Neil Coles

Neil Coles MBE
Personal information
Full name	Neil Chapman Coles, MBE
Born	26 September 1934 (1934-09-26) (age 77) London, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Nationality	England
Residence	Walton-on-Thames, England
Career
Turned professional	1950
Former tour(s)	European Tour European Seniors Tour
Professional wins	44
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	7
European Seniors Tour	9
Other	24 (regular) 4 (senior)
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament	WD: 1966
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	T2: 1973
PGA Championship	DNP
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	2000 (member page)

Neil Chapman Coles, MBE (born 26 September 1934) is an English professional golfer. As of 2005, Coles is only the second man (after Sam Snead) to win a professional golf tournament in six different decades, starting in the 1950s and extending into the 21st century.

Coles was born in England. He won thirty-one events in his regular career, including seven after the European Tour was officially established in 1972. The European Tour's official site states that Coles won twenty-five times on the tour, meaning that 25 of the tournaments he won are regarded as having equivalent status to official European Tour events [1]. His last European Tour win came in 1982.

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, finishing third in 1961 and second in 1973, although arguably his closest chances came in 1970 (when he led after a first-round 65 and was only 3 off the lead going into the final round) and 1975 (where he followed second and third rounds of 69 and 67 with a 74 at Carnoustie, when a 70 would have earnt him the Claret Jug). He led the British Order of Merit in both 1963 and 1970, and maintained a top-ten position in the Merit list for almost every year of the 1960s and 1970s decades. He 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. Even at the peak of his career he made few appearances in the U.S. because of his fear of flying.^[1]

He finished in the top ten on the European Seniors Tour's order of merit eight times between 1992 and 2000. In 2002, during which season he turned sixty eight, he finished eleventh. In that year he won the Lawrence Batley Seniors Tournament at the age of 67 years and 276 days, more than four years older than any previous winner of a Seniors professional golf tournament. He also had a third place finish in 2003. His final win tally on the Senior Tour was nine. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.

Coles is currently (January 2007) the chairman of the PGA European Tour's board of directors. He is also a golf course architect designing courses such as Chartham Park.

Professional wins (44)

European Tour wins (7)

• 1972 Sunbeam Electric Scottish Open
• 1973 Spanish Open, Benson & Hedges Match Play Championship
• 1974 W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament
• 1976 Penfold PGA Championship
• 1977 Tournament Players Championship
• 1982 Sanyo Open

Other wins (24)

• 1956 Gor-Ray Tournament
• 1960 Coombe Hill Assistants
• 1961 Ballantine Tournament
• 1962 Senior Service Tournament
• 1963 Engadine Tournament, Daks Tournament (tie with Peter Alliss), Martini International (tie with Christy O'Connor Snr)
• 1964 Bowmaker Tournament, Daks Tournament, News of the World Match Play
• 1965 News of the World Match Play, Carroll's International
• 1966 Pringle of Scotland Tournament, British Masters
• 1970 Walworth Aloyco, Sumrie Clothes Better-Ball (with Bernard Hunt), Italian BP Open, Bowmaker Tournament, Daks Tournament
• 1971 Penfold Bournemouth Tournament, Daks Tournament (tie with Brian Huggett), Carroll's International, German Open
• 1973 Sumrie Clothes Better-Ball (with Bernard Hunt)

European Seniors Tour wins (9)

• 1992 Collingtree Homes Seniors Classic
• 1993 Gary Player Seniors Classic
• 1995 Collingtree Seniors
• 1997 Ryder Collingtree Seniors Classic
• 1998 Philip PFA Golf Classic
• 1999 Energis Senior Masters, Dalmahoy Scottish Seniors Open
• 2000 Microlease Jersey Seniors Open
• 2002 Lawrence Batley Seniors

Other senior wins (4)

• 1985 PGA Seniors Championship
• 1986 PGA Seniors Championship
• 1987 PGA Seniors Championship
• 1989 PGA Seniors Championship

Results in major championships

Tournament	1957	1958	1959
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	DNP	T21

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	WD	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	T3	DNP	T20	CUT	T12	CUT	T36	T6	T11

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	T6	T22	CUT	T2	T13	7	T28	T41	T48	WD

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	T29	T39	T42	CUT	CUT	CUT

Note: Coles did not play in the U.S. Open nor the PGA Championship.
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

Team appearances

• Ryder Cup (8): 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1977.
• World Cup of Golf: 1963, 1968
• Hennessy Cognac Cup: 1974 (winners), 1976, 1978 (winners), 1980 (winners)
• Double Diamond: 1971 (winners), 1973, 1975, 1976 (winners), 1977
• Praia D'el Rey European Cup: 1998, 1999

References

1. ^ Old King Coles is a merry old soul. John Huggan, The Scotsman, May 2007

External links

• Official website
• Neil Coles at the European Tour official site
• Neil Coles – profile on the World Golf Hall of Fame's official site

Persondata
Name	Coles, Neil
Alternative names
Short description	Professional golfer
Date of birth	26 September 1934
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death
Place of death