The ongoing WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship looks very lame compared to the wonderful 'man against man' tussles at Wentworth years ago.
Back in the day watching the World Match Play Championship was the only way (apart from the British Open) to be able gaze at the Americans, who for the rest of the year could only be marvelled on black and white television.
It was back in 1965 during the Piccadilly World Match Play Championship that one of the greatest match play comebacks 'ever' was played out.
Try and imagine back to October 1965 when Gary Player was playing against Tony Lema in the first round of the 36 hole matches.
The 1965 Piccadilly tournament was the second World Match Play Championship. It was played from Thursday to Saturday on the West Course at Wentworth.
Eight players competed in a straight knockout competition, with each match contested over 36 holes.
The champion received £5,000 out of a total prize fund of £16,000 with Player defeating Peter Thomson 3&2 in the final to win the tournament.
In the first round of his semi-final, Player was one up after 10 holes but then lost seven holes in succession to Lema from the 11th to the 17th.
He needed a 10-foot putt at the 18th to halve that hole but was six down at lunch.
He then lost the first hole in the afternoon to go seven down to Lema.
Player birdied the second and third holes and eventually won the 18th to tie the match, winning the match at the 37th hole.
Out of Bounds: Long after the match, Gary disclosed that overhearing the comment by one spectator to another as he was walking to the clubhouse for lunch -- let's go and watch another match this afternoon as this one is a waste of time and a foregone conclusion -- was what spurred him on to show them differently.