Maurice Bembridge (21 February 1945 – 2 March 2024) 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 ...

. Early in his career he had some success on the British PGA, winning the 1969

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 ...

and the 1971 Dunlop Masters. He would go on to win six times on the British PGA's successor circuit, the

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 ...

. He also had some success overseas, winning the New Zealand Golf Circuit's Caltex Tournament in 1970 and the

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 ...

three times. Late in his career, Bembridge had some success 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 ...

, winning twice.

Professional career

In 1960, at the age of 15, Bembridge turned professional. Shortly thereafter, he became an assistant at Worksop Golf Club. In 1966, he won the Llandudno Assistant Professionals' Tournament and was a runner-up in the Gor-Ray Cup, the PGA Assistants’ Championship, behind

Vince Hood Vince is a given name, it is the anglicisation and shortened form of the name Vincent (given name), Vincent, as well as a surname. It may refer to: Given name People * Vince Agnew (born 1987), American football player * Vince Cable (born 194 ...

. In 1967, Bembridge moved to Little Aston Golf Club and had more success, winning the Gor-Ray Cup and the Hesketh Assistant Professionals' Tournament. Bembridge qualified for the Open Championship in both 1966 and 1967, although he missed the cut on both occasions. In

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, he led the qualifiers at Delamere Forest Golf Club. In April 1968, Bembridge had his first overseas success, winning the

, two strokes ahead of Terry Westbrook. Later in the year he finished 5th 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 ...

, four shots behind winner

Gary Player Gary James Player (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine ...

and was the leading British golfer. In April 1969 Bembridge retained his

title. In June he won the Sumrie Better-Ball, which he and Ángel Gallardo won by a shot from Hedley Muscroft and Lionel Platts. In July he was selected for the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

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 ...

, to be played in late September. In early September, Bembridge had his first big solo tournament win, the

, where he beat 56-year-old Dai Rees 6&5 in the 18-hole final. Bembridge performed well in the tied Ryder Cup match with two wins and a half in his five matches. His victory in the News of the World Match Play earned Bembridge an invitation to play in the 1969 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, where he lost 6&5 to Bob Charles. In 1971 Bembridge had his first important British stroke-play victory, taking the Dunlop Masters, two strokes ahead of

Peter Oosterhuis Peter Arthur Oosterhuis (3 May 1948 – 2 May 2024) was an English professional golfer and broadcaster. He played on the European circuit from 1969 to 1974, winning 10 tournaments and taking the Harry Vardon Trophy for heading the Order of Merit ...

. Bembridge played on the

from its foundation in 1972. In March 1972 he won the

Lusaka Open The Lusaka Open was a men's professional golf tournament played at Lusaka Golf Club in Zambia between 1969 and 1979. It was one of three Zambian events on the Safari Circuit schedule. The event pre-dated the Zambia Open The Zambia Open is a m ...

in Zambia, by a stroke from

Doug McClelland Douglas McClelland (born 5 August 1926) is an Australian former politician who served as a Senator for New South Wales from 1962 to 1987, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He was Minister for the Media (1972–1975) and Special ...

, having started with a 63, but he only finished 19th in the European Tour Order of Merit that season. He finished second in the European Tour Order of Merit was second in 1973. He won the Martini International, was third three times and had a number of other top-10 finishes. Bembridge won three times on the 1974 European Tour, the

Piccadilly Medal The Piccadilly Medal was a men's professional golf tournament on the British PGA tournament circuit that was played in 1962 and from 1964 to 1976. Since the circuit later evolved into the European Tour, the tournament is recognised as an official ...

, the Double Diamond Strokeplay and the

Viyella PGA Championship The BMW PGA Championship is an annual men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour. It was founded in 1955 by the Professional Golfers' Association (Great Britain & Ireland), Professional Golfers' Association, and originally called the ...

but was less consistent, finishing 12th in the Order of Merit. He won again in 1975, the German Open where he won by 7 strokes. He was also runner-up in the Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf and finished 11th in the Order of Merit. After 1975 his best year was 1979 when he won his third

and had his final

win in the Benson & Hedges International Open, a result that lifted him to 18th in the Order of Merit. He also came close to winning the 1982 Irish Open where he was runner-up, a stroke behind John O'Leary. Bembridge continued playing on the

but with less success, his final season being 1987. After turning fifty Bembridge played on the

, winning twice at that level, the 1996 Hippo Jersey Seniors and the 1998 Swedish Seniors. He was also runner-up in the 2001 De Vere PGA Seniors Championship and was twice in the top 10 of the Order of Merit, 7th in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and 9th in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. He was a member of the European Senior Tour committee for nine years and was its chairman from 2007 to 2011.

Death

Bembridge died from cancer on 2 March 2024, at the age of 79.

Professional wins (20)

European Tour wins (6)

Other European wins (3)

* 1969 Sumrie Better-Ball (with Ángel Gallardo),

* 1971 Dunlop Masters

New Zealand Golf Circuit wins (1)

Safari Circuit wins (1)

Other African wins (3)

* 1968

* 1969 Kenya Open * 1972

Other wins (4)

*1966 Llandudno Assistant Professionals' Tournament *1967 Gor-Ray Cup, Hesketh Assistant Professionals' Tournament, Second City Tournament

European Seniors Tour wins (2)

European Seniors Tour playoff record (1–0)

Results in major championships

''Note: Bembridge only played in the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

and

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 ...

.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1969, 1980 and 1981 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place Source:

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

(tie),

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

(representing England):

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

* Double Diamond International (representing England): 1973, 1974 (winners), 1975 *Datsun International (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1976 *

Philip Morris International Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is a multinational tobacco company, with products sold in over 180 countries. Marlboro is PMI’s most recognized brand, but in the last quarter of 2023, Iqos generated the greatest revenue. Philip Mor ...

(representing England): 1976 * Praia d'El Rey European Cup: 1997 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bembridge, Maurice English male golfers European Tour golfers European Senior Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Sportspeople from Worksop 1945 births 2024 deaths