Maurice began his fourth and final negotiation of the iconic venue on three-over and ended it on five-under after posting an eight-under par round of 64 to finish tied-ninth. In doing so, he equalled the course record then shared by Jack Nicklaus and Lloyd Mangrum and subsequently eclipsed by Nick Price and Greg Norman.
Two-under at the turn, he then put the National’s back nine that has proved the nemesis for countless challenges to claim the coveted Green Jacket to the sword. With his putter more than a match for the heat generated by the Georgia sunshine and the famed and feared Amen Corner, he took 30 strokes to complete a round that his 1969 Ryder Cup team-mate Peter Alliss rated as one of the finest in the game’s history.
Meanwhile, Nicklaus, who finished tied-fourth, three shots adrift of Gary Player, the champion, had been served notice of Maurice’s capabilities a handful of months earlier in the Ryder Cup at Muirfield.
The afternoon fourballs on day one saw Maurice and Brian Huggett defeat Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer 3&1. Then in the singles Nicklaus needed 36 holes to overcome Maurice after the pair had halved the morning session, the 18-times major champion winning the afternoon encounter two-up.
