Peter Baker's new stance for the Open

Jul 11 2009 by Peter Ricketts, Birmingham Mail

FOR a month or more Peter Baker had been playing first-class golf but his putting “was awful.”

Then last week, during the Credit Suisse Challenge Tournament, he moved the ball three inches forward in his putting stance – and suddenly he was holing everything and won the event.

Then he flew to Scotland to play next day in the Open qualifier at Gailes Links, again the putts went in, and he finished second of 96 players to grab one of only four places available for next week’s showpiece.

So once more the Baker career could be on the rise. The win in Switzerland pushed him up to tenth place in the Challenge Tour’s order of merit and if he stays there or thereabouts he can look forward to returning to the European Tour next year.

But of more import at present is the Open which begins next Thursday – and Baker relishes the prospect.

“Every golfer wants to play in the Open,” he said. “But I’m not going just to make up the numbers. And I certainly want to do better than last year when I missed the cut by one shot.”

His confidence is high. Armed with a new version of his old Ping B60 putter, and with the secret of the new stance, he could do very well. And he can call on an amazing 23 years of experience on the fairways of the world and look back on a lucrative career during which he has had three victories on the big Tour. He is also renowned for the time when he beat up Corey Pavin in the 1993 Ryder Cup at The Belfry.

But his history goes much further back than that. At 14 he won the South Staffs club championship and became the youngest player to qualify for the Birmingham Mail Champion of Champions Tournament.

Baker went on to an outstanding amateur career, turned pro in 1986, and had 17 glittering years in top-flight golf until he hit the buffers in 2002. It’s been a struggle ever since but he has never lost faith in his ability.

Also in next week’s Open line-up is a Midland man whose golf career has mirrored Baker’s. Atherstone’s Paul Broadhurst turned pro in 1988 and last year played in his 500th European Tour event. He has a fond memory of the 1990 Open which he would love to relive this year. He went round St Andrews in 63 – still the lowest score ever achieved in the history of the championship.

Finally, a sad tale concerns Jamie Carney. The 17-year-old Warwickshire player from Shirley became one of the youngest to win a place in last week’s Open qualifier – then he became ill with ‘flu symptoms and had to withdraw.