Former champion mulls over return

Former British Open winner Ian Baker-Finch is contemplating a return to tournament golf eight years after walking away from the game. Baker-Finch, who has been pursuing a career as a golf commentator on US television, believes he can get back to a competitive level and hopes to play some tournaments in Australasia this year.

"I just want to see where I am," Baker-Finch told US magazine Golf Digest.

"It's better to do that now than to delude myself for six years before I'm eligible for the Champions Tour. As I get later on into my 40s, I'll play more and more.

"I'd like to play some events on tour, the smaller events, or maybe the Colonial or a Nationwide Tour event or a couple back in Australia. When I get to 50, I'd like to really try to compete on the Champions Tour," said Baker-Finch.

While Baker-Finch doubts he could reach the heights of Royal Birkdale in 1991, where he won his only major, he believes he has a better perspective on the game.

"I never really liked the look of my swing, which is strange, because when I look at it now it was actually pretty good," he said. "It just didn't look like the other great swings. The thing is, you've got to believe in yourself.

"The frightening thing was, there were days when I could play really well, then the next day I'd hit three drives out of bounds and two in the water. It became a mental issue, obviously. My 68 on Wednesday became 76 on Thursday and 86 in a major. It was like the bigger the event, the more pressure, the more tension, the higher the score.

"I don't have any bad feelings at all about the golf gods or feel like I've been dealt a bad hand. I try to play every day.

"To this day, I would love to be able to go out and play in a tournament and perform well, just to show the people, even one time, that I can still play and that I'm not a 90s-shooter.

"I would love that opportunity. But I had a time when I played well. I'm a has-been, but I'm not a never-was. At least I had my moment in the sun."