Brave Vaughan holds off challenge of champions

AMERICA'S grip on the Senior Open championship remained vice-like at Royal Troon yesterday as Bruce Vaughan overcame the pain in his left knee to keep the senior Claret Jug in US hands for the sixth successive season. He held off challenges from some of the game's most gifted champions, including Tom Watson, Greg Norman and Bernhard Langer.

This has been the year of the injured golfer. After Tiger Woods won the US Open in spite of a wounded knee and Padraig Harrington overcame a wrist problem to win the Open at Birkdale last week, Vaughan shrugged off the handicap of six knee surgeries over the past two years to clinch the first truly significant victory of his career in Ayrshire.

Three shots off the pace with ten holes to play, Vaughan, 51, took advantage of fellow American John Cook's collapse on the back nine, holing a 25-foot putt for birdie on the 16th before making a routine two-putt par on the last to post 70 for 278, six under par, and take Cook into extra holes.

When he returned to the 18th tee for sudden death, Vaughan found the fairway off the tee, located the green with one of the best 5-irons of his career and holed a 15-foot putt for birdie. That was sufficient to pocket the biggest cheque of his life, £157,918, and secure him a spot in the Open at Turnberry next July.

The man from Kansas was close to tears at his press conference when he spoke about going on holiday to the mountains with his wife and son this week. His victory meant he's now exempt for the US Senior Open, but the lingering pain in his knee meant he's unlikely to take up that spot.

"I've had problems with my knee for a long time and haven't been able to play much," he said. "I was biding my time, because I thought I could play out here. The walking is what hurts most. It hurts, but I can live with it. Some days it's worse than others. Right now, it feels great…"

Some 16 summers since the Claret Jug was ripped from his grasp at Muirfield by Nick Faldo, Cook suffered more agony on Scottish turf as he threw away a commanding lead. Three strokes clear of the field after eight holes – he covered the front nine in 32 – the American imploded on the back nine.

A calamitous double-bogey 6 on the 11th, a bogey 5 on the 12th and another dropped shot on the last, where he found the right rough and used his putter three times from ten yards, meant Cook came home in 39 and tossed away his advantage. Although 71 for 278 still took him into the play-off, the advantage now lay with Vaughan. The former fireman, whose mother died in a car crash two months ago, wasn't found wanting. "Bruce played his heart out," admired Cook. "I just didn't get it done. Unfortunately, I hit a couple of tee shots off line and that cost me."

On a day dispatched from heaven, when a freshening breeze drifted off the Irish sea, the gallery following the glittering pairing of Norman and Langer was as large and appreciative as any you would expect to see lining the ropes at an Open championship.

The enduringly charismatic figures of the Australian and the German, both men are little changed by the years and every bit as recognisable as they were in the days when they won claret jugs and green jackets, drew even more attention than the pairing of Cook and Vaughan in the last match.

The glorious weather not only brought out a record attendance for the championship but also encouraged the magnificent seven who ended up in the red figures which denote scores under par to chase birdies.

Back in 1989 at the Open, Norman also started the last day seven behind the leader. On that occasion he carded 64 and forced his way into play-off only to eventually lose out to Mark Calcavecchia.

The Shark was again in imperious mood over the opening stretch, recording five birdies in seven holes. Having started the championship in 45th spot, Norman improved to 20th on Friday and roared up to sixth place on Saturday thanks to a fine 67, the lowest of the third round. He eventually claimed a share of fifth thanks to a closing 68 for 282, but was unable, in the end, to eradicate the consequences of such a sluggish start. Although his score of four under on Saturday would have cheered most fifty-somethings, Norman was surprisingly grumpy about his showing, claiming 67 was the worst he could have recorded. Yesterday, he again seemed frustrated, and was monosyllabic in his responses to Sky, though more at ease with the Golf Channel.

If there was a pivotal moment for him on the links yesterday, it came on the Postage Stamp. Norman's first bogey of the final round on the par 3 eighth halted his momentum and his challenge ended when he made double on the short 17th.

"I hit a lot of great iron shots and played better today than I did on Saturday," he said. "The golfing gods were just not on my side over the past couple of weeks. On a scale of one to ten in terms of enjoyment of playing, the last two weeks have been a ten. I loved it every step of the way. From a scoring standpoint, I didn't enjoy that. Now I'm going back to the US and we'll see if the golfing gods like me better over there."

Langer, 68 for 280, all but matched Norman's ball striking excellence on the outward half thanks to three birdies and no dropped shots. Had he matched the par of 3, 4 on the last two holes, the German would also have been in the play-off. Instead, he was in-between clubs and missed the green on the par 3 17th, where he made 4, and took 5 after blasting out of a pot bunker short of the green. "It was fun playing with Greg," he recalled. "He hit driver on almost every hole. I've never seen anyone attack like he did."

Eduardo Romero, 70 for 279, was also a victim on the 18th. The Argentine missed the green to the right and his ball ended up under the table which accommodated the senior claret jug. Once the pedestal was moved, Romero failed to get up and down, missing a par putt from six feet. "I heard something, maybe a camera, and I lost concentration on that putt," he rued. "But it's okay, I still finished in the top three."

Nor was there another celebration in Scotland for Watson as the eight time major winner had to settle for a share of fifth. His closing 68 for 282 was marred by dropped shots at the 12th and 16th. "It was kind of a struggle," he confessed, "but it was delightful to be in Scotland for four such beautiful days."

With a record attendance of 10,150 for the final day and 37,900 for the week, there's no doubt the Senior Open faces a bright future. While the championship will make a detour to the south of England at Sunningdale next summer, it returns to the Scottish linksland at Carnoustie in 2010. David Hill, the R&A's director of championships, said the tournament was now at the desired level and any significant increase in spectator numbers would require a substantial upgrade in terms of infrastructure. There's little likelihood, mark you, of St Andrews hosting the championship any time soon. "That would be difficult," Hill cautioned, "because of the number of events which are held there already. But never say never."