David Snell (10 October 1933 – 15 July 2021) was an English

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who won the 1959

News of the World Matchplay The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the ''News of the World'', and was commonly known b ...

, the British matchplay championship. Despite this win he was not selected for the British

1959 Ryder Cup The 13th Ryder Cup Matches were held November 6–7, 1959 at the Eldorado Country Club in Indian Wells, California. The United States team won the competition by a score of 8 to 3 points. The British were again led by Dai Rees, but were unabl ...

team.

Professional career

Snell was an assistant professional at Lindrick Golf Club before becoming the professional at Worksop Golf Club in the mid-1950. Snell won the

in September 1959 at

Royal Birkdale Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a golf course in the United Kingdom in North West England, located in Southport, Merseyside. It is one of the clubs in the rotation for both the Open Championship and Women's British Open and has hosted the Open Cham ...

. He beat the defending champion,

Harry Weetman Harry Weetman (25 October 1920 – 19 July 1972) was an English professional golfer. Professional career Weetman won many tournaments on the British PGA circuit in the pre-European Tour era and won the Harry Vardon Trophy for lowest stroke av ...

, 3 & 2 in the 36-hole final, taking the first prize of £750. Seven members of the British team for the 1959 Ryder Cup were selected from a points system based on performances during the early part of the 1959 season, ending with

Irish Hospitals Tournament The Irish Hospitals Tournament was a professional golf tournament played from 1958 to 1962. Total prize money was £5000 from 1958 to 1960 and £5,555 in 1961 and 1962. It was sponsored by the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake The Irish Hospitals ...

finishing on 12 July. The remaining three were selected by the P.G.A. tournament committee after the Dunlop Masters, which was played the week after the News of the World Matchplay. Snell performed poorly in the Dunlop Masters, and was not chosen, with the committee preferring

Ken Bousfield Kenneth Bousfield (2 October 1919 – 25 May 2000) was one of the leading British golfers of the immediate post-World War II period. Professional career Bousfield won a number of tournaments on the European circuit in the 1950s and 1960s, inclu ...

, Eric Brown and Dave Thomas. In contrast, in both 1957 and 1961, any British or Irish winner of the News of the World Matchplay received an automatic place in the team. Snell was a joint runner-up in the 1959 PGA Close Championship, played at Ashburnham in Wales, finishing six strokes behind Dai Rees. He tied for the 1963 Rediffusion Tournament on

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

but lost in the playoff to Alex Caygill at the second extra hole, sharing second place with Flory Van Donck. He was also runner-up to Jimmy Hitchcock in the 1965

Agfa-Gevaert Tournament The Agfa-Gevaert Tournament was a golf tournament in England from 1963 to 1971. It was played at Stoke Poges Golf Club in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire. It was sponsored by Agfa-Gevaert Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Agfa) is a Belgian-German multination ...

and to

Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is an English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain from ...

in the 1967 Pringle of Scotland Tournament. Snell played for the professionals in the last

Amateurs–Professionals Match The Amateurs–Professionals Match was an annual men's team golf competition between teams of golfers from Great Britain and Ireland representing amateurs and professionals. It was played from 1956 to 1960. The Professionals won four of the five c ...

in 1960. He also played for England in the 1965 Canada Cup in Madrid, with

Guy Wolstenholme Guy Bertram Wolstenholme (8 March 1931 – 9 October 1984) was an English professional golfer. He had a successful career both as an amateur and then as a professional. Early life and amateur career Wolstenholme was born in Leicester. As an a ...

. They finished in a tie for fourth place. Snell had a final round of 68 to equal the best round of the tournament. Snell was a regular competitor 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 ...

, qualifying for 17 successive championships from 1957 to 1973. His best finish was a tie for 30th place in 1958. Despite being in his late 50s when it was formed in 1992, Snell played for a number of years on the

European Senior Tour The European Senior Tour, currently branded as the Legends Tour, is a professional golf tour for male golfers aged 50 and over, run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was titled as the Staysure Tour for the 2018 and 2019 seasons after UK-based ...

. He never won on the tour, his best finish being runner-up in the La Manga Spanish Seniors Open in 1994, where he was involved in a three-way playoff with

Brian Huggett Brian George Charles Huggett, (18 November 1936 − 22 September 2024) was a Welsh professional golfer. He won 16 events on the European circuit between 1962 and 1978, including two after the formal start of the European Tour in 1972. In 1968 ...

and Malcolm Gregson. He finished 13th in the order of merit in both 1993 and 1994.

Personal life

In the 1990s Snell designed and built College Pines Golf Club, near

Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located south of Doncaster, south-east of Sheffield and north of Nottingham. Located close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbys ...

. He was only tall and was noted for his long swing. Snell died on 15 July 2021, at the age of 87.

Tournament wins

*1957 Midland Professional Championship *1959

News of the World Match Play The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the '' News of the World'', and was commonly known ...

, Midland Open Championship *1963 Sunningdale Foursomes (with Lionel Platts) *1966 Midland Open Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Snell only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1969, 1972 and 1973 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place Source:

Team appearances

(representing the Professionals): 1960 (winners) *

Canada Cup The Canada Cup () was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true world championship that a ...

(representing England):

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Snell, David English male golfers European Tour golfers European Senior Tour golfers Sportspeople from Worksop 1933 births 2021 deaths