In 1991, when Southport was overflowing with visitors during The Open Championship, a local grandmother named Hilda Edwards opened her home to two stranded caddies, securing an unexpected place in golfing history. Her hospitality led to a personal visit from the champion himself, Ian Baker-Finch, who brought the Claret Jug to her front room to thank her.
The desperate search for accommodation
With every hotel and guest house fully booked, two caddies approached the Tourist Information Centre, which was temporarily housed in a Victorian bathing hut on the Royal Birkdale golf course. The centre was staffed by 23-year-old Carolyn Gorman, who was responsible for assisting visitors during one of the town's busiest weeks.
Carolyn, now 57 and still a Southport resident, recalled the situation to the ECHO: "I worked at the Southport tourism department for 24 years, and in 1991, I was working at the tourist information centre. We had an office on Lord Street, but during events they used to bring out the Victorian bathing hut." She added, "For the Open, it had been wheeled onto the golf course, and I was put there with a telephone the size of a small house, which you could make about three phone calls on it before the battery ran out."
The two men explained that the golfers they worked for had qualified for The Open at the last minute, and they needed to stay locally. Carolyn said: "I said to them, 'I'm really sorry, everywhere's full, perhaps we could try Liverpool or Manchester?', but they insisted they had to be in Southport. There just wasn't anywhere; everywhere was full. I felt so sorry for them, there was nowhere for them to go."
A nan's generous offer
With no accommodation available, Carolyn made an unusual phone call to her grandmother, Hilda Edwards. "I said to them, 'I could ring my Grandma, she's well into her 80s, but she's got two little single beds which she might let you stay in, and she lives quite close to the golf course'," Carolyn explained.
On the condition that Carolyn would make up the beds, she took the two caddies—Pete Bender and Louis Baptiste—to Hilda's house. Carolyn and her sister Suzanne Medley spent the week looking after them. "We took them to the pub at night and showed them around. We had a really nice time with them. They were lovely. They were just strangers in a different place, and we were about the same age, so they just wanted to enjoy themselves," Carolyn said. "My grandma was very hospitable, and they enjoyed staying with her because she had been around the block and had lots of stories."
The champion's visit
It was only afterward that Carolyn realised the significance of that week. Pete Bender had been caddying for Australian golfer Ian Baker-Finch, and Louis Baptiste for Eduardo Romero. Against the odds, Baker-Finch won The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, claiming the only major title of his career. After the trophy presentation, Baker-Finch made a special visit to Hilda's home, accompanied by Bender and Baptiste.
Standing in the front room, the Champion Golfer of the Year posed for a photograph with Hilda and the caddies while holding the famous Claret Jug. Carolyn recalled: "He came round to my grandma's house with the Claret Jug. He said it was because my grandma had looked after his caddy so well that he'd been relaxed during the championship which had helped him."
A lasting memory
Hilda was "absolutely delighted" and amazed that the caddies had stayed with her and that the golfer she helped went on to win. "She just liked helping people," Carolyn said. "I think she got on board with it and got on with the excitement of it because the whole town has always been really involved in this event. It's just huge even back then."
The story remains a cherished family memory, and Carolyn and her sister Suzanne are both members of Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club. They volunteered as marshals on hole 17 at the 2026 Open, continuing their family's connection to the championship.
