3<\/p>\n He represented England in the World Cup of Golf in 1990Credit: Alamy<\/p>\n Back in 1991, the Englishman arrived at Royal Birkdale having secured his breakthrough victory at the Italian Open the previous season.<\/p>\n Boxall was looking confident as opening rounds of 71 and 69 left him sitting just two shots off the lead at the halfway stage.<\/p>\n He was tied in 10th place and was placed in the fifth-to-last group on ‘Moving Day’, paired alongside a formidable young Colin Montgomerie.<\/p>\n It felt like it could be a weekend to remember.<\/p>\n Read more on golfWarning signs were there<\/p>\n However, he had been feeling twinges down his left leg since the practice rounds earlier that week.<\/p>\n He recalled: “I practised with Gary Player and every time I went for something quickly, I had pain in my left ankle.<\/p>\n “After the second round, I had a funny feeling down my leg and spoke to Chubby Chandler, my manager at the time. He said I was probably just a bit edgy.”<\/p>\n During his warm-up on the Birkdale range, Boxall was unable to commit to his usual swing.<\/p>\n After shanking two shots and finding himself unable to crouch down to read his putts, he hobbled his way to the par-four ninth tee.<\/p>\n Determined to fight through the pain and stay in the hunt for the Claret Jug, Boxall pulled out a one-iron from his bag, entirely unaware of the stress fracture waiting to give way.<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Royal Birkdale is set to welcome up to 300,000 fans for the OpenCredit: Getty’Everyone’s jaw just dropped’<\/p>\n He added: “I remember I kept saying, \u2018my leg does not feel right\u2019, and everyone just kept saying you\u2019re feeling edgy because you\u2019re doing well in the Open Championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I walked up onto the ninth tee, I was actually in a world of my own, to be honest, and I knew exactly what I was going to do.<\/p>\n “I hit a one iron and I stepped over it. This is no offence to any 20-handicapper, but that\u2019s how I felt – I didn\u2019t know what I was doing.<\/p>\n “I wasn\u2019t saying an awful lot, I just knew I had to commit to the next shot. I hit it again with my one iron, and as it got to impact, I hit it perfectly. It was a perfect shot right down the middle, but I only saw it go in the air.<\/p>\n “Because the first crack was the ball, and the second crack was my leg and it gave way. And what a noise it made. One arm went down the tee and I hit the deck like a sack of spuds. Everyone\u2019s jaw just dropped.”<\/p>\n The ball miraculously soared 240 yards down the fairway, resting right next to his playing partner’s.<\/p>\n![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/royal-birkdale-richard-boxall-great-1095949541.jpg\")
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