. Source: DailyTelegraph
ROYAL Melbourne plays host to the Australian Masters Thursday - we take a look at five great days in the history of the course.
Kel Nagle and Peter Thomson. Source: Supplied
1. Top of the World
Australia first won the Canada Cup (now known as the World
Cup) in 1954, when Peter Thomson and Kel Nagle prevailed
in Montreal. Five years later, at Royal Melbourne, the same
dynamic duo put on an even better show, leading by seven at
the close of the first day and eventually winning by 10 shots from
the crack American team of SamSnead and Cary Middlecoff.
"Nowhere in the world have I seen such enthusiastic galleries or
Tearful Kevin Rudd retires from politics
FORMER Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has used his first speech in the 44th parliament to announce he is walking away.
Tributes flow for resigning Rudd
TONY Abbott leads tributes to resigning MP Kevin Rudd, with colleagues saying we "will not see his like again" in parliament.
found such an appreciation of golf," said France Pace, president
of the International Golf Association.
. Source: HeraldSun
2. All the President's Men
That '59 Canada Cup captured the imagination of the Australian
sporting public, with huge galleries flocking to Royal Melbourne
to see Thomson and Nagle dominate their opponents, but it
is fair to say that nothing in Australian golf has captured the
imagination quite like the President's Cup at the same venue 39
years later. The victorious Internationals team was captained
by Thomson and featured the star homegrown quartet of
Norman, Elkington, Appleby and Parry. The foursomes win of
Craig Parry and Japan's Shigeki Maruyama over Tiger Woods
and Fred Couples was a highlight, the match ending with
the Internationals pair clasped in a bear hug after the Aussie
chipped in for victory at the 18th hole.
Norman von Nida. Source: News Limited
3. The Von
Perhaps the best performance in an Australian Open at Royal
Melbourne came in 1953, when Norman von Nida broke the
course record and equalled the Open record with a closing 65, a
round that included seven birdies and an eagle. With 18 holes to
go, von Nida trailed Peter Thomson by four and his putter lay in
pieces in the locker room, after he snapped it following a series
of slip-ups in Round 3, but 'the Von' recovered in phenomenal
style, sinking a number of putts from outside four metres. "It
was as good as I've ever hit the ball," he commented afterwards.
"And it was especially pleasing to achieve it all at Royal
Melbourne.'
Ernie Els in action during the 2004 Heineken Golf Classic. Source: News Limited
4. A Hell of a Round
One of the finest rounds of tournament golf played in Australia
- maybe the best by an overseas golfer in Australia - occurred
at the 2004 Heineken Classic at Royal Melbourne, when Ernie
Els shot 60 on the opening day, breaking the old course record
by two shots. Incredibly, the great South African's score could
have been even lower if he hadn't, in his own words, 'kind of
choked' and made bogey at 15 and pars at 17 and 18. He was
asked if the course had become too easy for modern pros, but
countered by saying he'd produced "a hell of a round." "This is a
classic course," Els continued. "They don't have to do anything."
Billy Dunk at Royal Melbourne in 1975. Source: News Limited
5. Slam dunk
Aussie golf has seen few more dramatic pressure putts than Billy
Dunk's effort at the 72nd hole of the Chrysler Classic at Royal
Melbourne in 1975. Dunk was one of our most popular players
through the 1970s, but his game had a reputation for collapsing
under pressure. Here, his approach to the final green landed in a
bunker, from where he was able to get his ball within four metres
of the hole. Then, in as tense a moment as the sport in Australia
had witnessed in years, he drilled the putt to beat David Graham
by a shot.
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