EUROPEAN TOUR HONOUR DAVE THOMAS
Dave Thomas (left) and George O'Grady
NEWS RELEASE FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR
Dave Thomas, a four-time Ryder Cup
player and renowned course designer, has been awarded Honorary Life
Membership of The European Tour.
Thomas was presented with the silver
Membership card by George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour,
in the company of Board Member and life-long friend, John O’Leary,
special guest Brendan Foster CBE and representatives of
the Association of Golf Writers during a special luncheon at Shepherd’s
Restaurant in London.
During an illustrious playing career
which began in 1949, Thomas was twice runner-up in The Open Championship
- in 1958 at Royal Lytham and St Annes when he tied with Peter
Thomson before losing in a 36-hole play-off and eight years later
at Muirfield when he finished tied second to Jack Nicklaus.
He played in four Ryder Cups in 1959,
‘63, ’65 and ’67, won many of Europe’s biggest tournaments and
represented Wales 11 times in the World Cup of Golf, before arthritis
ended his playing career and Thomas immersed himself in his other
great passion of golf course architecture.
Together with Peter Alliss, he
designed The Belfry’s famous Brabazon Course and his CV includes Slaley
Hall in Northumberland and the Roxburghe in Scotland in addition to Continental venues such as the latest European Tour Destination
St Leon-Rot, San Roque, the Almenara Hotel, La Baule and Cannes Mougins
and courses in Japan, China, Taiwan, Africa and South America.
Thomas was also Captain of the
Professional Golfers’ Association during its centenary year in 2001 and
five years later he was made an honorary life member of the PGA.
In making the presentation, O’Grady
said: “Dave Thomas is a four-time Ryder Cup player, has tied the Open
Championship and finished second, was chosen by the British Professional
Golfers’ Association to be Captain in their Centenary
Year, an Honorary Life Member of the PGA, designer of many courses
including The Belfry, an iconic Ryder Cup course.
"Wherever we have gone
in the world – the north of England, The Belfry, Spain - we have played
on his courses but above all that he is a great
guy.
(Editor's note: Also Scotland - Spey Valley, Newmachar, Blairgowrie to name just a few).
“It has been remiss of us not to have
presented this award a long time ago but today we are righting that
wrong. We have recently honoured Tommy Horton, Brian Huggett and Peter
Alliss and Dave is in that league in helping build the game
in Britain and all over the world. We would like to recognise that with
Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour.”
Thomas, born (August 16, 1934) and raised in Newcastle,
recalled his first taste of The Ryder Cup when he watched some of the
game’s greats including Sam Snead during the 1949 match at Ganton at the
age of 15 having just turned professional.
“I cannot tell you even today the
impression it left on me as a player to be, and how could I achieve the
standards that I watched in that Ryder Cup at Ganton?” he said.
“There
was Sam Snead, Lloyd Mangrum and to watch them play was
inspirational. To think just ten years later I played in my first Ryder
Cup in Palm Springs in California and played against Sam Snead and Cary
Middlecoff.
“I have very fond memories of my
playing career but by 1969 my back had gone and it was time to do
something else, and what do you do? Someone suggested some design and
architecture. Peter Alliss was involved and we became designers.
Who would have thought all these years on I would be close to designing
150 courses.
“I have seen how the game has grown,
how The European Tour has developed and it has been wonderful to have
been part of it all for the last 60 years. I am honoured to receive this
award.”
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Twitter:
@European_Tour
Facebook:
European Tour
Web:
www.europeantour.com
Labels: PRO GOLF
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home