Chris Williams (golfer)

Chris Williams
Personal information
Full name Christopher Gary Williams
Nickname The Ginger Cat
Born 20 March 1959
Bebington, Cheshire, England
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 78 kg (172 lb; 12.3 st)
Sporting nationality England
South Africa
Residence Edenvale, South Africa
Career
Turned professional 1978
Current tour(s) European Senior Tour
Former tour(s) European Tour
Asian Tour
Sunshine Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins 17
Number of wins by tour
Asian Tour 2
Sunshine Tour 7
European Senior Tour 3
Other 5
Achievements and awards
Asian PGA Tour
Players' Player of the Year
1998

Christopher Gary Williams (born 20 March 1959) is an English-born golfer who currently lives in South Africa. Williams has won seven times on the Sunshine Tour.

Early life

Williams was born in Liverpool, England. He moved to Johannesburg, South Africa in his late teens.

Professional career

In 1978, Williams turned professional, shortly after moving to South Africa. He joined the Southern Africa Tour in 1985, and won his first title, the Lexington PGA Championship, during his debut season. He has won six more events on the Sunshine Tour since then.

Williams joined the European Senior Tour on turning 50, having secured conditional playing rights at the 2008 qualifying school. He won for the first time as a senior in March 2011 at the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters.

Amateur wins

  • 1977/78 Junior Springbok

Professional wins (17)

Asian PGA Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 16 Aug 1998 Volvo Masters of Malaysia −9 (71-68-71-69=279) Playoff Zaw Moe, Adrian Percey
2 25 Oct 1998 FedEx PGA Championship −11 (70-66-69-72=277) 1 stroke Ted Purdy

Asian PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1998 Volvo Masters of Malaysia Zaw Moe, Adrian Percey Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Percey eliminated by par on first hole

Sunshine Tour wins (7)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 19 Jan 1985 Lexington PGA Championship −8 (71-70-63-68=272) 1 stroke Mark McNulty, Jay Townsend,
Denis Watson
2 14 Jan 1989 ICL International −16 (64-68-69-71=272) 1 stroke J. C. Anderson
3 20 Nov 1994 Zimbabwe Open −16 (65-68-70-69=272) Playoff Andrew Pitts
4 6 Jun 1996 FNB Pro Series (Swaziland) −12 (70-66-68=204) 2 strokes Michael Green
5 30 Nov 1996 Leopard Rock Classic −6 (72-68-67=207) 1 stroke Adilson da Silva
6 27 Jan 2002 Telkom PGA Championship (2) −17 (74-64-65-68=271) 2 strokes Hennie Otto
7 4 Oct 2003 Seekers Travel Pro-Am −13 (71-67-65=203) Playoff Jason Jackson, Ashley Roestoff

Sunshine Tour playoff record (2–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1989 Lexington PGA Championship Tony Johnstone Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2 1994 Zimbabwe Open Andrew Pitts Won with birdie on first extra hole
3 2002 Vodacom Golf Classic Ashley Roestoff Lost to eagle on first extra hole
4 2003 Seekers Travel Pro-Am Jason Jackson, Ashley Roestoff

Other wins (5)

  • 1983 Telkom Open (South Africa)
  • 1985 Swaziland Open
  • 1991 PX Celebrity Pro-Am (with Justin Hobday), Telephone Manufacturers SA Trophy
  • 2007 Royal Swazi Sun Touring Pro-Am (non-Order of Merit event on the Sunshine Tour)

European Senior Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 6 Mar 2011 Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters −12 (68-69-64=201) 1 stroke Choi Sang-ho
2 18 Mar 2017 Sharjah Senior Golf Masters −13 (65-70-68=203) Playoff Gary Marks
3 20 Jun 2021 Farmfoods European Legends Links Championship −9 (69-68-70=207) 3 strokes Phillip Price

European Senior Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2017 Sharjah Senior Golf Masters Gary Marks Won with par on first extra hole