An account of the 1977 British Open, during which young talent Tom Watson defeated the legendary Jack Nicklaus, traces the competition's history and offers portraits of the two competitors. This is one of those rare books that actually delivers more than the title promises. Corcoran, one-time editor of Golf Illustrated and author of The PGA TOUR Complete Book of Golf, highlights the stirring battle waged between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus for the 1977 Open (British) Championship in Turnberry, Scotland. The author offers both a succinct history of that tournament, reaching back to the mid-19th century, and a particularly revealing examination of leading participants from the United States. He tells how Arnold Palmer's 1960 quest for the title rekindled the interest of America's top touring pros in the four-day event that most golfers consider the world's most important. Corcoran provides rich analyses of Palmer; Nicklaus, the man who dethroned him; and Watson, who out-dueled the Golden Bear during a magnificent final 36-hole shootout. Even for those who recall the event in detail, this book will prove entertaining and enlightening, with riveting hole-by-hole accounts, evocative depictions of the weather, course conditions, and emotions besetting the golfers. Included are telling portraits of other noteworthy linksmen from the era. Highly recommended. Robert C. Cottrell, California State Univ., Chico Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Like Michael D'Antonio's Tour '72 [BKL Mr 15 02], which explained why 1972 was a crucial year in golf history, Corcoran's account of the 1977 British Open makes the case for that classic battle between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson as the game's greatest mano a mano duel (over the last two rounds of the tournament, Watson was 10 under par and Nicklaus nine under, with the winner not decided until the last hole). Using the tournament itself as his frame story, Corcoran reprises the history of the British Open; offers revealing profiles of Nicklaus, Watson, and the other leading players of the day; and effectively sets the context for what happened on the course. Corcoran tells the tale as an adventure story, effectively re-creating the drama and tension of the moment, and best of all, capturing the unique flavor of competitive golf at its finest: two great champions competing ferociously but always cognizant of the other's talent and the wonder of the game itself. Bill Ott Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Michael Corcoran is the author or coauthor of seven books, including The PGA Tour Complete Book of Golf. He lives in Ottsville, Pennsylvania, with his wife and three children. Chapter One In the summer of 1977, the eight best golfers in the world were all veteran American players. Jack Nicklaus was the most accomplished player and the biggest star among a murderer's row that included Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf, Johnny Miller, Raymond Floyd, Hubert Green, Hale Irwin, and Tom Watson. When these eight players teed it up at the Open Championship at Turnberry in southwest Scotland during the first full week of July that year, they were joined by an emerging threesome of extraordinary talent that would one day rise to eminence: nineteen-year-old Nick Faldo of England, twenty-year-old Severiano Ballesteros of Spain, and twenty-two-year-old Greg Norman of Australia. The scions of America's championship golf tradition, led by twenty-three-year-old Jerry Pate and twenty-five-year-old Ben Crenshaw, were also on hand at the Turnberry Hotel that week to compete in the 106th playing of the Open Championship. It was the first time that Turnberry had hosted the Open. There were, of course, other big-name golfers at Turnberry, including the biggest name of them all. At age forty-seven, Arnold Palmer's best days as a player were behind him, but he was still the most recognizable golfer in the world. He was alone among the U.S. players in remembering and experiencing a time not even twenty years before when America's best golfers were reluctant to play in the Open. Some were undoubtedly too small-minded to grasp the significance of competing in the Open, a condition that was aggravated by the small amount of prize money available. Others shrunk from the challenge simply because of the arduous journey to Britain and the fact that, having made the journey, they would still have to survive two qualifying rounds before they even got to play in the championship proper. Still another obstacle in the days before widespread and convenient transatlantic air service was the proximity on the calendar of the U.S. PGA Championship to the Open -- the two were usually held within a week or two of each other. Arnold Palmer went to Scotland to compete in the Open for the first time in 1960, and it would be inaccurate to say that America's undivided attention was focused on him when he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in late June. The Cold War, which had shown