Sir Michael Francis Bonallack, OBE (31 December 1934 – 26 September 2023) was an English amateur golfer who was one of the leading administrators in world golf in the late 20th century.

Early life

Bonallack was born in

Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Londo ...

, Essex. He learned the game of golf under the tutelage of head professional Bert Hodson at Chigwell and soon won the Boys Amateur Championship in 1952.

Golf career

A rare example of an outstanding golfer who remained an amateur in the era when professional domination of the sport became firmly entrenched, he went on to win

the Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

and the English Amateur five times each and the Brabazon Trophy four times. He was a member of nine

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...

teams and played in the

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

seven times. His best finish at

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 ...

was eleventh in 1959. He was the leading amateur at the Open in 1968 and 1971.

Affiliations

Bonallack was Secretary of

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation kn ...

from 1983 to 1999 and Captain from 1999 to 2000. He has also been President of the Golf Club Managers' Association (1974–84), Chairman of the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland (1976–81), Chairman of the Golf Foundation (1977–82), and President of the English Golf Union (1982). Bonallack was the president of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) and also served as president of the One Armed Golfers Society, the Professional Golfers Association of Europe and as chairman of the advisory committee for the Official World Golf Rankings. He was also president of the National Association of Public and Proprietary Golf Courses (NAPGC).

Awards, honours, and achievements

* 1968 British Association of Golf Writers award * Bonallack was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) for services to golf in the 1971 New Year Honours * Bonallack was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 1998 Birthday Honours, again for services to golf * In 1972, he was voted the

Bob Jones Award The Bob Jones Award is the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It is named in honor of Bobby Jones (golfer), Bobby Jones. Winners *1955 Francis Ouimet *1956 William C. C ...

, the highest honour given by the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rule ...

in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf * He was a member of

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta National, Augusta, or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is known for hosting the annual Masters Tournament. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Rob ...

* 1991 American Society of Golf Course Architects Donald Ross award * 1999 Spanish Golf Federation Golf Medal of Honour * 2000 Czech Republic Golf Shield of Honour * 2000 Metropolitan Golf Association Lifetime Service Award * He received numerous honours from golfing organisations around the world culminating in his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000

Legacy

Europe and the Asia-Pacific play for the Sir Michael Bonallack Trophy every two years. The teams consist of 12 amateur golfers and no more than two players can be from the same country.

Personal life and death

Bonallack married Angela Ward in February 1958. They were married for 64 years until her death in July 2022. Bonallack died in St Andrews, Fife on 26 September 2023, at the age of 88.

Tournament wins

''Note: This list may be incomplete'' *1952 Boys Amateur Championship *1954 Essex Amateur Championship *1955 Army Championship *1957 Berkshire Trophy, Essex Amateur Championship, Hampshire Hog *1958 Worplesdon Mixed Foursomes (with Angela Bonallack) *1959 Sunningdale Foursomes (with

Doug Sewell Douglas Norman Sewell (19 November 1929 – 9 September 2017) was an English professional golfer. Before turning professional he had a successful amateur career, playing in the Walker Cup in 1957 and 1959. Amateur career Sewell was a useful am ...

), Essex Amateur Championship *1960 Essex Amateur Championship *1961

The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

, Berkshire Trophy,

Golf Illustrated Gold Vase The Golf Illustrated Gold Vase was a prestigious amateur golf tournament in England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it cover ...

(tie with David Harrison), Essex Amateur Championship, Scrutton Jug *1962 English Amateur *1963 English Amateur, Essex Amateur Championship *1964 Brabazon Trophy, Essex Amateur Championship, Scrutton Jug, Antlers of Royal Mid-Surrey (with D. Marsh) *1965

, English Amateur, Lytham Trophy (tie with Clive Clark), Berkshire Trophy, Royal St. George's Grand Challenge Cup *1966 Scrutton Jug *1967 English Amateur,

(tie with Bob Durrant lost playoff for Gold Medal), Prince of Wales Challenge Cup *1968

, English Amateur, Brabazon Trophy, Berkshire Trophy,

, Essex Amateur Championship, Royal St. George's Grand Challenge Cup, Scrutton Jug *1969

, Brabazon Trophy (tie with Rodney Foster),

, Essex Amateur Championship, Essex Open, Scrutton Jug *1970

, Berkshire Trophy, Essex Amateur Championship, Scrutton Jug *1971 Brabazon Trophy, Berkshire Trophy (tie with John Davies),

, Scrutton Jug *1972 Lytham Trophy, Essex Amateur Championship *1973 East Anglian Open *1975

*1981 Royal St. George's Grand Challenge Cup Sources:

Results in major championships

Note: Bonallack did not play in the U.S. Open or the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

. LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1970 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10 Sources: , Masters, U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur, Open Championship, Amateur Championship (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960The Glasgow Herald, 27 May 1960, pg. 13.
/ref>

Team appearances

''this list may be incomplete'' *

(representing Great Britain and Ireland):

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

(winners),

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

(individual leader, tie),

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

(representing Great Britain and Ireland):

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

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 ...

(tied),

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 ...

, 1969 (playing captain),

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 ...

(winners, playing captain),

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 ...

* Amateurs–Professionals Match (representing the Amateurs): 1957, 1958 (winners), 1959, 1960 * St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1958 (winners), 1960 (winners), 1962 (winners), 1964 (winners), 1966 (winners), 1968 (winners), 1970 (winners), 1972 (winners) * Commonwealth Tournament (representing Great Britain): 1959, 1963 (joint winners), 1967 (joint winners), 1971 * European Amateur Team Championship (representing England):

(winners),

, 1969 (winners),

(winners)

References

External links

*
Gazette of knighthood
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonallack, Michael English male golfers Amateur golfers British golf administrators World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Knights Bachelor Officers of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople awarded knighthoods People from Chigwell 1934 births 2023 deaths