The Open Championship: Top 10 moments in history

9. Jack Nicklaus vs. Doug Sanders in 1970

Unfortunately for many players, including a few on this list alone, there are moments at The Open Championship that they’ll always remember for the wrong reason. It’s not always a clutch birdie putt to win or a bunker shot to save a round. Sometimes, it’s the things that go wrong at the worst possible time that will be remembered. Just ask Doug Sanders in 1970.

For those unfamiliar, Doug Sanders was a 20-time winner on the PGA Tour, his first coming as a 22-year-old amateur at the Canadian Open in 1956. Sanders has more wins on tour than the likes of Ernie Els, Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Nick Price and Fred Couples. The difference is that Sanders never won a major championship. In fact, only two players in history, Harry Cooper and Macdonald Smith, have more wins and no majors to speak of. Sanders posted 13 top-10 finishes in majors, including all four in 1966, and four runner-ups, the last and most painful coming at The Open Championship at St. Andrews in 1970.

Sanders entered Saturday’s final round that year two shots behind leader Lee Trevino at 6-under, tied with (at the time) seven-time major winner Jack Nicklaus. As Trevino struggled to a final-round 77, Sanders and Nicklaus kept themselves afloat on a difficult golf course and kept close to one another all day. But it was Sanders who had the advantage coming down the stretch and following a brilliant save from the Road Hole bunker, he held a one-shot lead going into the final hole. He striped a drive down the center of the fairway and all looked to be in hand. He had just 74 yards in following his tee shot but a few missteps didn’t make things easy. However, he still had a three-foot putt for par to win The Open but painfully couldn’t convert. A bogey for Sanders and a par for Nicklaus meant an 18-hole playoff the following day.

Sanders would fall behind by four strokes at one point in the playoff but did manage to claw his way back into things and trailed by just one going into the last. Both missed the green on their approach on a very windy day and Sanders gave himself a chance with a masterful chip to four feet. Nicklaus was in the thick fringe but had a good lie and hit his chip to within six and then holed a beautiful putt to win as he tossed his putter in the air showing rare emotion. To add insult to injury, it actually almost hit Sanders on the way down. Sanders would hole his putt and would show great class in defeat. He would card three more top-10 finishes at majors but never got that elusive win.