David Jones (born 22 June 1947) is a former

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

golfer from Bangor,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. His best season was 1981, when he won the Irish PGA Championship and was joint third in the Carroll's Irish Open. He also won the 1989

Kenya Open The Kenya Open, currently titled as the Magical Kenya Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament in Kenya founded in 1967. History The Kenya Open was an associate event on the Far East Circuit in 1967 and 1968, after which ...

and later played on the European Seniors Tour, winning the 1999 Jersey Seniors Open.

Golf career

Jones played regularly on the

from the start of the tour in 1972. He had limited success, his best finish being tied for third in the 1981 Carroll's Irish Open. Played at Portmarnock Golf Club, the event was won by

Sam Torrance Samuel Robert Torrance (born 24 August 1953) is a Scotland, Scottish professional golfer and sports commentator. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s, with 21 Tour wins. Torrance was a membe ...

who finished five strokes clear of

Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his dedication to the game, and was ranked No. ...

with Jones and two other Irishmen, Jimmy Heggarty and Des Smyth, a further shot behind. Jones won over £4,000, enabling him to finish the 1981 season at a career high of 44 in the Order of Merit. Jones made a number of appearances in the

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

between 1970 and 1990; his best finish being in 1981 where he tied for 50th place. Jones had a number of wins in Ireland, the most important being the 1981 Irish PGA Championship at Woodbrook Golf Club. Jones score of 283 put him four shots clear of Leonard Owens and five ahead of Christy O'Connor Snr. At the age of 41, Jones had his biggest international success, winning the

in February 1989. Thanks to a third round of 65, Jones total of 271 put him three ahead of Mark Mouland. After reaching 50, Jones played on the European Seniors Tour, having some success from 1997 to 2000, during which he won one event, was runner-up four times and a number of other high finishes. In his first season in 1997 he was runner-up to Tommy Horton in the Clubhaus Seniors Classic. In 1998 he lost two playoffs, to Neil Coles in the Philips PFA Golf Classic and to David Huish in the Golden Charter PGA Scottish Seniors Open. He won the 1999 Jersey Seniors Open and was runner-up in the 2000 Ordina Legends in Golf in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, a stroke behind American John Grace. He finished 4th in the Order of Merit in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and 9th the following year and represented the tour in the Praia d'El Rey European Cup in those two years. Jones played in seven PGA Cup matches between 1976 and 1994 and was also twice captain of the Great Britain and Ireland team. He won the PGA Club Professionals Championship three times, in 1978, 1979 and 1994. After his career on the circuit, he became a course designer and golf coach. He was awarded 'Master Professional' status by the Professional Golfers Association in 1999, and Honorary Membership of the Association in 2018.

Professional wins (15)

Safari Circuit wins (1)

Other wins (13)

*1975 Ulster Professional Championship *1978 Slazenger PGA Club Professionals' Championship, Irish Dunlop Tournament *1979 Slazenger PGA Club Professionals' Championship, Irish Dunlop Tournament, Carroll's Irish Match Play Championship *1981 Irish PGA Championship, Port Harcourt Open *1982 Irish Masters *1985 Ulster Professional Championship *1993 Ulster Professional Championship *1994 Glenmuir Club Professional Championship *1999 Irish PGA Seniors

European Seniors Tour wins (1)

European Seniors Tour playoff record (0–2)

Results in major championships

''Note: Jones only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

* PGA Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland/Europe): 1976, 1977 (tie), 1978 (winners), 1979 (winners), 1981 (tie), 1982 (non-playing captain), 1992, 1994, 2003 (non-playing captain) * Europcar Cup (representing Ireland): 1988 * Praia d'El Rey European Cup: 1998 (tie), 1999

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, David Male golfers from Northern Ireland European Tour golfers European Senior Tour golfers British golf course architects Sportspeople from Bangor, County Down Golfers from County Down People from Newcastle, County Down 1947 births Living people