Each man has a tale to tell. One was just a phone call away from missing out on the biggest day of his sporting life. Another would tear up the course on the Sunday, almost defying his final day odds of 25/1 to left the Claret Jug. The third would lead for over two days before stumbling at two par threes, setting up a piece of Open history.
The last Open play-off had taken place in 1975 at Carnoustie, as Tom Watson claimed his first major, edging out Jack Newton by a shot after 18 extra holes. Prior to 1964 the Open play-off format consisted of two extra rounds to find a winner. But by the mid-80s it was decided that changes were needed.
After the 1984 Open, Chairman of the Championship Committee Gordon Jeffrey explained the forthcoming discussions regarding the play-off format. "There are three things we can do: retain the traditional format, go to sudden death as in the US Masters, or a midway point involving playing four or five holes and then sudden death if needed."
Leading players were involved in the final decision, with the four hole approach preferred. It certainly felt like an improvement on the anti-climax of an extra round on the Monday, and after the drama at Troon in 1989, the format ticked a lot of boxes. It would take another 34 years for the US Open to ditch the extra 18 holes.
There were plenty of stories before 156 players became three. Jersey's Wayne Stephens shooting a joint course record of 66 (six under par) to lead after day one. Payne Stewart shooting 65 on the Friday to set a new mark. Tom Watson, turning back time and threatening to win his sixth Open, before a final day 72 dashed his hopes.
But the Sunday would belong to two Australians and an American. Norman started the tournament well, five under par at the halfway point, four behind leader Grady. But a disappointing 72 on the Saturday turned moving day into a static grind. Priced at 25/1 to win on the Sunday morning, the Great White Shark knew he needed to come out of the traps quickly.
Teeing off nearly two hours before Grady and Watson, Norman sent ripples across the links. Firing six birdies in his opening six holes, Norman reduced the seven shot deficit to one before his compatriot had reached the first tee. He may have bogeyed the Postage Stamp but going out in 31 propelled Norman back into the mix.
Birdies at 11, 12 and 16 continued the surge, but a poor 17th hole looked like undoing Norman's good work. Yet when you're hot, you're hot. Blading a sand wedge from the fringe, the Australian rescued a par, and when he finished with a four at the last, Norman's course record 64 had set a target of 13 under par.
Calcavecchia had started the day three behind Grady, but with his wife due to give birth he later revealed that he would have missed the Sunday if necessary. "I asked God, please, help Sheryl hold on just a little longer. Because if I had got a phone call Saturday night, that she had gone into labour, I'd have been on a plane outta here. There are things more important than a golf tournament."
After an outward 35, three key moments on the back nine gave Calcavecchia the feeling that fate was etching his name on to the trophy. A 40-foot putt to save par on the 11th was followed by an astonishing birdie on the next. On a mound, 15-feet above the hole and with no green to work with, Calcavecchia pitched straight in.
"I was more embarrassed than anything else," Calcavecchia admitted later. "I mean, how lucky can you get?" However, there was no such luck on the last hole. Needing a birdie to tie with Norman, Calcavecchia hit a stunning eight-iron to five feet. Sinking the putt, all eyes now turned to Grady.
Holding a lead since Friday, Grady had continued to build on his success over the last year that had seen him win the Australian PGA - after beating Norman in a play-off - and winning the Westchester Classic the month before Troon. A birdie on the 12th gave Grady a two-shot lead with just five to play.
But as Nick Price could sadly confirm, a lead at Troon over the closing holes can trickle helplessly through your fingers. Two bogeys at the 14th and 17th - both par threes - set up the first three-way play-off in Open history. Played over holes 1, 2, 17 and 18, thousands flocked around the greens, almost suffocating the players in a hastily constructed amphitheatre.
The momentum appeared to be with Norman as he birdied the first to take an early lead, and despite Calcavecchia draining a 30-foot birdie putt on the next, Norman replied with one of his own to stay in front. Grady's two pars had left him with work to do, as the players reached the pivotal par three 17th hole.
For the second time in the day, Grady would bogey the 223-yard hole, effectively ending his bid in the process. Calcavecchia secured a safe par, yet with Norman just off the green it appeared as if the Australian's one shot lead would be maintained. But with one clumsy chip, Norman relinquished control. Calcavecchia and Norman were now both on one under par.
One hole remaining; the 452-yard par four 18th. Calcavecchia received another touch of fortune. Slicing his drive wildly, the American ended up on a walkway, but sitting up nicely after hitting a spectator. Norman crashed a booming drive, 325 yards down the fairway. Alas, there was one final twist of the knife.
Norman's ball trickled agonisingly into a bunker - "it's 325 yards to that trap; it never entered my mind" he later admitted - his power working against him. Close to the face of the bunker, Norman faced a dilemma. But when Calcavecchia struck a gorgeous 5-iron to six feet, Norman's race was run.
"As soon as I struck it I swear to God I didn't care where it went - short, long, wide - because I flat out couldn't hit it better than that," Calcavecchia stated. As Norman prepared to take go for broke, the commentary of the BBC's Peter Alliss echoed around the course. "He's trying to tell me how to play the shot," Norman laughed. Even Seve would have struggled providing advice on this one.
Norman went for it, yet inevitably his ball caught the lip of the bunker, and ended up in another. Thinning his final shot through the green and out of bounds, it would be a sad end to a remarkable comeback effort by Norman. Calcavecchia had three putts for the title. He only needed one.
After just missing out on the 1988 Masters, Calcavecchia claimed his one and only major - the first American to win the Open since Tom Watson in 1983 - to complete a great sporting day for his nation, following Greg Lemond's remarkable triumph in the Tour de France.
Lemond would overturn Laurent Fignon's 50 second advantage going into the final day of that memorable race. Had Norman won the 1989 Open, it would have been a comparable. But this was yet another one that got away from him. Sadly, for any English cricket fans, Australians would have to get their good news stories from a different sporting contest happening that summer.
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