He is the golfer who missed a three foot putt to beat Jack Nicklaus at The Open and never won a major

October 16, 2026

Doug Sanders came agonizingly close to etching his name into golf history at the 1970 Open Championship at St Andrews. After rallying from two strokes behind to take a commanding lead, Sanders faced a three-foot putt on the 18th green that would have secured his first major title.

The putt eluded him, forcing an 18-hole playoff the following day—a contest ultimately won by Jack Nicklaus. Sanders later admitted in a 2015 interview that the moment haunted him for decades, calling it the defining regret of his career.

Despite four runner-up finishes in majors, the missed putt at St Andrews stood out as the closest he ever came to victory, leaving him with a legacy of near-misses rather than a championship win.

The incident revealed the brutal mental toll of major championships, where a single mistake can erase years of effort. Sanders described the scene vividly, recalling the laughter from spectators on the other side of the green and the crushing realization that his dream had slipped away.

Though he downplayed the financial loss—acknowledging the broader joys of his career—his words underscored the emotional weight of the moment. For Sanders, the 1970 Open wasn’t just a tournament; it was a turning point that shaped his legacy in golf’s most exclusive club: the also-rans.