The Fateful 17th

The 17th hole on St. Andrews' hallowed, fishhook-shaped Old Course is one of the world's great golfing tests, a 463-yd., par five, whose hazards include a deeply trapped green, a stone wall, a road, and a cluster of barns that mask the green from the tee. Arnold Palmer of Latrobe, Pa., whose flaming finishes won this year's Masters and U.S. Open tournaments, is the world's best golfer, one who could be expected to handle even the "Road Hole." Last week in the British Open, Palmer and the Road Hole fought a tense four-day duel. Palmer mastered the famed 17th--but not until after it had cost him his chance for golfing's grand slam in 1960.

On opening day Palmer arrived at the 17th needing only one birdie for a four-under-par 69. which would have put him in second place, two strokes behind Mexico's Roberto de Vicenzo. Charging for his birdie, Palmer overstroked his first putt; it ran 7 ft. past the cup. Normally a coldly precise putter. Palmer lost his poise, missed his return, and ended the round with a 70. Next day Palmer again three-putted the 17th. and his score of 71 dropped him seven strokes behind De Vicenzo, five behind Australia's balding Kelvin Nagle. Tense and disgusted, Palmer stalked off the course, packed his family in a car, drove deep into the Scottish countryside.

Bugaboo. He returned for the next day's scheduled 36-hole round determined to put on another of his dramatic finishes. During his first nine, jet planes screamed overhead. From the 8th through the 12th, Palmer slogged his way through a heavy cloudburst, which later forced postponement of the last 18. At the 15th, as he was addressing the ball, a train puffed and tooted past; on the 16th fairway, Palmer was attacked by an angry bee. Despite the distractions, Palmer played almost flawless golf. He birdied the 2nd, 5th, 13th and 14th, and ran up an unbroken string of 16 threes and fours. Then came the Road Hole. A booming drive left Palmer with an easy iron approach to the pin. Turning to his caddy, Palmer asked: "What should I use now?" The caddy suggested a five iron. The shot fell short, and Palmer found his ball nestled in a grassy dip on the front edge of the green. Muttering to himself, Palmer three-putted, fumed to a bogey on the 18th, wound up with a 70. "That 17th," he said angrily. "It's a bugaboo."

Doggone. Still four strokes behind Australia's Nagle at the end of the final day's first nine holes, Arnold Palmer summoned his strength for a last-ditch effort. He birdied the 13th, gained a stroke. As Nagle faltered, Palmer came to the Road Hole--and overshot the green with his second stroke. But he pitched back to within 4 ft. of the pin, calmly canned his putt for--at long last--a birdie.

Arnold Palmer had conquered the fateful Road Hole, but it was too late. Steady Kel Nagle held on to win the 1960 British Open by a single stroke. Said Palmer later: "I blew it on that doggoned 17th."

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