'Temper Gets One Nowhere'

Moon-faced Bobby Locke is not a colorful golfer; he works away at his profession with the dull precision of a man punching rivets in an assembly line. In the early rounds of a tournament, few spectators follow him around. But when he shows up in the final round, Bobby Locke is apt to get the crowds at his heels. They like to watch a winner, and the rotund South African has been winning British tournaments with mass-production regularity.

For the British Open Championship in Scotland last week, Defending Champion Locke made careful preparations. A fortnight ahead of time, he was out practicing on the 72-year-old course at Troon, making mental notes of every danger along the snake-thin fairways, the postage-stamp greens.

But others practiced too, and Locke's opening 69 was one stroke off the pace. On the second round, he seemed to slip a cog on the par-three fifth hole. His tee shot slid into the rough, his attempt to get out of trouble landed him in a bunker. His third shot failed to clear, and he had to take a fat six strokes on the little hole.

Throughout this ordeal, which would have had many a tournament player gnashing his teeth, Locke never changed expression. He said later: "I swallowed my feelings and determined to forget it. Temper gets one nowhere."

Despite the disastrous fifth, Locke salvaged a 72 that day, two strokes behind Welshman Dai Rees. And during the final 36 holes, played the following day, Locke kept both his temper and his strokes well in hand. His morning round of 70 brought him to a three-way tie with Rees and Argentine Roberto de Vicenzo. His final 18-hole round was right off the assembly line for a 68, and a four-round total of 279--two strokes ahead of De Vicenzo, three ahead of Rees, four better than the 58-year record for the British Open.

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