Howard Clark (golfer)

Howard Clark
Clark in 1976
Personal information
Full name	Howard Keith Clark
Born	(1954-08-26) 26 August 1954 (age 71) Leeds, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Sporting nationality	England
Residence	Knaresborough, England
Career
Turned professional	1973
Former tour	European Tour
Professional wins	14
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	11
Other	3
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	T35: 1987
PGA Championship	T80: 1996
U.S. Open	CUT: 1992
The Open Championship	T8: 1981

Howard Keith Clark (born 26 August 1954) is an English professional golfer who played on the European Tour for many years and had his most successful period in the mid-1980s.

Early life and amateur career

Clark was born in Leeds, England. He learned the game from his father, who was a scratch amateur. He won the 1971 Boys Amateur Championship and played for Great Britain & Ireland in the 1973 Walker Cup.

Professional career

Clark turned professional in 1973 and joined the European Tour in 1974. His first professional tournament win came in the 1975 Greater Manchester Open. ^[1] In 1976 he won the T.P.D. Under-25 Championship and his first win on the European Tour was two years later at the 1978 Portuguese Open. Clark's final tally of European Tour wins was eleven, including pairs of wins in four consecutive seasons from 1984 to 1987. He also won the individual title at the World Cup of Golf in 1985. His best placing on the Order of Merit was third, which he achieved in both 1984 and 1986. His form fell away in the early 1990s but revived for a time in the middle of that decade, and he made the top twenty on the Order of Merit in 1994 and 1995. His last season on the tour was 1999 and he subsequently worked as an on-course commentator for BBC Sport before moving to Sky Sports.

Clark played in the Ryder Cup six times and was on three winning European teams and also the 1989 team which tied the match and retained the Cup.

Amateur wins

• 1971 Boys Amateur Championship

Professional wins (14)

European Tour wins (11)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	15 Apr 1978	Portuguese Open	−1 (71-75-71-74=291)	1 stroke	Brian Barnes, Simon Hobday
2	29 Apr 1978	Madrid Open	−6 (70-70-72-70=282)	2 strokes	José María Cañizares
3	29 Apr 1984	Cepsa Madrid Open (2)	−14 (66-68-69-71=274)	3 strokes	José María Cañizares
4	28 May 1984	Whyte & Mackay PGA Championship	−12 (64-69-71=204) [a]	2 strokes	Gordon J. Brand, Bernhard Langer
5	16 Jun 1985	Jersey Open	−1 (71-69-71-68=279)	1 stroke	Warren Humphreys, Philip Parkin, Ian Woosnam
6	11 Aug 1985	Glasgow Open	−6 (71-65-70-68=274)	Playoff	Sandy Lyle
7	27 Apr 1986	Cepsa Madrid Open (3)	−14 (70-68-67-69=274)	1 stroke	Seve Ballesteros
8	18 May 1986	Peugeot Spanish Open	−16 (68-71-66-67=272)	1 stroke	Ian Baker-Finch
9	22 Mar 1987	Moroccan Open	−8 (73-73-66-72=284)	3 strokes	Mark James
10	9 Aug 1987	PLM Open	−17 (68-73-67-63=271)	2 strokes	Ossie Moore
11	2 Oct 1988	English Open	−9 (72-71-67-69=279)	3 strokes	Peter Baker

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1985	Glasgow Open	Sandy Lyle	Won with birdie on second extra hole
2	1995	Murphy's Irish Open	Stuart Cage, Sam Torrance	Torrance won with eagle on second extra hole Cage eliminated by par on first hole

Other wins (3)

• 1975 Greater Manchester Open
• 1976 T.P.D. Under-25 Championship
• 1985 World Cup (individual title)

Results in major championships

Tournament	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship	CUT				CUT	T13	T44	CUT
PGA Championship

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament								T35
U.S. Open
The Open Championship	T32	T8	CUT	T26	T52	T47	CUT	T62	T28	T13
PGA Championship							CUT

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open			CUT
The Open Championship	CUT	T80	CUT	T21	CUT	CUT	70		CUT
PGA Championship							T80

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
U.S. Open	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	1	4	23	13
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
Totals	0	0	0	0	1	4	27	15

• Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (1987 Masters – 1989 Open Championship)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Team appearances

Amateur

• Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1973

Professional

• Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland/Europe): 1977, 1981, 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners), 1989 (tied, cup retained), 1995 (winners)
• Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1978 (winners), (representing England) 1984 (winners)
• World Cup (representing England): 1978, 1984, 1985 (individual winner), 1987
• Dunhill Cup (representing England): 1985, 1986, 1987 (winners), 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995
• Nissan Cup (representing Europe): 1985, 1986

See also

• List of golfers with most European Tour wins

Notes

1. Shortened to 54 holes due to weather.

References

1. "Howard Clark, the former Walker Cup player..." The Glasgow Herald. 21 June 1976. p. 22.

External links

• Howard Clark at the European Tour official site
• Howard Clark at the Official World Golf Ranking official site