IAN BAKER-FINCH, Open champ who drove himself out of golf for years

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Most past Open champions are remembered for the way they played the game at their peak. Except that is for Australian Ian Baker-Finch, Open champion at Royal Birkdale in 1991, who has the misfortune to be remembered for his total loss of world-class ability in a comparatively short space of time.
Golfers of quality are not immune to the "yips" but in 99 cases out of 100 its the putting "yips."
For Baker-Finch, born in Queensland in October, 1960, it was the "yips" with a driver in his hand.
At an Open championship over the Old Course, St Andrews before Ian's plight forced him to give up the game for a number of years, he hooked out of bounds from the first tee, i.e. across the first fairway, across the 18th fairway and over the white posted fence, more than 100 yards off line!
The 6ft 4in Aussie became a TV commentator/analyst - still is - in the United States, where he lives not all that far away from Tiger Woods at North Palm Beach, Florida, before gradually regaining enough self-confidence to play the game competitively again and be a winner in seniors' events Down Under.
Baker-Finch now plays his tee shots off the ground to avoid duck hooking the ball.
According to Jim Lapsley, a New Zealander, who partnered Baker-Finch in a seniors' tournament this past year, the Australian can still be a brilliant golfer
"I played with Baker-Finsh in Western Australia and the guy's short game is amazing. I played two days with him and he put the ball into the greenside bunkers nine times," said Lapsley.
"He got up and down in the first seven, and they would have all been gimmes. The last two would have both been from 40-45 metres, and he knocked them to 10 feet too.
"It was an absolute masterclass. That's why they call it the Legends Tour in Australia."

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