Peter Alliss
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Peter Alliss (born February 28, 1931) is an English golfer, television presenter and commentator, author and golf course designer. His father Percy was a professional golfer who won several tournaments on the European golf circuit in the 1920s and 1930s, and Peter was born in Berlin while his father was employed as a club professional there.
Allis quit school at the age of 14 (then the minimum school leaving age in the UK) and began his career as a professional golfer in 1947, at the age of 16. In his 27 years of playing, he won three British PGA Championships, was semi-finalist in the British PGA Matchplay Championship, played in eight Ryder Cup teams, and played on ten teams representing England in the World Cup. Percy and Peter Allis were the first father and son to both participate in the Ryder Cup (Antonio Garrido and his son Ignacio later became the second). He won 23 tournaments, and gave Sean Connery golf tips before he filmed Goldfinger. His competitive career was almost over by the time the European Tour was formally established in 1972, but he played in some events in the Tour's early years, making his last appearance on the tour in 1975.
Alliss was the Captain of The Professional Golfers' Association twice, the president of the British Greenkeepers` Association, and was the first president of the European Women's Professional Golfers' Association. He has worked as a commentator for the BBC, ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In Britain he is probably the best known golf broadcaster. He has hosted a total of 140 Pro Celebrity Golf TV programmes, was the host of Around with Allis, and is currently starring in A Golfer's Travels, which is airing worldwide. He has written twenty books, the last of which was Golf Heroes, as well as articles in Golf International and Golf World Magazine.
Allis is also involved in golf course architecture. His first course design partner was David Thomas, with whom he created over 50 courses, including The Belfry, which is now the home of the Professional Golfers' Association and has staged the Ryder Cup several times. He then joined forces with Clive Clark and added another 22 courses to his portfolio(Old Thorns Golf Course in Hampshire).
In July 2005, he was honoured by the University of St Andrews, shortly before The Open Golf Championship, with the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.
[edit] Tournament wins
this list is incomplete
- 1954 Daks Tournament
- 1956 Spanish Open
- 1957 British PGA Championship
- 1958 Italian Open, Spanish Open, Portuguese Open
- 1962 British PGA Championship
- 1963 Daks Tournament (tie with Neil Coles)
- 1964 Esso Golden Tournament, Swallow-Penfold Tournament
- 1965 British PGA Championship
- 1966 Martini International (tie with W. Large)
- 1967 Agfa-Gavaert Tournament
- 1969 Piccadilly Medal