And by the time he turned professional in 1960 he had already experienced competition at major events like the 1958 British Open and British Amateur championships and the Eisenhower Trophy world amateur teams competition.
"I was a seasoned traveller who had played with and against the best players on the best golf courses," Sir Bob said, "so I had the experience and it was certainly not a daunting task when I turned pro."
It didn't take long for Sir Bob to make his mark in the pro ranks. He was fifth in the 1962 British Open played at the Royal Troon club in Scotland and then in 1963 he became the first left-handed golfer to win a PGA tour event in the United States. Reflecting on that Houston Classic success where among the also-rans were names like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, Sir Bob said it had the effect of opening a "lot of doors" for him and boosted his confidence leading into the 1963 British Open at the Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club.
"When I arrived at Lytham St Annes I felt there were basically five players to beat, Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, (Peter) Thomson and (Kel) Nagle. Winning Houston gave me the confidence and the knowledge that on a given day all the big names, the stars of the day, were beatable," Sir Bob says.
A 68 in the first round saw Sir Bob just a shot behind leaders Phil Rodgers and Peter Thomson. A second round 72 followed, dropping Sir Bob to fifth position, five shots behind Rodgers, and the two were paired for round three. And here Sir Bob turned on the firepower, his 66 representing a course record and being marked by the accuracy of his putting, something for which he became renowned throughout his pro career.
Going into the fourth and final round Sir Bob was at the top of the leaderboard, his 207 placing him one shot ahead of Thomson, two ahead of Rodgers and Nicklaus and five ahead of Nagle.
It was Nicklaus who set the standard through most of that last round but, amazingly, he recorded fives on the last two holes to open the gate for Rodgers and Sir Bob who were even on 273 with one hole to be played. There Sir Bob missed a 20-yard putt to leave Rodgers needing to make a 12-yarder for victory but he also missed. The two both sunk their next putts and so a playoff was scheduled.
Anybody anticipating a nail-biter over the 36 holes was to be disappointed with Sir Bob's score of 140 being all of eight shots better than that returned by the American and so he became the first left-hander and the first Kiwi to win a major golf championship, receiving a cheque for 1500 for his efforts.
All told Sir Bob - who retired from professional golf in 2010 - won something like 60 international events including five USPGA titles, eight European Tour titles, four New Zealand Opens and four NZPGA titles. Joining him at the Lansdowne tourney band at a dinner at Lansdowne House tomorrow night - at which Sir Bob will be guest speaker - will be two other knights, former All Blacks captain and coach Sir Brian Lochore and famous New Zealand conductor and composer Sir William Southgate.
The Bob Charles Classic started in 1967 and while it was initially for left-handers it is now open to both men and women players, right- or left-handers.
