Michael Bonallack

Sir
Michael Bonallack
OBE
Personal information
Full name Michael Francis Bonallack
Born 31 December 1934
Chigwell, Essex, England
Died 26 September 2023 (aged 88)
St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
Sporting nationality England
Career
Status Amateur
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament CUT: 1966, 1969, 1970
The Open Championship T11: 1959
U.S. Amateur R64: 1961
British Amateur Won: 1961, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 2000 (member page)
Knight Bachelor 1998
Bob Jones Award 1972
(For a full list of awards, see here)

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.

Bonallack was born in Chigwell, 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. 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 and the English Amateur five times each and the Brabazon Trophy four times. He was a member of nine Walker Cup teams and played in the Eisenhower Trophy seven times. His best finish at the Open Championship 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 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).

Honours

Bonallack was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to golf in the 1971 New Year Honours, and was knighted in the 1998 Birthday Honours, again for services to golf. In 1972, he was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honour given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He was a member of Augusta National Golf Club, and has 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 (30)

Note: This list may be incomplete

Results in major championships

Tournament 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament
The Open Championship T11
U.S. Amateur R128
The Amateur Championship R128 R32 SF R32
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T33 T27 CUT T21LA T42
U.S. Amateur R64 T53 T11 T14
The Amateur Championship QF 1 – – – 1 – – 1 1
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973
Masters Tournament CUT
The Open Championship CUT T22LA CUT CUT
U.S. Amateur R32
The Amateur Championship 1 – – –

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

  Did not play

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, 1960

Awards and achievements

Team appearances

this list may be incomplete