Golf · 1979 · Lytham St Annes, England
The Car Park Open
A wild tee shot into a temporary car park does nothing to stop a 22-year-old Spaniard becoming the youngest Open champion of the 20th century.
Won by 3 strokes
Result
22
Age
Youngest Open champion of the 20th century
Distinction
Seve Ballesteros played the 1979 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes with a driver that frequently found trouble and a short game that consistently got him out of it, a combination that turned out to be the summary of his whole career. On the 16th in the final round, his tee shot flew well right of the fairway into a temporary car park being used for spectator parking.
The rules gave him a free drop off the man-made surface, which left him an unobstructed if unconventional lie. He pitched to within twenty feet and holed the putt for birdie. The tournament had an informal nickname before the day was out: the Car Park Open.
Ballesteros finished three strokes clear of Jack Nicklaus and Ben Crenshaw for a first major title at 22, the youngest Open champion of the century to that point and the first golfer from continental Europe to win the Claret Jug since the 1900s. The generation of European players who followed him mostly say they started because of him.
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