Fans’ Hall of Fame
Brian Barnes
In an era when Nicklaus, Watson and Trevino were sweeping the honours board, Brian Barnes earned a reputation as one of Europe’s leading and most gifted golfers. Admittedly, Barnes wasn’t the most decorated golfer of his generation but he was certainly one of the most popular. Winning nine events on the European Tour, he finished in the top eight of the Order of Merit every year from 1971 to 1980, had a top finish at The Open of tied fifth in 1972, 
and was the first man to win back to back Senior British Open Championships in 1995, and 1996. However, it was his gallant performances representing GB & Ireland, and later Europe, in six consecutive Ryder Cups (from 1969 to 1979) that defined his career, not least his heroic display in the singles matches of 1975 against Jack Nicklaus.
Barnes was far from the professional golfer-athlete, though. His feats in the bar were infamous, and his drinking often spilled out on to the course. One of his finest victories came at The Tournament Players Championship at Dalmahoy, where he saw off a pack of beer as well as the rest of the field. In between cans, his back 9 included two eagles and three back-to-back birdies. A couple of hours (and drinks) later, he stumbled out and won the play-off. I’m not sure the PGA would sanction it now, but professional sport was a very different beast back then.
Barnes relied almost constantly on ‘Dutch courage’ throughout his career, and is the first to acknowledge that natural confidence wasn’t his strongest asset. It was his ability to ‘relate to the fans’, united with his brilliance on the golf course, that entertained and endeared him to the hearts of the golfing public. More recently, Barnes turned to punditry, and as a metaphor to his golf, his honeyed tones and opinionated slants often afford a well-liked alternative to the standard banalities.
Career Highlight
Compared to some multiple Major winners in golf, Barnes’s personal achievements in the game perhaps won’t see him attain legendary status, though nine tour wins and two Senior British Opens is not a record to be sniffed at. What he will always be remembered for, though, is his performance on 21st September 1975 in the Ryder Cup Matches at Laurel Valley Golf Club, in Pennsylvania.
Barnes was paired against Jack Nicklaus in the singles matches. Nicklaus had won the Masters and the PGA Championship that year, and was, as the great man would say himself in later years, in the very prime of his career. That mattered little to Barnes, though. Whether it was the booze, talent or good fortune (or a mixture of the three), Barnes set about one of the most celebrated performances in Ryder Cup history.
In the morning singles matches, Barnes dished out a ‘4&2’ hiding which prompted Nicklaus to demand a rematch in the afternoon (36 holes of singles were played on the final day in Ryder Cup matches at the time). Captains Arnold Palmer and Bernard Hunt duly engineered the draw. On the first tee Nicklaus declared, “You’ve beaten me once, but there’s no way you’re going to beat me again”, and with that fighting talk the rematch was on. Unfazed, Barnes then set about delivering Nicklaus another humbling defeat, with a ‘2&1’ win in the afternoon. With it he earned himself a place in golfing folklore, and to this day it’s the story that everyone wants him to recount (well, that and the story of how he accepted a punter’s challenge to play one-handed in a Tour Event at Gleneagles).
I should also add that, to his credit, Nicklaus has been happy to retell the story of his greatest humiliation on many occasions, too. In fact, it’s true to say that both men have only ever spoken about the matches with the utmost respect and admiration for each other, and Barnes’s very modest recognition of this chapter in his career has only served to elevate his reputation as a golfer and a gentleman. A lesson for today’s sporting braggarts.
Fans’ Favourite
Would a golfer of today’s generation ever mark their ball with a beer can? Or be voted ‘Pipe Man of the Year’? Well to be fair, the demands for golfers to act as role models these days wouldn’t allow it, but as Barnes observes himself, professional golfers have a duty to entertain, as well as perform, and he is revered by golf fans as much for his entertaining, as he is for his golfing. Perhaps it’s a timely coincidence that his best years as a golfing professional occurred in the same era as other celebrated sports icons such as James Hunt and George Best. Whether that laissez-faire era served them all well or not, is open to debate, but it certainly generated more stories to report and tales to tell!
Doubtless, Barnes will forever be cherished as the man who beat Jack Nicklaus twice in a day. For me, though, while we should acknowledge that special day and his multiple victories around the world, I’d prefer to honour him as a true gentleman of the game and a rare breed of character. Anyone want to raise a glass with me?