Sir Michael Francis Bonallack,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 31 December 1934) is an English amateur golfer who was one of the leading administrators in world golf in the late 20th century. 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 The Boys Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held annually in the United Kingdom. The competition is organised and run by The R&A. History The Boys Amateur Championship was first played at Royal Ascot in 1921. In 1921 boys had to ...

in 1952. 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 The English Amateur is the national amateur match play golf championship of England. It has been played annually since 1925 (except for war years) and is organised by England Golf. The English Men's Amateur Championship is contested through t ...

five times each and the

Brabazon Trophy The English Men's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy is the national amateur stroke play golf championship in England (although entry is open to overseas golfers). It has been played annually since 1947 and is organised ...

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. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

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, it is named after Dwight D. Eise ...

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 t ...

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

Affiliations

He 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 The Golf Club Managers' Association, or GCMA (formerly the Association of Golf Club Secretaries) is a UK professional association for secretaries, managers, or owners of golf courses. The organisation was headquartered in Weston-super-Mare, So ...

(1974–84), Chairman of the

PGA of Great Britain and Ireland The Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) is the professional body which represents the interests of teaching and club golf professionals in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was established in 1901 and is based at The Belfry ...

(1976–81), Chairman of the Golf Foundation (1977–82), and President of the

English Golf Union England Golf is the governing body for male and female amateur golf in England. It represents over 1,900 golf clubs with over 740,000 members and is affiliated to The R&A, the joint global governing body of golf. It was formed in 2012 as a ...

(1982). He is the current 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 The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

. He is also President of the National Association of Public and Proprietary Golf Courses (NAPGC).

Honours

Bonallack received an

for services to golf in 1971, and was created a Knight Bachelor in 1998. 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. Winners *1955 Francis Ouimet *1956 William C. Campbell *1957 Babe Z ...

, 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 is a member of

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Unlike most private clubs which operate as non-profits, Augusta National is a for-profit corporation, and it does no ...

, and has received numerous honours from golfing organisations around the world, culminating in his induction into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 g ...

in 2000.

Legacy

Europe and the Asia-Pacific play for the

Sir Michael Bonallack Trophy The Bonallack Trophy is an amateur golf competition on the model of the Ryder Cup which opposes every two years a European team and a team representing Asia/Pacific. The venue alternates between courses in Europe and Asia/Pacific. The first comp ...

every two years. The teams consist of 12 amateur golfers and no more than two players can be from the same country.

Personal life

Bonallack married

Angela Ward Angela, Lady Bonallack ( Ward; 7 April 1937 – 1 July 2022) was an English amateur golfer. She was twice a finalist in the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship and won the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1958 and 1963. She played ...

in February 1958.

Tournament wins (30)

''Note: This list may be incomplete'' *1952

*1957

Berkshire Trophy The Berkshire Trophy is the amateur stroke play golf championship played at The Berkshire Golf Club in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its n ...

*1959

Sunningdale Foursomes The Sunningdale Foursomes is an open foursomes golf tournament contested at the Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire in March. It was first contested in 1934 and has been held annually since, except between 1940 and 1947. The event is open to all go ...

(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 amat ...

) *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 ...

Golf Illustrated Gold Vase The Golf Illustrated Gold Vase was a prestigious amateur golf tournament in England. It was a 36-hole scratch stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is co ...

(tie with David Harrison) *1962

*1963

*1964

*1965

Lytham Trophy The Lytham Trophy is an amateur golf tournament founded in 1965 by the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, where it has always been held. It is a 72-hole scratch stroke play competition, and is classified as a Category A event by the World Amateu ...

(tie with Clive Clark),

*1967

(tie with

Bob Durrant Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals * Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surnam ...

lost playoff for Gold Medal) *1968

*1969

(tie with

Rodney Foster Rodney Foster (born 13 October 1941) is an English amateur golfer. He was one of the leading British amateurs of the 1960s and early 1970s. He represented Great Britain and Ireland in five successive Walker Cup matches from 1965 to 1973 and twic ...

*1970

*1971

(tie with John Davies),

*1972

*1975

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. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

. 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>)

Awards and achievements

* 1968 British Association of Golf Writers award * 1971

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

* 1972

* 1991

American Society of Golf Course Architects The American Society of Golf Course Architects (abbreviated as ASGCA) is a professional organization of golf course designers in America. Founded in 1946, its members are actively involved in the design of new courses and the renovation of existi ...

Donald Ross award * 1998

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...

* 1999 Spanish Golf Federation Golf Medal of Honour * 2000 Czech Republic Golf Shield of Honour * 2000 Metropolitan Golf Association Lifetime Service Award * 2000 Inducted into

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 * J ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wo ...

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 Patriarc ...

(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 is ...

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

(individual leader, tie),

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...

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, me ...

(representing Great Britain and Ireland):

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

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 Co ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime 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 Lyndo ...

(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 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 ** Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

(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 15 – Vietnam War: ...

* Amateurs–Professionals Match (representing the Amateurs): 1957, 1958 (winners), 1959, 1960 *

St Andrews Trophy The St Andrews Trophy is a biennial men's team golf tournament contested between teams of amateur golfers representing Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It takes its name from St Andrews in Scotland. It was first played in 195 ...

(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 The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959. The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has bee ...

(representing England):

(winners),

(winners)

References

External links

*
Gazette of knighthood
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonallack, Michael English male golfers Amateur golfers Golf administrators World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Knights Bachelor People in sports awarded knighthoods People from Chigwell 1934 births Living people