are required to become one of the sports greatest ... Its an easy and enjoyable read, but also insightful. The short essays about the golfers are an engaging read, full of stories and quotes that capture the essence of the players.

CURIOUS ABOUT GOLF

An enjoyable read.

LIBRARYJOURNAL.COM

A good, quick reference perfect for bedside reading.

THE STATE

First published 2011 by Elliott and Thompson Limited
27 John Street, London WC1N 2BX
www.eandtbooks.com

epub ISBN: 978-1-907642-36-4
MOBI ISBN: 978-1-907642-82-1

Foreword Padraig Harrington 2011
Text Andy Farrell 2011

This edition revised and updated 2013

The Author has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this Work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Picture credits:

The following photographs are Charles Briscoe-Knight: Severiano Ballesteros; John Daly; Laura Davies; David Duval; Ernie Els; Sir Nick Faldo; Raymond Floyd; Sergio Garcia; Retief Goosen; Padraig Harrington; Juli Inkster; Hale Irwin; Tony Jacklin; Bernhard Langer; Sandy Lyle; Rory McIlroy; Phil Mickelson; Colin Montgomerie; Jack Nicklaus; Greg Norman; Lorena Ochoa; Jos Mara Olazbal; Se Ri Pak; Nick Price; Vijay Singh; Annika Srenstam; Karrie Webb; Lee Westwood; Tiger Woods.

The following photographs are Old Golf Images Archive: Willie Anderson; Tommy Armour; John Ball; Jim Barnes; Patty Berg; Tommy Bolt; Julius Boros; James Braid; Joe Carr; Billy Casper; Glenna Collett Vare; Sir Henry Cotton; Jimmy Demaret; George Duncan; Walter Hagen; Harold Hilton; Ben Hogan; Bobby Jones; Cecil Leitch; Tony Lema; Lawson Little; Bobby Locke; Arnaud Massy; Cary Middlecoff; Old Tom Morris; Young Tom Morris; Kel Nagle; Byron Nelson; Francis Ouimet; Arnold Palmer; Willie Park Snr; Gary Player; Betsy Rawls; Ted Ray; Allan Robertson; Gene Sarazen; Charlie Sifford; Sam Snead; Payne Stewart; Louise Suggs; Freddie Tait; JH Taylor; Peter Thomson; Jerome Travers; Walter Travis; Lee Trevino; Jessie Valentine; Flory Van Donck; Harry Vardon; Roberto de Vicenzo; Norman Von Nida; Tom Watson; Joyce Wethered; Mickey Wright; Babe Zaharias. Please note that while OGI retains the copyright / licence to the vast majority of its comprehensive archive, it makes every effort to trace the original copyright holder on any, and all other images it may retain. However in some rare instances this has not always been possible and we apologise in advance for any omissions that may have inadvertently occurred. In such cases, should the original copyright holder/photographer/photographic agency contact us we will, as always, endeavour to correct any such omission.

The following photographs are Phil Sheldon Picture Library: Isao Aoki; JoAnne Carner; Bob Charles; Ben Crenshaw; Catherine Lacoste; Nancy Lopez; Johnny Miller; Christy OConnor Snr; Curtis Strange; Yani Tseng; Kathy Whitworth; Ian Woosnam.

Sir Michael Bonallack Getty Images Darren Clarke Phil Inglis Moe Norman and Marlene Stewart Streit Royal Canadian Golf Association (Golf Canada).

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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Designed by James Collins

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders for extracts used within this book. Where this has not been possible the publisher will be happy to credit them in future editions.

THE BIG THREE, 19601970

W hat does it take to be one of the greatest golfers of all time? How do you separate the great from the good? Which is better the erratic player with the ability to play unbelievably well, or the solid pro without a fifth gear or the ability to up his game? While results will be the predominant factor in determining who are the greatest golfers ever, it is the intricate parts that go together to create an aura around the player, that elevate them into the greats based on flair, ball striking or contribution to the game those who have brought fans to the sport. It is hard to go along to the practice range and pick out who are the great players based on their ball striking alone, however. Being able to hit the ball well is only part of the equation; being able to compete is even more important. You have to understand the players drive, their will and desire. You need to understand what separates the men from the boys and sometimes determine which players have achieved so much with less talent.

I have always believed in my old coach, Bob Torrances mantra: A good player can play great when the feeling is upon him but a great player can play good when he wants to. As you will read from the selection of the 100 greatest ever golfers, some players are selected based on the fact that they had the ability to play great every so often rather than have it on demand. To get there, the great players have to put in many hours, days, weeks and months on the practice range. Many of them put in a huge amount of work even before they came to the tour, but this is not necessarily the case for all there are no set rules and there are different ways of becoming a great player. You would be very naive to believe that Tigers talents were given to him; he earned every bit of his game on the range and on the golf course and ultimately it had more to do with his drive and his want than any physical gift. Yet someone like Colin Montgomerie practised relatively little but trusted what he had, allowing him to be fresh come Sunday afternoon and go on to win many tournaments.