The Open: What happened at the last Monday finish? Seve at his best
Last Updated: 19/07/15 8:59pm
The 144th Open will finish on a Monday for only the second time in tournament history. Here we look back at the first occasion, which provided us with one of the all-time great performances from Seve Ballesteros ...
When the 1988 Open Championship was forced into a Monday finish for the first time in its 128-year history, many predicted a damp squib of a finale on the extra day.
But the fears were proved unfounded in spectacular fashion as Seve Ballesteros produced "the round of my life" to claim his third Claret Jug after an enthralling battle with Nick Price and defending champion Nick Faldo.
Fans flocked to Royal Lytham and St Annes in their thousands to watch the star trio put on a thrilling show on that memorable Monday, the extra day being implemented after torrential showers washed out an entire day's play on Saturday.
Price fired a third-round 69 to gain a two-shot advantage after 54 holes, and the R&A must have been delighted that he would play alongside Faldo and Ballesteros for the final round.
The Zimbabwean kept his nose in front in the early stages and all three birdied the sixth, but Faldo was the first to falter as he could manage only a par at the long seventh while Price and Ballesteros both pumped up the galleries with a pair of eagles.
Faldo was unable to drag himself back into contention, but Price and Ballesteros continued to provide golf of supreme quality.
Price was four under for six holes up to the 11th, but he went from one ahead to a shot off the lead as the charismatic Spaniard played the same stretch in a remarkable six under par.
Tied at the top
Ballesteros' momentum halted with a bogey at the 12th and Price turned the screw with a stunning approach to inches at the next, only for his rival to hole from 18 feet to remain in a share of the lead.
The leaders traded pars at 14 and 15 before Ballesteros almost holed his nine-iron approach to the 16th and was left with a kick-in birdie from a couple of inches that took him back to the top of the leaderboard.
After a pair of pars at 17, Ballesteros then tugged his approach to the last into a tricky lie in the rough while Price knocked his second onto the green.
But Ballesteros was not to be denied, and his short-game wizardry was never more evident as he made a perfect connection with his pitch. The noise from the galleries was incredible as his ball arced slowly but surely towards the hole, catching the lip before coming to rest six inches away for a certain par.
Price conceded defeat and three-putted to return a 69, and Ballesteros tapped in to complete a delightful 65 which secured his third Open Championship crown - and sadly the last major victory of his career.
“So far, it is the best round of my life,” Ballesteros said afterwards. “Nick Price showed he was a champion, too. I was just a little bit luckier. It is a pity there can only be one champion.”
Price summed up the day when he replied: "It was a thrill to play to this standard. When you are beaten by somebody, especially the way he played, you bow out gracefully."
