Graham Vivian Marsh MBE (born 14 January 1944) is a retired

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 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 The Japan Golf Tour ( ja, 日本ゴルフツアー機構) is a prominent golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offers the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after ...

, plus two senior major championships.

Early life

Marsh was born in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area inclu ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. He attended the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

and

Claremont Teachers College Claremont Teachers College was Western Australia’s first post-secondary teaching institution. It opened in 1902 and closed in 1981, when it became a College of Advanced Education and later a campus of Edith Cowan University. The building is on ...

before turning professional in 1969. Marsh is a former mathematics teacher. His brother was cricketer Rod Marsh.

Professional career

Marsh's first professional tournament was in May 1968 at South Australian Open. He finished in solo third place. Peter Thomson, writing about the event for ''The Age'', stated that "this talented player seems sure to finish higher before long." In 1970 he played well at New Zealand's Caltex Tournament. Entering the par-5 18th hole he was tied for the lead with Maurice Bembridge and Terry Kendall. However, he could only make par. His competitors played the hole under par to defeat him. Marsh finished in solo third at 287, one behind. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Marsh was a regular winner on the European Tour, the

and the

PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for Official World ...

. He also won several events in Asia outside Japan, winning the Asia Golf Circuit overall title in 1972 and 1973, and one on the U.S.-based

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

, the 1977 Heritage Classic. Marsh had an outstanding win rate on the European Tour, where he accumulated eleven titles even though he never played more than seven events in Europe in a season. He also won the Colgate World Match Play Championship, which was not an official money European Tour event at the time, in England in 1977. He had 56 wins in all in his regular career, making him one of the most successful players of his era not to win a major championship. He was voted Australian Sportsman of the year in 1977 and awarded ''Golf Digest'' Rookie of the Year the same year, 13 years before the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award was instituted by the PGA Tour. As a senior, Marsh has played extensively in the United States on the

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many year ...

winning six events including two

senior majors Men's professional senior golf is for players aged 50 and above. Golf differs from all other sports in having lucrative competitions for this age group. The leading senior tour is the U.S.-based PGA Tour Champions, which was established in 1980 ( ...

: the 1997 U.S. Senior Open and the 1999

Tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

. He has also won the Japan Senior Open twice. Marsh is also active in golf course design through Graham Marsh Golf Design which he established in 1986. The company's early projects were in Australia and Japan, but it later branched out to other parts of Asia, Europe and the United States. His work has included courses such as The Vines Resort (Perth), Palm Meadows Resort(Gold Coast) Old Silo (Kentucky), Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club (New South Wales) and Terrey Hills Golf & Country Club just to name a few. In 1984, Marsh was made an MBE for services to golf. He is a past chairman of the PGA Tour of Australasia. His younger brother Rod Marsh was a distinguished Australian cricketer and coach.

Professional wins (69)

PGA Tour wins (1)

European Tour wins (10)

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

Japan Golf Tour wins (20)

''*Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to weather.'' Japan Golf Tour playoff record (5–5)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (7)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–1)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (5)

Other European wins (3)

*1970 Swiss Open *1977 Lancome Trophy, Colgate World Match Play Championship

Other Japan wins (5)

*1972 Dunlop Tournament *1973 Japan vs Australia Match individual *1975 Dunlop Wizard *1976 Dunlop Wizard *1977 Dunlop Wizard

Other Australasian wins (7)

*1966 Nedlands Masters (as an amateur) *1967 Nedlands Masters (as an amateur) *1968 Western Australian Open *1969

Western Australia PGA Championship The Western Australia PGA Championship, currently known as the CKB WA PGA Championship is a Tier 2 golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. Since 2012 it has been held at Kalgoorlie Golf Course. Winners Notes References External lin ...

*1970

Wattie's Tournament The Wattie's Tournament was a golf tournament held in New Zealand from 1963 to 1970. The event was generally hosted by Hastings Golf Club in Bridge Pā, except the 1969 event which was held at Gisborne. The 1963 tournament was held in September bu ...

*1971

Spalding Masters The Spalding Masters was a golf tournament held in New Zealand from 1968 to 1972. The event was generally hosted by Tauranga Golf Club in Tauranga, although the 1968 event was held at the nearby Mount Manganui Golf Club. The tournament was held in ...

*1976 Western Australian Open

Other Asian wins (1)

*1976 Dunhill International Match-Play (Hong Kong)

Champions Tour wins (6)

''*Note: The 1999 Tradition was shortened to 36 holes due to snow.'' Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other senior wins (4)

*1997

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar is a golf tournament in Missouri on the PGA Tour Champions. Since 2014, it has been played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the 18 ...

(with John Bland) *1998 Japan Senior Open *1999 Japan Senior Open *2010

– Raphael Division (with John Bland)

Results in major championships

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

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 16 (1978 PGA – 1991 Open Championship) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (2)

Team appearances

* Dunhill Cup (representing Australia):

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

(winners) * Four Tours World Championship (representing Australasia): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991

References

External links

* * * *
Graham Marsh Golf Design
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Graham Australian male golfers PGA Tour of Australasia golfers European Tour golfers Japan Golf Tour golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of senior major golf championships Golf course architects Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Western Australian Sports Star of the Year winners Sportsmen from Western Australia Golfers from Perth, Western Australia People from Kalgoorlie 1944 births Living people