Guest: Ian Baker-Finch Talks About the 91 Open Championship, the Mentor who 'Created My Life in Golf', and What's Next?

A very exciting episode today, we are hosting the legendary Ian Baker-Finch, Australian golfing superstar, former CBS commentator in the US, and the Chair of the PGA of Australia.

This is a wide-ranging and open chat with Nick and Mark, starting with Mark asking Finchy about winning the NSW Open by 13 shots in 1984 !! How did it come about that he played it so much better than anyone else?

Finchy reveals some behind the scenes information about the famous St Andrews Greenkeeper story.

The late, great Peter Thomson was renowned for helping many golfers, and he had a significant influence on Finch's career - he explains how that happened, and why Peter Thomson's presence was so important to him saying that "He Created My Life in Golf".

Finchy was on of the worlds great putters, and Nick asks him why he always putted with a glove on, and whether it was inspired by Jack Nicklaus.

He tells Nick and Mark about the importance of setup and routine on his golf, and on anyones, saying whilst it is not talked about enough.

The 1991 Open Championship. How did he prepare? Finchy talks through the weeks leading up, and how he should have won a tournament just prior to but couldn't close it out. The front 9 of The Open was where he did the damage, leading by a mile, he talks us through what he played on each of those 9 holes.

But like many golfers, it wasn't always rosy, and Finchy had some challenges when he 'lost' his game. He talks about what happened, why, and what the contributing factors were. He reveals to Nick and Mark that he actually has one leg shorter than the other, which made golf difficult.

Ironically, his challenges on the course and injuries were what allowed him the time to explore the world of television, he tells us how that came about and how he got into television in the US.

After the turn, Finchy talks about 'the end game', what is possible for Australian golf? He explains the one thing Australian golf needs to go to the next level saying we have all the ingredients for a world class tour and a world class pathway, aside from a couple of things.

And we wrap a wonderful chat with where Finchy sees himself in the next phase of life, in his retirement phase, how does that look for him and what is he planning to do?

A great chat and a privilege to host Ian Baker-Finch on Talk Birdie To Me.

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