KEY POINTS:
The press conference was over and the tape recorders had clicked off when the ageless Sir Bob Charles was greeted by his old friend Bob Glading as he left the media centre at The Hills yesterday.
"What do you think Bob?"said Charles. "Is it time to quit while I'm still ahead?"
Mr Glading, 86, a New Zealand Open champion from yesteryear, just shook his head.
"Of course not," he said, pumping the hand of New Zealand's greatest golfer.
And, in doing so, he spoke for everyone present on a blistering hot day as Charles again provided one of the most talked about highlights of the Open by shooting a two-under 70 to finish at four-under for the week.
Or, put a different way, he beat or equalled his age three times in the last four days. At 71 years and 261 days, he became the oldest ever to make the cut in a regular tour event.
Someone compared his performance to the equivalent of Don Bradman scoring a hundred at Lord's at the same age, but you didn't have to paint such pictures for any of the huge crowds which followed his every step during yesterday's final round.
They were astute enough to recognise something beyond greatness was unfolding again and paid him the ultimate tribute by swelling the galleries to easily the largest of the tournament.
Coming to the 18th hole, one which had troubled him all week (he never hit the fairway once with his drive) Charles was four-under for his round and at six-under the leading Kiwi in the tournament, but dropped his drive in a fairway bunker on the left and had to play out sideways.
Halfway down the fairway Glading saw his old mate in trouble.
"He hasn't driven it well on this hole all week," he said despairingly, "but he has putted like the Bob Charles of old."
A four iron from 200m snaked its way across an azure blue sky and, for just a second, it looked like Sir Bob might use the mound at the back of the hole to run the ball back down close to the pin and give him an outside chance of par.
But the ball took one crowd-groaning hop too many and got caught up in the fringe.
"Oh no," said Glading. "He's looking at double bogey now. What terrible luck."
And so it proved.
As Charles said later, not even Tiger Woods could have got up and down from such an impossible spot. But a six could not wipe the smile from his face.
Once again he had played golf like he used to, when he was among the world's best.
And once again he had been lifted and pushed along on an emotional rollercoaster created by the adoring fans, who had started clapping even when he was 80m from the last green.
And then he stepped on to that green and a lone voice boomed out "The Master" the applause erupted again.
Not even the implacable Sir Bob Charles could fail to have been moved by that, so, when asked the inevitable question later - "will you come back and play next year" - he didn't hesitate.
"Well next year I'll be even par 72," he joked. "But, right now, there's every likelihood I'll play but a lot depends if I'm physically in good shape and if I'm prepared."
And, such was the quality of his golf this week - "some of the best golf I've played in a long, long time" - he feels rejuvenated enough to play the European Senior Tour next year with a vengeance, determined to end a losing streak that stretches back 10 years to his last tournament win in Hawaii.
Based on what we saw at The Hills this week, who is game enough to bet against that?
Charles earned the princely sum of $12,543 for finishing in a tie for 23rd in the Open doing it with just 26 putts yesterday.
- OTAGO DAILY TIMES
