Michael Bonallack

Sir Michael Bonallack
 Golfer 
Personal information
Full name Michael Francis Bonallack
Born 31 December 1934
Chigwell, Essex, England, UK
Nationality  England
Career
Status Amateur
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament CUT: 1966, 1969, 1970
The Open Championship T11: 1959
U.S. Amateur R64: 1961
British Amateur SF: 1958
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 2000 (member page)
Knight Bachelor 1998
Bob Jones Award 1972
(For a full list of awards, see here)

Sir Michael Francis Bonallack, OBE (born 31 December 1934) is an English amateur golfer who was one of the leading administrators in world golf in the late 20th century.[1]

Bonallack was born in Chigwell, Essex. He won the British Boys Championship in 1952. A rare example of an outstanding golfer who remained an amateur in the era when professional domination of the sport became firmly entrenched, he went on to win The Amateur Championship and the English Amateur five times each and the Brabazon Trophy four times. He was a member of nine Walker Cup teams and played in the Eisenhower Trophy seven times. His best finish at The Open Championship was eleventh in 1959. He was the leading amateur at the Open in 1968 and 1971.

Affiliations

He was secretary (i.e. chief executive) of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, which runs The Open Championship and sets the rules of golf in partnership with the United States Golf Association, from 1984 to 1999, and as Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in 2000. He has also been President of the Golf Club Managers' Association (1974–84), Chairman of the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland (1976–81), Chairman of the Golf Foundation (1977–82), and President of the English Golf Union (1982).

He is the current President of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) and also served as President of the One Armed Golfers Society, the Professional Golfers Association of Europe and as Chairman of the advisory committee for the Official World Golf Rankings.[2] He is also President of the National Association of Public and Proprietary Golf Courses (NAPGC).

Honours

Bonallack received an OBE for services to golf in 1971, and was created a Knight Bachelor in 1998.[3] In 1972, he was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honour given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He is a member of Augusta National Golf Club,[4] and has received numerous honours from golfing organisations around the world, culminating in his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.

Legacy

Europe and the Asia-Pacific play for the Sir Michael Bonallack Trophy every two years. The teams consist of 12 amateur golfers and no more than two players can be from the same country.

Tournament wins (28)

this list may be incomplete

Results in major championships

Tournament 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP T11
U.S. Amateur DNP R128 DNP DNP
The Amateur Championship R128 R32 SF R32
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP CUT
The Open Championship DNP CUT DNP CUT CUT T33 T27 CUT T21LA T42
U.S. Amateur DNP R64 DNP DNP DNP T53 DNP DNP T11 T14
The Amateur Championship QF - - - - - - - - -
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973
Masters Tournament CUT DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT T22LA CUT CUT
U.S. Amateur DNP DNP DNP R32

Note: Bonallack did not play in the U.S. Open or the PGA Championship.

LA = Low Amateur
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Source for The Masters: www.masters.com

Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database

Source for The British Open: www.opengolf.com

Source for 1956 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 30 May 1956, pg. 4.

Source for 1957 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 30 May 1957, pg. 4.

Source for 1958 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 7 June 1958, pg. 4.

Source for 1959 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 28 May 1959, pg. 9.

Source for 1960 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 27 May 1960, pg. 13.

Awards and achievements

Team appearances

this list may be incomplete

References

  1. "On This Day In History – Sir Michael Bonallack, Former R&A Secretary, Is Born". In Golf We Trust. 31 December 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  2. Keith Mackie. "2006 Memorial Tournament Honoree; Sir Michael Bonallack". Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  3. "Sports stars share honours". BBC News. 13 June 1998. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  4. Augusta National Golf Club members list, usatoday.com, 4 August 2004.

External links