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Bob Charles won't be
emotional at last Open
Bob Charles is trying not to get too
emotional about what is set to be his last British Open at the course where he
won in 1963.
The New Zealander, who remains the
only left-hander to win a major, is now 65 and reaches the end of his exemption
from qualifying this year.
"I try not to get too sentimental about
these things," he said on Wednesday. "Otherwise I start crying and it's terrible
to see a grown man cry isn't it."
Charles's first Open was at Lytham
in 1958 when Peter Thomson won and this will be his eighth Open appearance on
the course where he also won the British Senior Open.
"I have many fond memories of Lytham
and I think it's nice to end my Open career where I started," he said.
Charles' seven-under par 277 in 1963
is the third-lowest winning total on the course (behind Tom Lehman's 271 in 1996
and Seve Ballesteros's 273 in 1988) but he said comparisons with the modern game
are unfair since the introduction of the bigger ball, first used in the Open at
Lytham in 1974.
"In those days we were using the small
ball which was a lot easier," said Charles, regarded as one of the best putters
of all time.
"It went through the wind a lot better
and I preferred it.
"It's easier to get a small ball in
a big hole than a big ball in a small hole. That's the way I'm looking at it right
now. The ball's too big and the hole's too small."
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