Michael Bonallack

Sir Michael Francis Bonallack, OBE (31 December 1934 – 26 September 2023) was an English amateur golfer who was one of the leading administrators in world golf in the late 20th century.[1][2]

Sir
Michael Bonallack
OBE
Personal information
Full nameMichael Francis Bonallack
Born(1934-12-31)31 December 1934
Chigwell, Essex, England
Died26 September 2023(2023-09-26) (aged 88)
St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
Sporting nationality England
Career
StatusAmateur
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 1966, 1969, 1970
The Open ChampionshipT11: 1959
U.S. AmateurR64: 1961
British AmateurWon: 1961, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2000 (member page)
Knight Bachelor1998
Bob Jones Award1972
(For a full list of awards, see here)

Bonallack was born in Chigwell, Essex. He learned the game of golf under the tutelage of head professional Bert Hodson at Chigwell[3] and soon won the Boys Amateur 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

Bonallack was Secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews from 1983 to 1999 and Captain from 1999 to 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).

Bonallack was the 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.[4] He was also President of the National Association of Public and Proprietary Golf Courses (NAPGC).

Honours

Bonallack was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to golf in the 1971 New Year Honours,[5] and was knighted in the 1998 Birthday Honours, again for services to golf.[6][7] 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 was a member of Augusta National Golf Club,[8] 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.

Personal life and death

Bonallack married Angela Ward in February 1958. They were married for 64 years until her death in July 2022.[9]

Bonallack died in St Andrews, Fife on 26 September 2023, at the age of 88.[10][11]

Tournament wins (30)

Note: This list may be incomplete

Results in major championships
Tournament 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament
The Open Championship T11
U.S. Amateur R128
The Amateur Championship R128 R32 SF R32
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T33 T27 CUT T21LA T42
U.S. Amateur R64 T53 T11 T14
The Amateur Championship QF 1 – – – 1 – – 1 1
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973
Masters Tournament CUT
The Open Championship CUT T22LA CUT CUT
U.S. Amateur R32
The Amateur Championship 1 – – –

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

  Did not play

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1970 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Sources:[12] , Masters,[13] U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur,[14] Open Championship,[15] Amateur Championship (1956,[16] 1957,[17] 1958,[18] 1959,[19] 1960[20]

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. Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  2. Corrigan, James (26 September 2023). "Golf mourns death of former R&A chief Sir Michael Bonallack at the age of 88". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  3. Hodson, Andrew. "Bert Hodson Ryder cup". hodsongolf.com. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  4. Mackie, Keith. "2006 Memorial Tournament Honoree; Sir Michael Bonallack" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  5. United Kingdom list: "No. 45262". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1970. p. 9.
  6. United Kingdom list: "No. 55155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1998. p. 1.
  7. "Sports stars share honours". BBC News. 13 June 1998. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  8. "Augusta National Golf Club members list". USA Today.com. 4 August 2004.
  9. "Tributes Paid to Lady Angela Bonallack". The R&A. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  10. Sandomir, Richard (7 October 2023). "Michael Bonallack, Britain's Greatest Postwar Amateur Golfer, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  11. Huggan, John (26 September 2023). "Sir Michael Bonallack, former R&A secretary and World Golf Hall of Famer, dies at 88". Golf Digest.
  12. Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3360-5.
  13. www.masters.com Archived 26 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  14. USGA Championship Database Archived 21 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  15. www.opengolf.com
  16. The Glasgow Herald, 30 May 1956, pg. 4.
  17. The Glasgow Herald, 30 May 1957, pg. 4.
  18. The Glasgow Herald, 7 June 1958, pg. 4.
  19. The Glasgow Herald, 28 May 1959, pg. 9.
  20. The Glasgow Herald, 27 May 1960, pg. 13.
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