Ross Metherell

Last updated

Ross Metherell
Personal information
Born (1948-09-30) 30 September 1948 (age 75)
Perth, Western Australia
Sporting nationalityFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Career
Turned professional1968
Former tour(s) European Senior Tour
Number of wins by tour
European Senior Tour2

Ross Metherell (born 30 September 1948) [1] is an Australian professional golfer and golf coach. As a touring professional Metherell largely played in his home state of Western Australia, winning dozens of events including the Western Australian Open twice. Starting in the early 1980s Metherell began working as a golf coach which he would do for most of the remainder of his career. Late in his career, however, he had a brief rebirth as a touring professional, winning two events on the European Senior Tour in August 1999.

Contents

Golf career

Metherell is from Perth, Australia. [1] He won the Western Australian trainee title in 1965 and 1966. [2] He turned professional in 1968. [1]

Early in his career, Metherell had much success in local events in Western Australia. In 1971, he won Western Australia PGA Championship. In 1972, he played the Fremantle Open against 80 competitors. The event was played over the course of one day, Sunday 7 May. In the morning round, he tied the course record with a 66. Despite a "lapse" in the afternoon round he went on to defeat Terry Gale by two shots. [3] It was the third time he won the event. The following year, he won the Western Australia PGA and in 1974 he won the Western Australian Open for the first time. Shortly thereafter, Metherell won the Spalding Park Open, held in Spalding, Western Australia, in 1975 and successfully repeated as champion in 1976. [4]

In the mid-1970s, Metherell started producing high finishes in more notable events across Australia. In 1975, he played the Tasmanian Open at Devonport Golf Club. Metherell held a two shot lead over playing partner Stewart Ginn at the 71st hole. He hit his approach into a bunker, however, and bogeyed while Ginn birdied to cancel out the lead. They went into a sudden-death playoff. On the par-4 1st hole Ginn "hit a great drive." Metherell's drive, on the other hand, hit a tree only 200 metres from the tee box. It took him four shots to make the green and he bogeyed. Ginn made a conventional par for the win. [5] In 1976, he played at the South Coast Open. Metherell fired a two-under-par 69 to finish at 278 (−6). It looked like he might enter a playoff as leader Barry Burgess was in trouble on the 72nd hole. However, Burgess was able to save par and win. Metherell tied David Good for second place, one back. [6] In 1978, he seriously challenged for the Western Australian Open once more. Metherell "appeared a certain winner" by the 12th hole of the final round. He had a three stroke lead over Peter Croker while Mike Ferguson and David Galloway were further behind. However, Galloway played a scorching back nine at Mount Lawley course, scoring six birdies for a 30. He finished at 279. Metherell still had the solo lead entering the 16th hole. However, he would drop shots over the course of the 16th and 17th holes to find himself one behind entering the final hole. Needing a birdie to tie Galloway, he instead double-bogeyed. He finished in joint second with Croker and Ferguson, three shots behind. [7]

In 1979 Metherell was rewarded for his good play with admission to Australia's World Cup team. Metherell teamed up with Colin Bishop. The event was held at Glyfada Golf Club in Athens, Greece. In the second round Metherell shot an 80 (+8) while playing partner Colin Bishop shot an 86 (+14). They were at 326 (+38), 44 shots behind the leading American team. After the second round Metherell stated, "That's my worst round in 15 years of competitive golf. I still can't believe it actually happened. I kept getting tangled up with the trees and once dropped five strokes in two holes. I had a couple of triple-bogey sevens. I don't want to make excuses, but this course might be ok for the top players, but it's much too tough for the rest." [8] In the fourth and final round Metherell again shot an 80 (+8) and Australia's team finished at 634 (+58). [9] Their team finished in a tie for 25th among 45 teams. [10]

In the 1980s, Metherell largely focused on playing local Western Australian events. In 1982, he won the Spalding Park Open for the third time. [11] Like he did in the 1970s, he nearly repeated as a back-to-back champion in 1983. However Roger Mackay, then an amateur, defeated him by three shots. Metherell finished solo second. [11] Later in the year he won the Western Australia PGA Championship for the third time. It is estimated that Metherell won 50 tournaments in his regular career. [12]

For the remainder of the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Metherell worked mainly as a golf coach. [13] In 1984, Metherell started working as the official State Men's Coach for Western Australia. [14] He maintained this position for most of the remainder of his career. [15] In the late 1990s, he started to coach touring professionals Stephen Leaney and Greg Chalmers. [13] During this era, he also coached Craig Parry, Roger Mackay, and Kim Felton. [14] Late in his regular career, he did have some success in local Western Australian events. In 1989, he won the Western Australian Open for the second and final time. In 1997, at the age of 48, he won the Nedlands Masters for the first time in 23 years.

Senior career

In 1998, Metherell turned 50 and was eligible for the senior tours. He subsequently tried out for the European Senior Tour. He was successful and earned full-time status for the 1999 season. [1] In his first seven events, Metherell was not particularly successful, missing the cut twice and failing to record any top-25s. [16] In August, however, he had much success. At the De Vere Hotels Seniors Classic, he shot an opening 66 (−5) to put him one behind David Huish and fellow West Australian Terry Gale. He fired a second round 65 to take a two-stroke lead over the first round leaders and American Bill Brask. In the third and final round he held a one shot lead entering the final hole. He hit his approach into a bunker but managed to get up and down for the win. Brask finished second. [13] [17] Two weeks later he again played excellently. At the Belfry PGA Seniors Championship, he shot a second round 68 (−4) to get into contention. In the third round, he shot a "flawless" [18] 66 to take a one stroke lead over Terry Gale and Michael Slater. In the fourth round, he shot a 71 to again defeat Brask by one shot. [19] In the final tournament of the year, the Senior Tournament of Champions, he recorded his third top-10 of the year. [16] Overall, Metherell finished 8th on the Order of Merit and won nearly 100,000 pounds. [20]

After the season ended, Metherell played in the Praia d'El Rey European Cup, a team event matching men on the European Senior Tour with women on the Ladies European Tour. The event was held at Praia d'El Rey on the Atlantic coast of Portugal. One of Metherell's highlights was a 30-foot holed putt on the 18th hole during the first day "salvage a draw" against Sophie Gustafson and Sofia Grönberg-Whitmore." [21] During Sunday's play, Metherell played against England's Trish Johnson. Johnson took a 4 up lead at the turn but a "dogged" Metherell came back, taking the match to the 18th hole. However, at the last, Johnson made a 12 foot birdie putt to win the match. [22]

After the season ended, Metherell returned to Australia to coach. In March 2000, he came back to Europe. His best performance was late in the season at the Dan Technology Senior Tournament of Champions at Buckinghamshire Golf Club in England. Metherell fired a final round 66 (−6) to take the clubhouse lead with Maurice Bembridge. [23] It looked like he might enter a playoff. However Ireland's Denis O'Sullivan birdied the final three holes to defeat him by a shot. [24] Overall, he recorded four top-10s and finished 24th on the Order of Merit. [20] His 2001 season was far weaker and he would not record any top-10s. He finished outside the top 50 of the Order of Merit for the first time. [20] During this era, Metherell was "plagued by back problems" which hurt his performance. [1] In 2002, he played better, recording thee top-10s and a 33rd placing on the Order of Merit. [20] The following season, 2003, was his final full-time season on tour. In 14 events Metherell did not record any top-25s and finished 81st on the Order of Merit. [20]

Afterwards, Metherell has worked largely as a golf coach. In the mid-2000s, he returned to work as the State Men's Coach for Western Australian. [14] [15] As of 2005, he was the coach of European Tour pro Brett Rumford. [25] In 2011, Metherell coached Western Australia's boys' team for the Australian Junior Amateur Championships and the Junior Interstate Series. [26] During this era, he also coached professionals Jarrod Moseley and Stephen Leaney. [1] In 2011, he retired from working as the State Men's Coach for Western Australia, a position he held for the most part of 28 years. [15] Since this period, Metherell has coached at Whaleback Golf Club and Collier Park Golf Club. [27] [28]

In recent years, he has also played some senior events in the Australasian region. He has played senior events in southeast Asia and Australia. [29] [30]

Personal life

As of 1975, Metherell was married to Pam. [5]

Metherell's interests include music and following Australian rules football. [1]

Professional wins (16)

Regular career wins (14)

European Seniors Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
115 Aug 1999 De Vere Hotels Seniors Classic −13 (66-65-69=200)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Bill Brask
230 Aug 1999 The Belfry PGA Seniors Championship −12 (71-68-66-71=276)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Bill Brask

Playoff record

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11975 Tasmanian Open Flag of Australia (converted).svg Stewart Ginn Lost to par on first extra hole

Team appearances

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Mickelson</span> American professional golfer

Philip Alfred Mickelson is an American professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six major championships: three Masters titles, two PGA Championships, and one Open Championship (2013). With his win at the 2021 PGA Championship, Mickelson became the oldest major championship winner in history at the age of 50 years, 11 months, and 7 days. He is nicknamed Lefty, as he plays left-handed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Scott (golfer)</span> Australian golfer

Adam Derek Scott is an Australian professional golfer who plays mainly on the PGA Tour. He was the World No. 1 ranked golfer, from mid-May to August 2014. He has won 31 professional tournaments around the world, on many of golf's major tours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Rose</span> South African-born English professional golfer

Justin Peter Rose, is an English professional golfer. Rose first achieved significant media attention when he finished fourth place at the 1998 Open Championship as an amateur. He turned pro the next day but struggled during his first couple of years as a professional, making few cuts. In the early 2000s, however, he had success, winning his first European Tour event in 2002 and ultimately leading the tour's Order of Merit in 2007. In the ensuing years, Rose focused primarily on the United States, winning a number of notable tournaments, culminating with a victory at the 2013 U.S. Open. Rose has continued with success since then, earning a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing runner-up at the 2017 Masters, and reaching number one in the world for the first time in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Reid (golfer)</span> American professional golfer (born 1954)

Michael Daniel Reid is an American professional golfer. Reid was one of the top amateurs in the mid-1970s, winning the 1976 Pacific Coast Amateur and leading the 1976 U.S. Open after the first round. As a professional, Reid won two PGA Tour events and finished in the top-10 70 times. In 1989, Reid came close to winning two major championships, the Masters and the PGA Championship, leading both of them during closing holes of the final round. On the Champions Tour, Reid won two senior majors, the 2005 Senior PGA Championship and the 2009 Tradition.

Graham Vivian Marsh MBE is a retired professional golfer who was one of the leading Australian players of his generation. During his career he won more than 70 tournaments around the world, including 10 on the European Tour and 20 on the Japan Golf Tour, plus two senior major championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Graham (golfer)</span> Australian professional golfer

Anthony David Graham, AM is a former professional golfer from Australia. He won eight times on the PGA Tour, including two major championships.

Allen Lee Geiberger Sr. is an American former professional golfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Dufner</span> American golfer

Jason Christopher Dufner is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour where he is a five-time winner. He has won one major championship, the 2013 PGA Championship. He was also runner-up in the 2011 PGA Championship, losing a playoff to Keegan Bradley. Dufner was ranked in the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking for 50 weeks; his career-high ranking is sixth in September 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Leishman</span> Australian professional golfer

Marc A. Leishman is an Australian professional golfer. He has won six times on the PGA Tour. In 2009 he won the Rookie of the Year award on the PGA Tour, the first Australian to win the award.

Martin Joseph Bohen is an American professional golfer. Bohen turned professional in 1965 and tried out unsuccessfully for the PGA Tour several times during the 1960s. In the interim, he worked as a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas and honed his game with instructor Toney Penna. He eventually made it onto the PGA Tour and played on tour for three seasons. For the remainder of his career as a touring professional, he played in the Asia-Pacific region, culminating with a win at the 1979 Tasmanian Open. In 1980, Bohen took a job as assistant professional at Spook Rock Golf Club in New York state. Bohen has primarily worked as a club pro since then.

Randall Vines is an Australian professional golfer. Vines was one of the top Australian golfers of his generation, winning a number of worldwide tournaments. He may be best remembered for his sterling 1968 season which included four significant worldwide wins across in Asia, Europe, and Australia, including a 17 stroke win at the Tasmanian Open. The victory is still considered by some to be the largest margin of victory in any golf significant professional tournament ever.

Barry Burgess is an Australian professional golfer.

George Serhan is an Australian professional golfer. Serhan was a full-time pro on the PGA Tour of Australasia from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s. Although he won a number of minor tournaments in the Australasian region he is best remembered for winning his home state's open, the New South Wales Open, in 1980. It was his only official win on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 U.S. Open (golf)</span> 121st U.S. Open

The 2021 United States Open Championship was the 121st U.S. Open, the national open golf championship of the United States. It was a 72-hole stroke play tournament that was played June 17–20 on the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, San Diego, California. The South Course previously hosted in 2008, which was won by Tiger Woods in a playoff.

David Galloway is an Australian professional golfer. Galloway had much success in the mid-1970s, winning three official events on the PGA Tour of Australia. Though from Canberra, his career was strongly associated with South Australia. Galloway won his first two official tournaments in the state and finished runner-up at the 1974 and 1976 South Australian Open. Later in his career he has worked primarily as a golf coach and administrator in the state.

Mike Ferguson is an Australian professional golfer. Ferguson was one of Australian's top golfers during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1977 he won the Western Australian Open for his breakthrough victory. Two years later he won back-to-back events, Illawarra Open and Gold Coast Classic. In 1981, "his most successful year," he won two state PGA championships, the New South Wales PGA Championship and the Queensland PGA Championship. Shortly thereafter, citing poor discipline, his game declined; Ferguson failed to make the PGA Tour and he would not win another official regular event. As a senior, however, Ferguson would have some success, winning five significant events in the Australasian region, including the Australian Seniors PGA Championship twice.

Lyndsay Stephen was an Australian professional golfer. Stephen had much success early in his career, winning the South Australian Open at the age of 24. There were high expectations for him though he did not always meet them, recording at least seven runner-up finishes during the remainder of the 1980s but rarely winning. In the early 1990s he briefly quit tournament golf, focusing to work as a coach. However, he shortly returned and recorded some late career highlights, including victories at the 1996 South Australian PGA Championship and 2010 Australian PGA Seniors Championship.

Barry Vivian is a New Zealand professional golfer. He won the inaugural Australian Masters in 1979 and represented New Zealand in the World Cup three times. He played on the European Senior Tour for a few years where he was twice runner-up.

Stuart Reese is a professional golfer from New Zealand. Reese was one of New Zealand's top amateur golfers in the 1970s, featuring as low amateur at the 1974 New Zealand Open and winning the 1975 New Zealand Amateur. Reese turned professional in 1976, winning a number of minor tournaments in the Pacific islands before culminating with a win at the 1982 New Zealand PGA Championship, his only official win on the PGA Tour of Australasia. Late in his career, Reese has played in some senior events but has primarily worked as a club professional and golf coach. He has worked as a swing instructor for some notable players, including superstar golfers Tiger Woods and Lydia Ko.

Michael Violette Colandro was an American professional golfer. Colandro played briefly on the PGA Tour in 1979 and 1980 but did not have much success. In 1981, he started to play on the PGA Tour of Australia. Despite multiple personal tragedies, a rancorous relationship with rules officials, and a precarious exemption status he was able to play 16 consecutive seasons on the Australian tour, culminating with his only official tour victory, the 1987 Air New Zealand Shell Open. In 1995, he largely retired as a touring professional. He still worked in the golf industry, however, as a swing instructor, creator of golf-related DVDs-CDs, and charity fundraiser, while also working on a self-published autobiography, Almost an Aussie.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Ross Metherell". European Tour. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "WA PGA Pros book ticket to Hamilton Island at Nedlands". Nedlands Golf Club. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Season's first golf pennant". Beverley Times. 12 May 1972. p. 2. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "BH30 - SPGC 2013 Brochure.indd" (PDF). Spalding Park Open - Previous Winners.
  5. 1 2 "Ginn wins Tas. Open". The Age. 3 February 1975. p. 26. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  6. ↑ "First win in 6 years". The Canberra Times. 4 October 1976. p. 12. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  7. ↑ Hourigan, John (25 April 1978). "Golf". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "WORLD CUP GOLF US pair leads by eight strokes". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 11 November 1979. p. 22. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "Politics the bogey: Irwin". The Age. 13 November 1979. p. 39. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "World Cup Golf Results". The Desert Sun. 12 November 1979. p. B2.
  11. 1 2 "Spalding Park Open" (PDF). Spalding Park Golf Club.
  12. ↑ "Metherell Triumphs Again". European Tour. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  13. 1 2 3 "Metherell Claims Maiden Seniors Title". European Tour. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 "Ross Metherell: fixing the chicken wing". iSeekGolf.com. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 "Golf WA is pleased to announce the appointment of the two State Coaches for WA for the next two years". Golf Industry Central. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  16. 1 2 "Ross Metherell – Wins & Results". European Tour. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  17. ↑ "Results - De Vere Hotels Seniors Classic 1999". European Tour. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "Metherell poised for victory". European Tour. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  19. ↑ "Results - Belfry PGA Seniors Championship 1999". European Tour. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ross Metherell – Career Records". European Tour. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  21. ↑ "Foursomes results". European Tour. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  22. ↑ "Seniors pipped as Ladies make it third time lucky". European Tour. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  23. ↑ "Leaderboard - Dan Technology Senior Tournament of Champions 2000". European Tour. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  24. ↑ "Golf Roundup Harrington, O'Sullivan victorious in Europe". Irish Echo. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  25. ↑ "Rumford swaps golf clubs for guitar". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 August 2005. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  26. ↑ "WA state junior teams announced". Golf Grinder. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  27. ↑ "Whaleback Golf Course" . Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  28. ↑ "Western Australia Golf". Ausgolf. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  29. ↑ Manjunath, H. S. "Gaviola wins at Masters". www.phnompenhpost.com. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  30. ↑ "Asian Seniors Tour". www.asianseniorstour.com. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  31. ↑ "In Brief: New stadium opened". The Canberra Times. 17 November 1977. p. 22. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.