There were no ghosts for Tom Watson to exorcise when he travelled to Scotland for the 1975 British Open at Carnoustie. Like Ben Hogan had done at the same venue 22 years previously, he was making his debut in an event which would ultimately capture his soul, while establishing him as one of the toughest competitors in the history of the game.

In what was his fourth full season on the US Tour, he would have seen himself as a promising 25-year-old, trying to learn his craft. But American observers took a very different view. In a decidedly negative, even cruel assessment of his tournament performances, they categorised Watson, quite simply, as a choker.

After arriving on the tournament circuit with a moderate amateur record, he soon gained a reputation for squandering winning positions. For instance, he had a three-stroke lead after 54 holes of the 1973 Hawaiian Open, only to collapse to a final round of 75 and allow John Schlee steal the title.

There was a similar story in the World Open, played over 10 rounds at Pinehurst No 2 for a then staggering top prize of $100,000. After a stunning 62 in the fifth round, Watson was six strokes ahead of the field. But he then proceeded to fritter away his advantage in rounds of 76, 76 and 77 and eventually settled for fourth place.

Yet a year later, he was challenging for his country's most coveted prize. In the 1974 US Open at Winged Foot, he led after 54 holes by one stroke from Hale Irwin, with Arnold Palmer a further stroke back in third place. This was the championship in which the severity of the course prompted Dick Schapp to write the book The Massacre of Winged Foot.

In the event, Watson made a wobbly start to his final round with bogeys at the fourth, fifth and eighth: by his own estimation, he "blew it", carding a 79 for a share of fifth place, five strokes behind Irwin.

But there were better times ahead. That same month, he had his debut victory in the Western Open, coming from six strokes behind with a final round of 69.

Still, comparable form continued to elude him at "major" level. A final round of 73 knocked him back to a share of eighth place in the 1975 US Masters. Worse was to come in the US Open at Medinah, where he shot rounds of 67 and 68 to lead by three strokes from Ben Crenshaw at the halfway stage, only to collapse to 78 and 77 and eventually be tied ninth behind Lou Graham.

These were hardly encouraging credentials for a young man attempting to emulate the great Hogan. Even with a win in the Byron Nelson Classic earlier that season, Watson didn't need reminding that the demands imposed by major championships were rather different to those of run-of-the-mill tournaments.

Jack Newton was an extravagantly gifted sportsman who represented Australia in rugby and cricket as a schoolboy, before a rugby injury prompted him to concentrate on golf. Born in Sydney on January 30th, 1950, he was four months younger than Watson but very much more successful as a tournament golfer when he headed for Carnoustie.

I remember him from the Kerrygold Classic at Waterville in September 1975, when we happened to be staying in the same hotel. And while giving him a drive to the golf course during the tournament, I quickly discovered he wasn't one of the world's great communicators. Indeed the number of words he proferred on the 20-minute journey could have been counted on the fingers of one hand.

Taciturn he clearly was, but a sportsman's build, shaggy blond hair, a warm smile and an ability to enjoy himself made him extremely popular with both men and women. And he had a golf game to match that appeal.

As is the way with Australians, he found himself obliged to become an international player. And between his professional debut in 1971 and the middle of 1975, Newton had six tournament victories: the Dutch Open, Benson and Hedges Festival and City of Auckland Open in 1972; the Nigerian Open and Benson and Hedges Matchplay in 1974 and the Sumrie Better-Ball with Ireland's John O'Leary in May 1975. And he was newly-married to his English wife, Jackie, by then.

He also went into the British Open that year in possession of an irresistible putting stroke, courtesy of the game's greatest player. "I picked up something watching Nicklaus in a practice round," he recalled.

Having won some money from Tom Weiskopf in an exhibition match in Australia, Newton challenged the so-called Towering Inferno to try to get it back. "Bring a good partner," he teased. So Weiskopf brought Nicklaus while the Australian renewed his Sumrie partnership with O'Leary.

After two early birdies, Newton ribbed Weiskopf: "We're going to kick your butt, Tom. Better go back to the clubhouse and get a new partner." He now suspects the remark was overheard by Nicklaus. Anyway, Weiskopf shot 64 while the Bear had a 65, and though Newton far from disgraced himself with a 67, he lost £300. Newton claimed that Nicklaus turned to Weiskopf and remarked: "Let's teach this young bastard a thing or two." Yet afterwards, obviously in the belief that the young Australian could ill-afford such a loss, Nicklaus settled for a sandwich and a drink. And contemplated the challenge ahead.

THERE WAS no hint of euphoric recall when I spoke recently to Watson about those events of two decades ago. "Carnoustie: Yes, I'm the defending champion," he said with one of his Huckleberry Finn grins. "Have been for 24 years."

He went on: "I remember the weather was good for the first three rounds, but for the final round, on Saturday, the wind blew down the 18th. And in the play-off the following day, it blew right back in our face. And it blew hard. The golf course certainly showed its teeth.

"That's why it was so important for me to have scrambled as well as I did. On the 72nd hole, I remember looking up at the scoreboard and I saw Newton was three ahead, but he still had the 16th to play. And 17 was right into the wind. And I remember thinking to myself, if I make this (birdie) putt, Newton still has a lot of work to do.

"As things turned out, he had bogeyed the 16th before I putted, so the gap was now two. And then I made the putt to go one behind. Meanwhile, Bobby Cole (overnight leader) had made double-bogey at 15. So, given the conditions, I knew I could be in a play-off.

"There was no need to psych myself up for the play-off the following day in that I had a lot of confidence in the way I was striking the ball. Still, I hit a terrible drive on the first hole before knocking it on the green and twoputting for par.

"At number two I knocked it stiff, about three feet, while he hit his approach almost into the ocean - 80 yards off line. Then he hit a wedge to four feet and he makes that putt for par. And that's the way it developed. It was nip and tuck. He was ahead of me by a stroke and I remember chipping in for an eagle at the 14th to draw back to even.

"Then we both bogeyed 16 and we eventually came to the 18th hole tied once again. I hit first and got it on the green and he hit his shot into the bunker and I thought `Well, let's see what happens from here.'

"He played a good bunker shot out to about 12 feet from the hole. I knocked my approach putt about three feet by and, to put the pressure on him, I decided to finish, knocking it right into the hole. And he slides his by. And I've won."

AS EVENTS worked out, Newton and Nicklaus had played together in the third round and Australian Jack shot a course-record 65, to the American's 68. But Cole had become the dominant figure by that stage, as a result of sparkling second and third rounds of 66. Most competitors agreed that Carnoustie had never played easier.

But they were soon rocked onto their heels by the ferocity of the weather for the final round: none of the leaders broke 70. Playing with Cole - "Bobby was probably as nervous as I was" - Newton found himself with a championship-winning lead, as the South African went sliding towards a 76.

The Australian recalled: "I came to the 16th tee (235-yard par three) and there were three groups waiting. It was like a Who's Who of golf: Jack Nicklaus, Ray Floyd, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller. I don't think the long wait did me any good." Finally, he needed a par on the 18th for a play-off, and got it.

Then, referring to the play-off, Newton went on: "Two things that day turned out to be the opposite of what the US press had been writing. They'd been saying that Watson was a choker and that he was a suspect putter. But he never looked like missing a putt the whole damn day."