The legendary Tony Jacklin sees shades of himself in today’s young generation as players like Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy emerge from the shadow of Tiger Woods and dominate the game.
The 71-year-old Jacklin, who is in Dubai as part of the inaugural IP Global Titans Cup, is truly a torchbearer for European golfers when it comes to crossing the Atlantic and playing on the PGA Tour.
After the success of the great British triumvirate of Harry Vardon, John Henry Taylor, and James Braid in the early 20th century, none of the Europeans were making any noise in the States.
Until Jacklin decided to showcase his talent across the Pond.
In 1968, the Englishman, son of a trucker, won the Jacksonville Open, which was the first European win on the PGA Tour since the early 1920s.
In 1969, his Open Championship win at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s was the first by a home player in the tournament in 18 years and his 1970 US Open triumph at Hazeltine by a massive margin of seven shots was the only European win in the tournament in a span of 84 years starting 1926 before Graeme McDowell won again in 2009.
Speaking exclusively to Sport360, Jacklin said he believed the secret of his success was due to the fact that he never hero-worshipped any of the established PGA Tour stars of that time.
“I was brought up in a working class family. We did not have many privileges. I just wanted to be better off than my father was. He introduced me to the game, I worked hard at it, and I was very ambitious. I never believed that anyone was better than I was,” said Jacklin, who captained Europe in four Ryder Cups and won twice and tied once.
“I never hero-worshipped anybody, because I was trying too hard to beat them. That does not mean I did not respect them. There is a huge difference between hero-worshipping someone and respecting someone.
“I learned from the best in the business, from players like Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino. Those were the days before the genius coaches or the super coaches. We did things on our own, and I became very good at it. I wanted to be the best golfer in the world.”
Let's see who gets his hands on @IPGTITANSCUP trophy - Tony Jacklin or Bernard Gallacher? pic.twitter.com/ffGCVRB8JH
— Joy Chakravarty (@TheJoyofGolf) March 1, 2016
Jacklin felt similar traits were present in today’s stars like Spieth, McIlroy and Jason Day.
“I think there are some similarities. These players are ambitious and they are not afraid of anybody,” Jacklin continued.
“One of the reasons Tiger dominated the game was because there were many players who thought their chance was over the moment they saw his name in the field. Not these guys.
“I thought if I hero-worshipped someone, I was putting that person too high in my esteem. If I then had to face him down the stretch in a major, I would be at a disadvantage. I had a healthy respect for my opposition, but ultimately, I just wanted to beat everybody.
“To be as good as these guys are, you have to have that killer instinct, you have got be like an assassin. You can be as nice as pie off the golf course, but when you step on the first tee, you just have to think of beating everybody.”
The @IPGTITANSCUP captains are here. pic.twitter.com/z7dxdcY45v
— Joy Chakravarty (@TheJoyofGolf) March 1, 2016
Jacklin felt that the Americans will have the upper hand in this year’s Ryder Cup when it is played at Hazeltine.
“My heart says Europe, obviously, but I think it will be the Americans this time,” he said.
“One reason is that it should go both ways to keep it interesting and I think they are due. They also have some seriously good players. There is a strong determination from Davis Love III to get everyone together.
“They are making a lot of effort to get the team bonding going, what with Nicklaus hosting a dinner for some of the players last week.
“Team unity is a big thing, and it was clear last time with what happened between Tom Watson and Phil Mickelson that unity was missing.
“I thought Tiger was not much use to them when he was No.1, because massive ego got in the way. But I think he is calming down and his presence, even if he does not play, would be huge for them.”
