English
American golfer Doug Sanders, a four-time major runner-up has died at the age of 86.
He was known as the ‘Peacock of The Fairways’ for his colourful personality and was once dubbed as one of America’s “Ten Best Dressed Jocks” by the Esquire magazine.
He won 20 PGA Tour titles including the 1956 Canadian Open and of his four runner-up finishes at the majors, the most talked about came at the 1970 British Open.
Needing a three-foot putt to beat Jack Nicklaus, he pushed the ball wide of the hole which led to an 18-hole playoff the next day. Nicklaus made the putt on the final hole to capture the title.
“I missed a 30-inch putt on the last green that would have won the 1970 British Open. It’s all anybody wants to talk about,” Sanders said once. “I won 20 times on the PGA Tour, and if you gave me one birdie, four pars and a bogey wherever I could put them, I’d have five majors. But it’s that putt (at St. Andrews) that everybody remembers. What can I say? It’s what I remember most, too.”
The 1959 PGA Championship, the 1961 US Open, and the 1966 Open Championships are the other four major tournaments where he finished the second-best.
Sanders final win came at the 1972 Kemper Open and he was also part of the 1967 Ryder Cup led by Ben Hogan.
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