Neil Chapman Coles, MBE (born 26 September 1934) is 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 ...

. Coles had a successful career in European golf, winning 29 important tournaments between 1956 and 1982. After reaching 50, he won a further 14 important Seniors tournaments between 1985 and 2002, winning his final European Seniors Tour event at the age of 67. He also played in eight

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 ...

matches between 1961 and 1977. While he never became one of the leading stars of global golf, and did not win a major championship, Coles was remarkable for his consistency, and even more for his durability. He was five times a top-ten finisher 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 ...

, finishing third in 1961 and second in 1973. In 1982 at the age of 48 he won the Sanyo Open in Spain and held the distinction of being the oldest winner of a European Tour event for nearly 20 years. Even at the peak of his career, he made few appearances in the United States because of his

fear of flying Fear of flying is the fear of being on an aircraft, such as an airplane or helicopter, while it is in flight. It is also referred to as flying anxiety, flying phobia, flight phobia, aviophobia, aerophobia, or pteromerhanophobia (although aero ...

. In his eight Ryder Cup appearances, Coles had 5 wins, 6 defeats and 4 halves in his 15 singles matches; the 7 points he won in these is tied for the most singles points in

history. All his appearances were in a winless period for the Great Britain and Ireland team.

Early life

Coles was born in London, England, and grew up in

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2021 census was 33,990. Letchworth ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. He started out as a junior golfer at Letchworth Golf Club, before becoming an assistant professional there at the age of 16.

Professional career

Coles, then an assistant at Moor Park, was in contention for the 1955 Gor-Ray Cup, the Assistants' Championship, at Hartsbourne. However a poor finish left him in third place, two strokes behind Dave Thomas and Jimmy Hitchcock. In 1956, having moved to Burhill, he won the event, finishing four strokes ahead of Peter Butler. In 1956 he qualified for the

for the first time, at

Hoylake Hoylake () is a coast, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee, Wales, River Dee meets the Irish Sea. At the 2021 United K ...

, with rounds of 79 and 70. However rounds of 78 and 82 meant he missed the cut. As a previous winner Coles was unable to play in the 1957 assistants' championship but he was runner-up in the Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament, a stroke behind

George Low George Michael Low (born Georg Michael Löw; June 10, 1926 – July 17, 1984) was an administrator at NASA and the 14th president of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Low was one of the senior NASA officials who made decisions as manager ...

. In 1957 Coles became more prominent in major British events. In September he reached the quarter-finals of the

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 was sixth in the Dunlop Masters, despite a poor final round. Coles played in a few

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

events in early 1959, including the Bing Crosby Pro-Am where he finished tied for 28th place. In the 1959 Open Championship at Muirfield Coles qualified in a tie for third place. In the Open itself he finished in a tie for 21st place. In 1960 Coles moved to Coombe Hill and soon won the Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament, finishing a stroke ahead of Lionel Platts. In June 1961 Coles had his best finish in an important event, finishing runner-up to Bernard Hunt in the Daks Tournament. Coles finished joint-3rd in the 1961 Open Championship in July. These tournaments were among those that counted towards qualification for the 1961 Ryder Cup, the leading 9 in the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

after the

Carling-Caledonian Tournament The Carling Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom from 1960 to 1962. History The first event, in 1960, was called the Hammonds-Carling Jubilee Tournament and was held at Pannal Golf Club, Harrogate, Yorkshir ...

in early August gaining a place. Coles was 5th in the table and so qualified for his first Ryder Cup, at Royal Lytham in mid-October. The week before the Ryder Cup was played, Coles won his first major event, the Ballantine Tournament at Wentworth, winning by five strokes from Ken Bousfield. Coles started the final round 7 strokes behind Bousfield but had a final round of 65 to Bousfield's 77. The first prize of £1,500 was more than

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

received for winning that year's Open Championship. That year's Ryder Cup was the first played with 18-hole matches; the United States winning by five points. Coles lost both his foursomes matches but halved his morning singles match and beat

Dow Finsterwald Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. (September 6, 1929 – November 4, 2022) was an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the 1958 PGA Championship, 1958 PGA Championship. He won 11 Tour titles between 1955 and 1963, played on four Ry ...

in the afternoon singles. Coles made his second trip to America to play in some

events in California in early 1962. He had his best result in his final event, the 90-hole Palm Springs Golf Classic where he finished tied for 7th place, winning $1,350. After Coles's win in the 1961 Ballantine Tournament he won a further 10 British and Irish events between 1962 and 1966. Two of these were shared wins, both in 1963. In British tournaments at this time only "championships" required a champion; other events were often left with joint winners who shared the prize money. Coles won the Senior Service Tournament in 1962, which had first prize of £2,000. He won two events in 1963, the Martini International and the Daks Tournament, both joint wins. Coles won the 1963

Harry Vardon Trophy The Harry Vardon Trophy is a golf award presented by the European Tour. Since 2009 it has been awarded to the winner of the Race to Dubai. Before then it was awarded to the winner of the "Order of Merit". From 1975 to 2008 the Order of Merit was ...

ahead of Bernard Hunt, despite Hunt having a lower stroke average and Hunt winning almost twice as prize money. Coles had 674 points to Hunt's 645. He also led the Ryder Cup points list for the

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 ...

event in the United States. The British and Ireland team were heavily beaten, Coles getting a win and two halves from his six matches. Coles won three important events in 1964, the Daks Tournament, the Bowmaker Tournament and the

. He won nearly twice as much prize money as any other player but only finished fourth in the Order of Merit. He reached the final of the 1964 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, losing 2&1 to

and collecting the runners-up prize of £3,000. Coles won two events in 1965, the Carroll's International and the

, He finished second in the points list for the 1965 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale. He played in all six sessions, winning three matches and losing three. He finished the season third in the Order of Merit. Coles played on the American winter circuit in early 1966, finishing with the Masters. He made the cut and was tied for 32nd place after three rounds, but withdrew from the final round after feeling ill. Coles won two more events in 1966, the Pringle of Scotland Tournament and the Dunlop Masters. He only finished fourth in the Order of Merit but set a new prize money record, £8,329, beating his own best of £7,890 from 1964. After winning 11 important British events between 1961 and 1966, Coles failed to win one from 1967 to 1969. He had some consistent results, including solo runner-up finishes behind

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 Dunlop Masters and behind Peter Townsend in the 1968 Piccadilly PGA Close Championship. He qualified for the 1967 Ryder Cup team, finishing third in the points list, and was placed fifth in the list for the

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 ...

team, to get an automatic place. In the 1967 match in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, he lost his three opening pairs matches but beat Doug Sanders twice in the final-day single matches. The 1969 match at Royal Birkdale was tied. Coles beat Tommy Aaron in the morning singles but lost to Dan Sikes in the afternoon. Coles made a remarkable start to the 1970 season. In March he won the Wentworth Foursomes with Peter Davidson. He then won the Italian BP Open and the Walworth Aloyco Tournament in Italy, before travelling to Spain where he was runner-up in both the Madrid Open and the Spanish Open. Returning to England he was runner-up in the Penfold Tournament in early May, and then in successive weeks he won the Southern Professional Championship, won the Sumrie Better-Ball with Bernard Hunt, was third in the

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 won the Daks Tournament at the end of the month. After recovering from a leg-muscle injury, he won the Bowmaker Tournament at the end of June, and was then tied for 6th in the 1970 Open Championship. Coles won the

for the second time, having previously won it in 1963. Coles' continued his good form into 1971, winning four tournaments: the Penfold-Bournemouth Tournament, the Daks Tournament, the Carroll's International and the German Open. He led the points list for the 1971 Ryder Cup in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. He halved his single match with Frank Beard but lost to

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

in the second singles session. He finished second in the 1971 Order of Merit, behind Peter Oosterhuis. Coles was ranked 7th in the world on the inaugural Mark McCormack's world golf rankings in December 1968, a position he regained at the end of 1970.

European Tour

Coles was 37 when 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 ...

started in 1972. He won seven times on the tour, six times between 1972 and 1978 and then in 1982 at the Sanyo Open in Barcelona. At 48 years and 14 days he became the oldest winner on the tour and remained so until Des Smyth won in 2001 at the age of 48 years and 34 days. Coles also held the record for the number of consecutive cuts made in European Tour events, 56, until that record was passed by

Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first number one ranked playe ...

in the 1990s. He made the cut in every event between the 1973 Viyella PGA Championship and the 1979 Open Championship, when he withdrew with an elbow injury. Coles was in the top-10 of the Order of Merit every year from 1972 to 1979, except 1977 when he was 11th. His highest finish in the Order of Merit was 5th place in

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; ...

. Coles had his best finish in the Open Championship in

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 ...

, finishing joint runner-up three strokes behind

Tom Weiskopf Thomas Daniel Weiskopf (November 9, 1942 – August 20, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His most successful decade was the 1970s. He won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, incl ...

, after a final round of 66. He also had a top-10 finish in

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. ...

when he was tied for 7th place, despite a final round 74. Coles qualified in second place for the 1973 Ryder Cup team, his seventh successive Ryder Cup appearance, in which he had never been outside the top 5 in the qualification points list. The match at Muirfield was tied after two day but the United States dominated the two singles sessions. Coles halved his match against

Gay Brewer Gay Robert Brewer Jr. (March 19, 1932 – August 31, 2007) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and won the 1967 Masters Tournament. Career Brewer turned professional in 1956 and made his first cut, at the Agua Calie ...

but lost 6&5 to

Lee Trevino Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...

in the afternoon session. Coles withdrew from consideration for the 1975 Ryder Cup in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, because of his fear of flying and because it was impractical to travel by sea. Coles finished in 15th place in the points list for the 1977 Ryder Cup at Royal Lytham, having missed some events with back trouble. The top 8 in the list were automatic selections and were joined by four further players selected by a committee of three consisting of Coles himself, the team captain

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 Brian Barnes. The committee chose Coles as one their four selections. The selection seemed justified when Coles won the Tournament Players Championship the week before the Ryder Cup. The match itself was a disappointment with the United States winning by five points with Coles losing all his three matches. 1977 was Coles' last appearance in the Ryder Cup. In 8 contests he played 40 matches, winning 12, losing 21 and halving 7. However his singles record was better with 5 wins, 6 defeats and 4 halved matches. There were two sets of singles matches from 1961 to 1975 and Coles played in 7 of those matches. His total of 15 singles matches is the most for any Ryder Cup player and the 7 points he won in these matches is still tied for the most singles points won. Coles continued to play in European Tour events until his mid-50s, having his last top-10 finish, a tie for 6th place, at the 1987 Panasonic European Open at the age of 52. In addition, Coles was, since its inception in the 1980s, until November 2013, the chairman of the

PGA 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 ...

's board of directors, when he was replaced by David Williams. During this era, he was also a

golf course architect A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". T ...

designing courses such as Chartham Park.

Senior career

The European Senior Tour started in 1992, when Coles was 57 years old. Before then there were very few professional seniors events in the UK. The PGA Seniors Championship had been played since 1957 and The Senior Open Championship was started in 1987. Coles dominated the PGA Seniors Championship between 1985, when he first played in it, to 1991. He won the events in 1985, two strokes ahead of the 60-year-old Christy O'Connor Snr. He won again in 1986 and for a third time in 1987, when the event was reduced to 54 holes by bad weather. He was tied for third place in 1988 behind Peter Thomson before winning for a fourth time in 1989. In 1990 and 1991 he was the runner-up, behind Brian Waites on both occasions. Coles won the inaugural Senior Open Championship in 1987 at Turnberry, a stroke ahead of Bob Charles. The following year, again at Turnberry. he was just a stroke behind the leader

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 ...

after three rounds, but a last round 79 dropped him into a tie for 6th place; Player scoring 69 to win the title. He had further top-10 finishes in the

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

and

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. From 1987 to 1991 it was only in the 1990 Seniors' British Open that he failed to get into the top 10. Coles played on the European Seniors Tour from its start in 1992, making his final appearances in 2007. Although he never won the PGA Seniors Championship or the Senior Open Championship during this period, he did win 9 of the regular 54-hole events between 1992 and 2002. His last win was in the 2002 Lawrence Batley Seniors at the age of 67 years and 276 days, beating his own record for the oldest winner of a European Seniors Tour event, set in 2000. Amongst his high finishes was joint runner-up behind John Fourie in the 1992 Senior British Open. He had a total of 68 top-10 finishes between 1992 and 2004, the last being in the Bovis Lend Lease European Senior Masters three weeks before his 70th birthday. Coles finished in the top ten on the European Seniors Tour's Order of Merit every year from 1992 to 2000, except 1997, his best position being 3rd in 1992. He was 11th in the Order of Merit in 2002.

Awards and honors

In 2000, Coles was inducted into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame was, until recently, located at World Golf Village between Jacksonville, Florida and St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. It is unusual amongst sports halls of fame in that a single site honored both men ...

Personal life

Coles married Ann Keep, after growing up together in

. They had two sons, Keith and Gary. Ann died in 2015. Gary was also a professional golfer and followed his father by winning the PGA Assistants' Championship in 1985, 29 years after his father. He was appointed

Member 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 ...

(MBE) in the 1982 New Year Honours,

Professional wins (55)

European Tour wins (7)

Source: European Tour playoff record (2–1) Sources:

Great Britain and Ireland wins (18)

Continental Europe wins (4)

Other wins (11)

*1962 Sunningdale Foursomes (with Ross Whitehead) *1963 Wentworth Foursomes (with Keith Warren) *1967 Sunningdale Foursomes (with Keith Warren) *1969 Carlyon Bay Hotel Tournament *1970 Wentworth Foursomes (with Peter Davidson), Southern Professional Championship, Sumrie Better-Ball (with Bernard Hunt), Carlyon Bay Hotel Tournament *1971 Carlyon Bay Hotel Tournament *1973 Sumrie Better-Ball (with Bernard Hunt) *1980 Sunningdale Foursomes (with Doug McClelland)

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Source:

European Seniors Tour wins (9)

Sources: European Seniors Tour playoff record (2–2) Source:

Senior circuit wins (5)

Sources:

Other senior wins (1)

*1991 Léman International Senior Trophy

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1972, 1983 and 1984 Open Championships)
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
''Note: Coles never played 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 ...

.''

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (1973 Open Championship – 1978 Open Championship) Source:

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Source:

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain and Ireland):

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

(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 ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

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):

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 ...

* R.T.V. International Trophy (representing England): 1967 (winners) * Double Diamond International (representing England): 1971 (winners), 1973, 1975 (playing captain), 1976 (winners), 1977 * Marlboro Nations' Cup/Philip Morris International (representing England): 1973, 1975 *Sotogrande Match/ Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1974 (winners), 1976 (winners), 1978 (winners), 1980 (winners) * Praia d'El Rey European Cup (representing the European Seniors Tour): 1998 (tie), 1999

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coles, Neil English male golfers European Tour golfers European Senior Tour golfers World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Winners of senior major golf championships British golf course architects Golfers from London Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at St Christopher School Sportspeople from Walton-on-Thames 1934 births Living people