Sir Bob Charles (73) beats his age

at Montrose - and wins the money

Former Open champion Sir Bob Charles beat his age of 73 - not for the first time - with a par-matching round of 71 over the Montrose Medal links today.
Sir Bob and Montrose professional Jason Boyd beat Alan Crowe, chairman of the Montrose Links Trust and a 15-handicap golfer, and Aberdeen businessman Jim Hardie, who plays off four, by one hole after being two down with four to play.
"Sir Bob hit a four-iron to within 2 1/2ft of the stick for a birdie 4 at the long 15th. Then he hit a five-wood to within 3ft for a birdie 2 at the 16th before finishing 4 4. He's still a terrific golfer," said Jim Hardie who has fixed up the itinerary of Scottish links courses that Sir Bob had always wanted to play but never got around to on his visits to Scotland.
Tomorrow, Sir Bob, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, will play Cruden Bay with a tee-off time at approximately 12 noon.
There was a fair-sized gallery at Montrose to watch the four-ball featuring the left-handed New Zealander who won the 1963 Open at Royal Lytham after a 36-hole play-off with American Phil Rodgers..
His journey of discovery started at North Berwick on Tuesday but the sea fog all along the East Coast ruined the day as a spectacle.
"Sir Bob thought Montrose was a very good links indeed. Well, worth the visit," said Hardie.