Tournament information | |
---|---|
Location | Hertfordshire, England |
Established | 1980 |
Course(s) | Royal Liverpool Golf Club |
Par | 72 |
Tour(s) | European Tour |
Format | Stroke play |
Prize fund | £250,000 |
Month played | August |
Final year | 1991 |
Tournament record score | |
Aggregate | 269 José María Cañizares (1980) 269 José María Cañizares (1983) |
To par | −19 as above |
Final champion | |
Paul Broadhurst | |
Location map | |
Location in England Location in Merseyside |
The Bob Hope British Classic was the original and most often used name of a European Tour golf tournament which was played in England every year but one from 1980 to 1991. It had six different names in total. The English born American entertainer Bob Hope was one of the most prominent celebrity friends of golf, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. All of the tournaments except the first and the last were played at Moor Park Golf Club in Hertfordshire, just to the north of London. The best known winner was the German future World Number 1 Bernhard Langer. In 1991 the prize fund was £252,370, which was below average for a European Tour event at that time.
Year | Winner | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Venue | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
European Pro-Celebrity | ||||||||
1991 | Paul Broadhurst | 272 | −16 | 7 strokes | Ronan Rafferty | Royal Liverpool | [1] | |
Wang Four Stars | ||||||||
1990 | Rodger Davis (2) | 271 | −17 | Playoff | Mike Clayton Bill Malley Mark McNulty | Moor Park | [2] | |
1989 | Craig Parry | 273 | −15 | Playoff | Ian Woosnam | Moor Park | [3] | |
Wang Four Stars National Pro-Celebrity | ||||||||
1988 | Rodger Davis | 275 | −1 | 1 stroke | José María Cañizares Eamonn Darcy | Moor Park | [4] | |
London Standard Four Stars National Pro-Celebrity | ||||||||
1987 | Mark McNulty | 273 | −15 | Playoff | Sam Torrance | Moor Park | [5] | |
1986 | Antonio Garrido | 275 | −13 | 1 stroke | José María Olazábal Ronan Rafferty | Moor Park | [6] | |
Four Stars National Pro-Celebrity | ||||||||
1985 | Ken Brown | 277 | −3 | 1 stroke | Gordon Brand Jnr | Moor Park | [7] | |
Bob Hope British Classic | ||||||||
1984 | Cancelled due to lack of sponsorship | [8] | ||||||
1983 | José María Cañizares (2) | 269 | −19 | 1 stroke | David Feherty | Moor Park | [9] | |
1982 | Gordon Brand Jnr | 272 | −16 | 3 strokes | Mark James | Moor Park | [10] | |
1981 | Bernhard Langer | 200 [a] | −13 | 5 strokes | Peter Oosterhuis | Moor Park | [11] | |
1980 | José María Cañizares | 269 | −19 | 1 stroke | Seve Ballesteros Lee Trevino Brian Waites | R.A.C. | [12] |
Gary James Player is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine major championships on the Champions Tour. At the age of 29, Player won the 1965 U.S. Open and became the only non-American to win all four majors in a career, known as the career Grand Slam. At the time, he was the youngest player to do this, though Jack Nicklaus (26) and Tiger Woods (24) subsequently broke this record. Player became only the third golfer in history to win the Career Grand Slam, following Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, and only Nicklaus and Woods have performed the feat since. He won over 160 professional tournaments on six continents over seven decades and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
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.
Anthony Jacklin CBE is an English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain from 1983 to 1989, Europe winning two and tying another of these four events.
Neil Chapman Coles, MBE is an English professional golfer. Coles had a successful career in European golf, winning 29 important tournaments between 1956 and 1982. After reaching 50, he won a further 14 important Seniors tournaments between 1985 and 2002, winning his final European Seniors Tour event at the age of 67. He also played in eight Ryder Cup matches between 1961 and 1977.
The Betfred British Masters is a professional golf tournament. It was founded in 1946 as the Dunlop Masters and was held every year up to 2008, except for 1984. Dunlop's sponsorship ended in 1982, and the name sponsor changed frequently thereafter, with the words "British Masters" usually also in the tournament's official name. The tournament was not held from 2009 to 2014 but returned to the schedule in 2015.
Peter Arthur Oosterhuis was an English professional golfer and broadcaster. He played on the European circuit from 1969 to 1974, winning 10 tournaments and taking the Harry Vardon Trophy for heading the Order of Merit for four consecutive seasons from 1971 to 1974. From 1975 he played on the PGA Tour, winning the Canadian Open in 1981. Oosterhuis was twice runner-up in the Open Championship, in 1974 and 1982. Later he became a golf analyst on TV, initially in Europe and then in the United States. In 2015, he announced that he had Alzheimer's disease.
Maurice Bembridge was an English professional golfer. Early in his career he had some success on the British PGA, winning the 1969 News of the World Match Play and the 1971 Dunlop Masters. He would go on to win six times on the British PGA's successor circuit, the European Tour. He also had some success overseas, winning the New Zealand Golf Circuit's Caltex Tournament in 1970 and the Kenya Open three times. In addition, Bembridge broke Augusta National Golf Club's course record at the 1974 Masters Tournament with a 64. Late in his career, Bembridge had some success on the European Senior Tour, winning twice.
Dale Reid was a Scottish professional golfer. She was one of the most successful players in the history of the Ladies European Tour, with 21 tournament victories. She topped the Order of Merit in 1984 and 1987 and was made a life member of the tour after collecting her 20th title at the 1991 Ford Classic. She played for Europe in the first four Solheim Cups and was Europe's non-playing captain in 2000 and 2002.
Brian George Charles Huggett, was a Welsh professional golfer. He won 16 events on the European circuit between 1962 and 1978, including two after the formal start of the European Tour in 1972. In 1968 he won the Harry Vardon Trophy for leading the Order of Merit and he was in third place in 1969, 1970 and 1972. He won 10 times on the European Seniors Tour between 1992 and 2000, including the 1998 Senior British Open.
Brian J. Waites is an English professional golfer. Although he turned professional in 1957, he played little top-level golf for the next 20 years, but then has considerable success, winning twice on the European Tour, five times on the Safari Circuit and playing in the 1983 Ryder Cup. After reaching 50 he had further success as a senior, winning the PGA Seniors Championship twice, and winning four times on the European Senior Tour.
The 1974 European Tour, titled as the 1974 PGA European Tour, was the third season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
The John Player Classic was the richest golf tournament in Britain between 1970 and 1973. In 1972 and 1973 it was an event on the fledgling European Tour.
The 1984 European Tour, titled as the 1984 PGA European Tour, was the 13th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
The 1985 European Tour, titled as the 1985 PGA European Tour, was the 14th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
Harry Bannerman is a Scottish professional golfer best known for playing in the 1971 Ryder Cup.
James Ewen Murray is a retired Scottish professional golfer who played on the European Tour. He is now better known as a commentator for Sky Sports Golf channel.
The Hennessy Cognac Cup was a biennial team golf tournament contested from 1976 to 1984. The contests in 1976, 1978 and 1980 were between teams of professional male golfers; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representing Continental Europe. There was also an earlier event, in 1974, played at Sotogrande in Spain, not sponsored by Hennessy. In 1982 a third team, the Rest of the World, was added and the event became a stroke-play contest with an individual prize. The 1984 event was run on a different basis, with 10 national teams competing. The tournament was played in years when there was no Ryder Cup.
Hedley W. Muscroft was an English professional golfer. He played regularly on the European circuit and later on the European Tour when it started in 1972. He won the 1970 Classic International and played in The Open Championship 16 times with a best finish of 18th place in 1967.
Andries Oosthuizen is a South African professional golfer. He played on the European Tour from 1974 to 1977 and finished tied for 12th place in the 1975 Open Championship.
Leonard Peter Tupling is an English professional golfer. As an amateur he won the Boys Amateur Championship in 1967. In 1969, he was the leading amateur in the Open Championship and played in the Walker Cup. As a professional, he is best remembered for winning the 1981 Nigerian Open with a 72-hole score of 255, at the time a new world scoring record in professional golf.