Sir Robert James Charles is a New Zealand professional golfer who won the 1963 Open Championship, the first left-handed player to win a major championship. He won the 1954 New Zealand Open as an 18-year-old amateur and made the cut in the same event in 2007, at the age of 71. His achievements over that period, in which he won 80 tournaments, rank him as one of the most successful New Zealand golfers of all time. He is, along with Michael Campbell, one of only two New Zealanders to win a men's major golf championship.
The Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 1949 and 2019 when Ireland hosted the championship. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the U.S. Amateur. It normally has the widest international representation of any individual amateur event, with 38 golf federations from all six continents represented in the 2018 championship.
The 1965 U.S. Open was the 65th U.S. Open, held June 17–21 at Bellerive Country Club in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb west of St. Louis. Gary Player of South Africa defeated Kel Nagle of Australia in an 18-hole playoff to win his only U.S. Open title. Player was the first foreign-born winner of the U.S. Open since 1927, and the win completed his career Grand Slam at age 29. It was the fourth of his nine major titles. The 1965 U.S. Open was the first U.S. Open broadcast on color television.
The 1953 U.S. Open was the 53rd U.S. Open, held June 11–13 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. Ben Hogan won a record-tying fourth U.S. Open title, six strokes ahead of runner-up Sam Snead.
The 1973 Open Championship was the 102nd Open Championship, played 11–14 July at Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland. Tom Weiskopf won his only major championship by three strokes over runners-up Neil Coles and Johnny Miller, the winner of the U.S. Open a month earlier. Weiskopf was a wire-to-wire winner and his four-round total of 12-under-par 276 matched the then-existing Open Championship record set by Arnold Palmer on the same course in 1962.
The 1923 Open Championship was the 58th Open Championship, held 14–15 June at Troon Golf Club in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Arthur Havers holed a bunker shot on the 72nd hole to win his only major title, one stroke ahead of defending champion Walter Hagen, who won the following year.
The 1932 Open Championship was the 67th Open Championship, held 8–10 June at Prince's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Gene Sarazen won his only Open title, five strokes ahead of runner-up Macdonald Smith. Sarazen led wire-to-wire to secure the fifth of his seven major championships.
The 1934 Open Championship was the 69th Open Championship, held 27–29 June at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Henry Cotton dominated the championship, leading wire-to-wire on his way to a five-stroke win and his first of three Open titles.
The 1935 Open Championship was the 70th Open Championship, played 26–28 June at Muirfield in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Alf Perry won his only major title, four strokes ahead of runner-up Alf Padgham.
The 1937 Open Championship was the 72nd Open Championship, held 7–9 July at Carnoustie Golf Links in Carnoustie, Scotland. Henry Cotton won the second of his three Open titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Reg Whitcombe. The Ryder Cup was held in late June at Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club in North West England, and all the members of the victorious American team played in the championship, creating a star-studded field, similar to four years earlier in 1933.
The 1939 Open Championship was the 74th Open Championship, held 5–7 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Dick Burton won his only major title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Johnny Bulla. The purse was £500 with a winner's share of £100. It was the last Open played for seven years, due to World War II.
The 1950 Open Championship was the 79th Open Championship, held 5–7 July at Troon Golf Club in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Defending champion Bobby Locke of South Africa won the second of his four Open titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Roberto De Vicenzo of Argentina. His total of 279 was a record for the Open Championship, beating the previous best of 283. It was the second Open Championship at Troon, which had previously hosted the Championship in 1923; it became "Royal Troon" in 1978.
The 1951 Open Championship was the 80th Open Championship, held 4–6 July at Royal Portrush Golf Club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Until 2019, it was the only time the championship was played outside England or Scotland. In it, Max Faulkner won his only major title, two strokes ahead of the runner-up, Antonio Cerdá, in the rain. Two-time defending champion Bobby Locke finished eight strokes back, in a tie for sixth.
The 1955 Open Championship was the 84th Open Championship, played 6–8 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Peter Thomson won the second of three consecutive Open titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up John Fallon. Thomson won a total of five Claret Jugs, the last in 1965.
The 1959 Open Championship was the 88th Open Championship, held 1–3 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Gary Player, age 23, shot a final round of 68 to win the first of his nine major titles, two strokes ahead of runners-up Fred Bullock and Flory Van Donck. It was the first of Player's three Claret Jugs; he won again in 1968 and 1974.
The 1960 Open Championship was the 89th Open Championship, played 6–9 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. In the centenary year of the Open Championship, Kel Nagle prevailed over Arnold Palmer by a single stroke; this year marked the championship's re-emergence as a major stop for American players.
The 1961 Open Championship was the 90th Open Championship, played 12–15 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Arnold Palmer won the first of two consecutive Open Championships, one stroke ahead of Dai Rees. It was the second Open for Palmer, the runner-up in his first in 1960, and the fourth of his seven major titles. He was the first American to win the Claret Jug since Ben Hogan in 1953. This was the second Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, which hosted in 1954.
The 1963 Open Championship was the 92nd Open Championship, held from 10 to 13 July at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England.
The 1962 PGA Championship was the 44th PGA Championship, played July 19–22 at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, a suburb west of Philadelphia. Gary Player won the first of his two PGA Championships, one stroke ahead of runner-up Bob Goalby, for the third of his nine major titles and the third leg of his career grand slam.
The World Senior Championship was a golf match held between the winners of the American PGA Seniors' Championship and the British PGA Seniors Championship. It was held from 1954 to 1978. It was a 36-hole match-play event held on a single day with the exception of the first year when it was held over two days. The British PGA Seniors Championship did not start until 1957. In 1954 and 1955 the British competitor was nominated by the British Association of Golf Writers while in 1956 four leading senior golfers played to decide the British entry.
Arnold Palmer 
