Randall Vines

Randall Vines (born 6 June 1945) is an Australian professional golfer.

Vines is from Brisbane, Australia. He had some success as an amateur, winning the 1963 Queensland Junior Golf Tournament.

Vines turned professional in 1966. Although he spent most of his career in Australia, his earliest successes were in Europe. Early in the 1967 season he finished runner-up at the Spanish Open. In the summer, he held the lead after the first round of the Open Championship qualifier. He went on to qualify for the event. Later in the year, in September, this success culminated in a victory at the Swiss Open. Aided by a hole-in-one on the 8th hole in the final round, Vines shot 272 (−20) to win by two over Guy Wolstenholme.

Vines soon returned down under to play on the Australian circuit. He recorded an astonishing performance at the Tasmanian Open in February 1968, winning the tournament by 17 strokes. It was later noted by an Australian journalist that his performance stood "as the biggest victory margin in a tournament in the world." The experience in Tasmania was personally important to Vines as well, as he had his honeymoon with his newlywed wife Robin while on the island. She served as his caddie during the tournament.

Following the victory, Vines moved on to the Asian circuit. He quickly won a tournament in March, the Thailand Open. Vines thought he blew his chances with a final round 75 (+3) but leader Haruo Yasuda made double-bogey on the last giving Vines a one-stroke win. Vines won again the very next week at the Hong Kong Open. The victory moved him into third place on the Asian circuit's Order of Merit. Later in the year, defending his 1967 title, Vines finished runner-up in the Swiss Open to Italy's Roberto Bernardini.

After all of this success, Vines had a lengthy dry spell. He did not record many top finishes and went three years without a victory. This period ended at the 1972 Australian PGA Championship. Vines outplayed playing partner Bill Dunk over the course of the final round to beat his own expectations and win by two shots. "It's the best golf I've played my entire life," he said.

Vines' good play continued in 1973–74 season. At the very beginning of the season, in September, he finished runner-up at the West End Tournament, nearly overcoming overnight leader David Galloway. Shortly afterwards, he won an event in his home state, the Queensland PGA Championship. Soon afterwards, he played in the Australian PGA Championship. Like the previous year, he again played excellently at the event, now contested as a match play event. Vines won his first five matches and played Stewart Ginn in the final. The match was neck and neck until Ginn made mistakes on the 16th and 17th ensuring Vines' victory. Vines shot −25 for the event. "I feel like I've won six tournaments," he stated at the end of the event. "Every match was a hard one." He also won the Cairns Open at the very end of the calendar year. This excellent play helped him qualify for the World Cup at the end of the year.

Like his sudden regression of play after the 1967–68 season, however, Vines would not maintain this level of success. He won a minor 54-hole tournament in 1975 but otherwise did not record any top finishes for multiple years. Late in the 1975–76 season, however, he began to turn it around. He recorded a number of top tens, including a runner-up finish at the Forbes tournament, before playing excellently at the Queanbeyan City Open in March. After an opening round 71 (+1), Vines shot an extraordinary second round of 62 which included a 28 (−7) on the back nine. After a prosaic 34 (−1) on the front nine, Vines' performance immediately improved on the back. He chipped in for eagle on the 10th and then holed out from the fairway two holes later for another eagle. This was followed by three straight birdies. If it weren't for near misses on the 16th and 17th holes he could have shot 26. Nonetheless, Vines was very happy after the round stating it was the best nine holes of his career. It was the first time he had broken 30 and "gave him almost as big a thrill as his 1968 Tasmanian Open victory by 17 shots." Despite this excellent play he was still one behind pro Mark Tapper and remained one behind him entering the final round. Tapper, however, played poorly the entire round, presaged by a bogey on the opening hole. Vines took advantage of his poor play. Though he drove the ball extremely erratically, Vines hit extraordinary approaches from the rough or behind trees and even the wrong fairway. This enabled him to make a number of extraordinary birdies and he ultimately cruised to a four shot win. Later in the season, he won the Queensland PGA Championship for the second time.

Vines won the Griffith Golf Classic two year later, but had few other highlights for the remainder of his career on the regular tours. He stated later in life that he "went cold" during this period and lost confidence.

As a senior, however, Vines had some success. Vines turned 50 in the middle of 1995 and quickly started playing on the European Seniors Tour. He had immediate success, recording a runner-up finish at his fifth event and finished 25th on the Order of Merit, despite playing a truncated season. The following year, his first full year on the senior tour, he continued with this success, recording three top tens including a runner-up finish at the Motor City Seniors Classic. He finished 16th on the Order of Merit, his career best. The following season he recorded two more top tens but finished much further down the Order of Merit. He maintained at least part-time status on the European Seniors Tour for three more seasons but with little success. Several years after he stopped playing the senior tour he won the New Zealand Senior PGA Championship. He later described this as the highlight of his senior career.

In 2015 he was bestowed Life Membership in the Australian PGA.

PGA Tour of Australia wins (3)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0)

European circuit wins (2)

• 1967 Swiss Open
• 1968 Engadine Open

Asia Golf Circuit wins (2)

• 1968 Thailand Open, Hong Kong Open

Australian circuit wins (6)

• 1968 Tasmanian Open
• 1972 Australian PGA Championship
• 1973 Queensland PGA Championship, Cairns Open
• 1975 Mount Isa tournament
• 1976 Queensland PGA Championship

Senior wins (1)

• 2007-2008 season: New Zealand Senior PGA Championship

Note: Vines only played in the Open Championship

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1972 Open Championship)
"T" = tied

• World Cup (representing Australia): 1973