Clive Clark (golfer)

Last updated

Clive Clark
Personal information
Full nameClive Anthony Clark
Born (1945-06-27) 27 June 1945 (age 78)
Winchester, Hampshire, England
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Sporting nationalityFlag of England.svg  England
Residence La Quinta, California
SpouseLinda Catherine (nee Chase)
ChildrenNone
Career
Turned professional1965
Former tour(s) European Tour
Professional wins5
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament CUT: 1968
PGA Championship DNP
U.S. Open DNP
The Open Championship T3: 1967

Clive Anthony Clark (born 27 June 1945) is an English professional golfer and more recently a broadcaster and golf course architect.

Contents

Early life

Clark started playing golf at the age of 12. He was a Junior Member at both Scarborough North Cliff and Ganton, both golf clubs being in Yorkshire, England. His dedication to the sport resulted in early success, being runner-up in The Boys' Championship and in successive years was Captain of the British Boys' Team against Europe, and later Captained The English Youth's Team vs Scotland.

Amateur career

He progressed in his late teens to be successful in major Amateur Championships. Clive was a winner of The Brabazon Trophy (The English Amateur Strokeplay), the 72-hole Lytham Trophy, and The Golf Illustrated Gold Vase played at Sunningdale. In the same year, he was also runner-up to Michael Bonallack in both The British Amateur Championship and The English Amateur Championship. On turning 20, Clark played in 1965 Walker Cup in Baltimore, Maryland where he was undefeated in his four matches and, in the last match out on the course, he holed a 33-foot putt on the last green for Great Britain to tie the USA.

Professional career

Clark turned pro in 1965 and won The Danish Open the following year. In 1968, he won the Agfacolor Film Tournament and the Bowmaker Tournament. [1] [2] In 1970 he won the John Player Trophy, a 36-hole event which acted a qualifier for the John Player Classic. [3] In 1974, playing with Peter Butler, he won the Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball. [4] Clark's best finish in a major championship was 1967 Open Championship when he tied for 3rd place with Gary Player at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. The only players to defeat him were runner-up Jack Nicklaus and the champion, Roberto De Vicenzo. He was also runner-up in the British PGA Championship, French Open, and lost a play-off to Gary Player in The Spanish Classic.

After his long career in professional golf, Clark spent 18 years as a golf commentator for BBC Television alongside Peter Alliss. During that period, he also worked on several occasions for CBS Television on The Masters in Augusta. He was also an announcer for The Australian Open (for the Australian Broadcasting Company) and The Million Dollar Challenge in South Africa (for the South African Broadcasting Corporation).

Clark and Peter Alliss formed their own golf course design company in the mid-1980s. Some of their work included Alcaidesa (just outside Sotogrande in Spain), Pyrford Golf Club (in Surrey, England) and Castle Combe (in the Cotswolds area of northwest Wiltshire in England). In the mid-1990s, Clark formed his own golf course design company, Clive Clark Design, which is located in La Quinta, California. The company has won many national and international awards for their design work. Clark's designs include Dumbarnie Links, Lake Winnipesaukee, Belgrade Lakes, The Hideaway, Celebrity Course at Indian Wells Resort, and Eagle Falls.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (5)

this list may be incomplete

Playoff record

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1972 French Open Flag of the United States.svg Barry Jaeckel Lost to par on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament19641965196619671968196919701971197219731974
Masters Tournament CUT
The Open Championship CUTCUTCUTT3CUTT17CUTT11CUTCUT

Note: Clark only played in the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1968, 1971 and 1974 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Amateur Championship</span> Amateur golf tournament

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.

Sir Michael Francis Bonallack, OBE is an English amateur golfer who was one of the leading administrators in world golf in the late 20th century.

Brian George Charles Huggett, is a Welsh professional golfer. He won sixteen events on the European circuit, 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. He played in the Ryder Cup six times and was a non-playing captain. He also won 10 times on the European Seniors Tour between 1992 and 2000, including the 1998 Senior British Open.

Bernard John Hunt, MBE was an English professional golfer.

Peter Joseph Butler was an English professional golfer. He was one of the leading British golfers of the 1960s and early 1970s. He won a number of important tournaments including the 1963 PGA Close Championship and the 1968 French Open. He played in four Ryder Cup matches between 1965 and 1973 and three times in the World Cup. He played in the Open Championship 23 times, with two top-10 finishes, and seven successive times in the Masters from 1964 to 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Thomas (golfer)</span> Welsh professional golfer (1934–2013)

David Charles Thomas was a Welsh professional golfer and renowned golf course architect.

The English Men's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy is the national amateur stroke play golf championship in England. It has been played annually since 1947 and is organised by the England Golf.

Ronald David Bell Mitchell Shade, MBE was a Scottish professional golfer.

The 1963 Open Championship was the 92nd Open Championship, held from 10–13 July at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England.

The 1965 Open Championship was the 94th Open Championship, played 7–9 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Peter Thomson won his fifth Claret Jug, two strokes ahead of runners-up Brian Huggett and Christy O'Connor Snr. Thomson's previous Open victory was seven years earlier in 1958.

Guy Bertram Wolstenholme was an English professional golfer. He had a successful career both as an amateur and then as a professional.

Peter Michael Paul Townsend is an English professional golfer. After a very successful amateur career he turned professional in 1966. He had a number of wins in the early part of his professional career including the Piccadilly PGA Close Championship in 1968. He represented Great Britain twice in the Ryder Cup, in 1969 and 1971.

Little Aston Golf Club is an 18 hole members golf club located within the Little Aston Park Private Estate in Sutton Coldfield, England which has hosted a variety of leading professional and amateur tournaments including the Schweppes PGA Close Championship and the Brabazon Trophy.

Douglas Norman Sewell was an English professional golfer. Before turning professional he had a successful amateur career, playing in the Walker Cup in 1957 and 1959.

The Bowmaker Tournament was an invitation pro-am golf tournament played from 1957 to 1970. Except in the first and final years the tournament was held at Sunningdale Golf Club. The main event was a 36-hole stroke play event for the professionals played over two days. There was also a better-ball event for the professional/amateur pairs.

Philip Furse Scrutton was an English amateur golfer. He played in the Walker Cup in 1955 and 1957. He was killed in a road traffic accident at the age of 35.

Antony Gawen Grubb was an English professional golfer. He is remembered for winning the 1964 Schweppes PGA Close Championship.

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.

Rodney Foster is an English amateur golfer. He was one of the leading British amateurs of the 1960s and early 1970s. He represented Great Britain and Ireland in five successive Walker Cup matches from 1965 to 1973 and twice in the Eisenhower Trophy, in 1964 and 1970.

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.

References

  1. "Agfacolor event Clark's first major prize". The Glasgow Herald. 13 May 1968. p. 7.
  2. "Bowmaker Golf – Clark maintains form". The Times. 3 July 1968. p. 13.
  3. "Clark leads Classic qualifying after record-equalling 69". The Glasgow Herald. 2 September 1970. p. 7.
  4. "Butler settles it with birdie". The Glasgow Herald . 20 May 1974. p. 5.