Bobby Locke
Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke (born November 20, 1917 in Germiston , South Africa ; † March 9, 1987 in Johannesburg ) was the first internationally successful golfer in South Africa. With his four victories at the British Open between 1949 and 1957, he broke the decades-long domination of the US and British professionals.
Career
In 1936, at age 18, Locke took part in the Open British part. He was best amateur in eighth place. Two years later he turned pro and played on the South African tour, later known as the Sunshine Tour . His golf career was interrupted during the Second World War by his service in the South African Air Force.
In 1946 he took up golf again and played a series of competitions against Sam Snead , a top American golfer of the time. Locke won 12 of 14 matches. Impressed by his game, Snead invited Locke to the United States and advised him to try the PGA Tour . In two and a half years he won eleven tournaments. In 1947 he was second on the money list after Jimmy Demaret .
In 1949 Locke was banned from the PGA tour. He was accused of not keeping promised starts at tournaments. After his first victory at the British Open , he had preferred to play well-paid exhibition fights in Great Britain. Although the ban was lifted in 1951, he played hardly any tournaments in the USA except The Masters and the US Open .
In 1977 Bobby Locke was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame . He was the first member to come from neither the United States nor Great Britain.
Unorthodox technique, eccentric personality
Locke himself considered putting to be extremely important to successful golf. You drive for show but putt for dough. This saying, which is still common among golfers today, is attributed to him; The long teeing off is for the show effect, but putting brings the money (colloquially dough ). Locke is widely considered to be one of the best putters of all time. Quite a few - like Locke's compatriot Gary Player - even consider him the best. His unusual technology did nothing to change that.
Other aspects of his game were not very common either. Teammates as well as officials found his game pace unbearably slow. He never lost his stoic calm. That is why he was given the unflattering nickname Muffin Face among his American colleagues .
PGA Tour Wins (15)
- 1947 (6) Canadian Open , Houston Open , Philadelphia Inquirer Open, All American Open , Columbus Open, Goodall Round Robin
- 1948 (2) Phoenix Open , Chicago Victory Open
- 1949 (3) Cavalier Invitational, Goodall Round Robin , The Open Championship
- 1950 (2) All American Open , The Open Championship
- 1952 (1) The Open Championship
- 1957 (1) The Open Championship
Major tournament wins are in bold .
Results at major tournaments
Tournament | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
US Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
The Open Championship | T8 LA | T17 LA | T10 | T9 |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | NT | NT | NT | DNP | T14 | T10 | T13 |
US Open | DNP | DNP | NT | NT | NT | NT | DNP | T3 | 4th | T4 |
The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | T2 | DNP | DNP | 1 |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | NT | DNP | DNP | DNP | T33 | DNP | DNP |
Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Masters | DNP | DNP | T21 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
US Open | DNP | 3 | WD | T14 | 5 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
The Open Championship | 1 | T6 | 1 | 8th | T2 | 4th | DNP | 1 | T16 | T29 |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
US Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
The Open Championship | DNP | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
US Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
The Open Championship | CUT | T49 | CUT | DNP | CUT | CUT | CUT | WD | CUT |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
LA = best amateur
DNP = not started
WD = withdrawn
CUT = failed at cut
"T" = shared rank
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Bobby Locke: The Quirky Golfer Who Won 4 Opens. In: liveabout.com , accessed August 30, 2020.
- ↑ Bobby Locke on the World Golf Hall of Fame website .
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Locke, Bobby |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Locke, Arthur D'Arcy (real name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | south african golfer |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 20, 1917 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Germiston , South Africa |
DATE OF DEATH | March 9, 1987 |
Place of death | Johannesburg |