Bob Charles (golfer)

Sir Robert James Charles ONZ KNZM CBE (born 14 March 1936) is a New Zealand professional golfer whose achievements over five decades rank him among the most successful left-handed golfers of all time, being the first lefty to win a golf major, winning more than 70 titles, and beating his age twice during a tournament as a 71-year-old.

Born in Carterton, a small town in the Wairarapa district in New Zealand's North Island, Charles lived in Masterton where he worked as a bank teller. He won the New Zealand Open at Heretaunga on 8 November 1954, as an 18-year-old amateur.

Charles decided to hone his skills as an amateur first, and remained in his bank employment for a further six years. He represented New Zealand several times in international amateur tournaments during this period.

Charles turned professional in 1960 and the next year won the New Zealand PGA Championship and soon after ventured overseas to the European and North American circuits.

In 1963, Charles won his first PGA Tour event in the United States, the Houston Classic, the first PGA Tour event won by a left-handed golfer. Later that year he won The Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St. Annes. After four rounds (68-72-66-71) his 277 was level with American Phil Rodgers. Charles won the 36-hole playoff by eight shots.

Charles has won about 80 tournaments around the world. As well as his PGA Tour victories, his win in the 1969 World Matchplay Championship was considered one of his best. He won the Senior British Open 30 years after winning his British Open title. He remains, along with Michael Campbell, one of only two New Zealanders to win a men's major golf championship.

In 2007 Charles became the oldest golfer to make a cut on the European Tour at the Michael Hill New Zealand Open. Charles shot a 68 in the second round, beating his age by three strokes. He would go on to finish in a tie for 23rd place.

Charles's move to the Senior PGA Tour (now called Champions Tour) was very lucrative and successful with 23 titles; and in three years 1988, 1989 and 1993, he recorded lowest scoring average. He finished second on the European Seniors Tour's 2007 Wentworth Senior Masters at the age of 71. He was the first left-hander to win a major, but also the first lefty to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, in the veterans category. He was inducted in 2008. He would remain the only lefty inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame until Phil Mickelson was elected in 2011.

At the Senior British Open Championship in 2010, Charles announced in an ESPN interview that he would retire from golf, stating that he was "74 years old, traveling this world for 50 years, and it's time to slow down and spend more time on my farm in New Zealand with my family."

Charles is a sporting hero in New Zealand, not only for his achievements but also for his demeanour and philanthropy regarding junior golfers. He was also a role model worldwide for left-handed golfers. Until Canadian Mike Weir won The Masters in 2003, Charles was the only golfer with a left-handed swing to have won a major.

In the New Year Honours 1972 Charles was appointed an Officer of The Order of The British Empire. In the New Year Honours 1992 Charles was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to golf. In the New Year Honours 1999 Charles was appointed a Knight Companion of The New Zealand Order of Merit for services to golf. In the New Year Honours 2011 Charles was appointed to The Order of New Zealand for services to New Zealand.

Charles married his wife Verity in 1962 and they have two children, Beverly and David. David is a golf director in the United States. He is a successful golf course designer having had major input into the Formosa Country Club east of Auckland, Millbrook at the resort town of Queenstown, and 'The Dunes' course at Matarangi on the Coromandel Peninsula. He was also consultant to the Clearwater course, near Christchurch, designed by golf architect John Darby.

Charles has played in the Gary Player Invitational several times to assist Gary Player raise funds for various underprivileged children's causes.

PGA Tour wins (6)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	21 Apr 1963	Houston Classic	−12 (67-66-66-69=268)	1 stroke	Fred Hawkins
2	13 Jul 1963	The Open Championship	−3 (68-72-66-71=277)	Playoff	Phil Rodgers
3	21 Feb 1965	Tucson Open Invitational	−17 (65-69-67-70=271)	4 strokes	Al Geiberger
4	1 Oct 1967	Atlanta Classic	−6 (72-71-69-70=282)	2 strokes	Tommy Bolt, Dick Crawford, Gardner Dickinson
5	23 Jun 1968	Canadian Open	−6 (70-68-70-66=274)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
6	7 Apr 1974	Greater Greensboro Open	−14 (65-70-67-68=270)	1 stroke	Raymond Floyd, Lee Trevino

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1963	The Open Championship	Phil Rodgers	Won 36-hole playoff (Charles:69-71=140, Rodgers:72-76=148)
2	1965	Lucky International Open	George Archer	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
3	1970	Greater New Orleans Open	Miller Barber, Howie Johnson	Barber won with birdie on second extra hole

Major championship is shown in bold.

European Tour wins (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	30 Sep 1972	John Player Classic	+1 (69-69-71-75=285)	1 stroke	Gay Brewer, Peter Oosterhuis
2	7 Oct 1972	Dunlop Masters	−11 (70-68-71-68=277)	2 strokes	Tony Jacklin
3	22 Jul 1973	Scandinavian Enterprise Open	−10 (69-69-70-70=278)	2 strokes	Vin Baker, Tony Jacklin, Hedley Muscroft
4	27 Jul 1974	Swiss Open	−5 (70-70-67-68=275)	1 stroke	Tony Jacklin

Australasian wins (8)

• 1954 New Zealand Open (as an amateur)
• 1961 New Zealand PGA Championship
• 1966 New Zealand Open
• 1970 New Zealand Open
• 1973 New Zealand Open
• 1978 Air New Zealand/Shell Open
• 1979 New Zealand PGA Championship
• 1980 New Zealand PGA Championship

Other wins (18)

• 1961 Bowmaker Tournament, Caltex Open
• 1962 Daks Tournament (tie with Dai Rees), Caltex Open, Swiss Open
• 1963 Watties Open
• 1966 Watties Open
• 1967 Caltex Open, Watties Open
• 1968 Watties Open, Caltex Open
• 1969 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, Spalding Masters
• 1971 Otago Charity Classic, Caltex Open
• 1973 South African Open, Auckland City Classic
• 1983 Tallahassee Open

Senior PGA Tour wins (23)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	22 Mar 1987	Vintage Chrysler Invitational	−3 (72-70-73-70=285)	4 strokes	Butch Baird, Bruce Crampton, Dale Douglass Howie Johnson, Bobby Nichols Gary Player, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
2	29 Mar 1987	GTE Classic	−8 (67-67-74=208)	4 strokes	Bruce Crampton
3	3 May 1987	Sunwest Bank Charley Pride Senior Golf Classic	−8 (70-70-68=208)	1 stroke	Dale Douglass
4	22 May 1988	NYNEX/Golf Digest Commemorative	−14 (63-67-66=196)	4 strokes	Harold Henning, Don Massengale
5	29 May 1988	Sunwest Bank Charley Pride Senior Golf Classic	−10 (69-68-69=206)	2 strokes	Orville Moody
6	4 Jul 1988	Rancho Murieta Senior Gold Rush	−9 (69-69-69=207)	2 strokes	Gary Player
7	28 Aug 1988	Vantage presents Bank One Senior Golf Classic	−10 (63-66-71=200)	1 stroke	Dick Hendrickson
8	2 Oct 1988	Pepsi Senior Challenge	−5 (70-69=139)	1 stroke	Dick Hendrickson, Harold Henning, Bert Yancey
9	19 Feb 1989	GTE Suncoast Classic	−9 (68-70-69=207)	Playoff	Jim Ferree, Dave Hill, Harold Henning
10	21 May 1989	NYNEX/Golf Digest Commemorative	−17 (63-65-65=193)	5 strokes	Don Bies, Bruce Crampton
11	9 Jul 1989	Digital Seniors Classic	-16 (65-70-65=200)	3 strokes	Mike Hill
12	27 Aug 1989	Sunwest Bank Charley Pride Senior Golf Classic	-13 (66-69-68=203)	1 stroke	Charles Coody
13	1 Oct 1989	Fairfield Barnett Space Coast Classic	−13 (66-70-67=203)	6 strokes	Butch Baird
14	24 Jun 1990	Digital Seniors Classic	−13 (69-67-67=203)	2 strokes	Lee Trevino
15	9 Dec 1990	GTE Kaanapali Classic	−4 (65-71-70=206)	4 strokes	George Archer, Lee Trevino
16	10 Feb 1991	GTE Suncoast Classic	−6 (68-72-70=210)	4 strokes	George Archer, Lee Trevino
17	11 Oct 1992	Raley's Senior Gold Rush	−15 (71-65-65=201)	7 strokes	Gary Player, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
18	18 Oct 1992	Transamerica Senior Golf Championship	−16 (70-67-63=200)	1 stroke	Dave Stockton
19	28 Mar 1993	Doug Sanders Celebrity Classic	−8 (69-70-69=208)	1 stroke	Jim Ferree
20	23 May 1993	Bell Atlantic Classic	−6 (67-67-70=204)	1 stroke	Dave Stockton
21	5 Sep 1993	Quicksilver Classic	−9 (74-65-68=207)	4 strokes	Dave Stockton
22	29 Oct 1995	Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic	−9 (69-67-68=204)	Playoff	Dave Stockton
23	27 Oct 1996	Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic	−15 (64-65-69=198)	1 stroke	Hale Irwin

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–7)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1987	PaineWebber World Seniors Invitational	Gary Player	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2	1988	Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am	Don Massengale, Orville Moody, Bobby Nichols	Moody won with birdie on first extra hole
3	1988	U.S. Senior Open	Gary Player	Lost 18-hole playoff (Player:68, Charles:70)
4	1989	GTE Suncoast Classic	Jim Ferree, Dave Hill, Harold Henning	Won with birdie on third extra hole Ferree and Hill eliminated on first hole with birdie
5	1989	General Tire Las Vegas Classic	Charles Coody, Chi-Chi Rodríguez	Coody won with birdie on second extra hole
6	1995	Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic	Dave Stockton	Won with birdie on third extra hole
7	1996	Las Vegas Senior Classic	Jim Colbert, Dave Stockton	Colbert won with par on fourth extra hole Charles eliminated with par on first hole
8	1998	Home Depot Invitational	Jim Dent	Lost to par on third extra hole
9	1998	Kroger Senior Classic	Hugh Baiocchi, Frank Conner, Larry Nelson, Bruce Summerhays	Baiocchi won with birdie on second extra hole

European Seniors Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	25 Jul 1993	Senior British Open	+3 (73-73-71-74=291)	1 stroke	Tommy Horton, Gary Player

Other senior wins (14)

• 1986 Mazda Champions (with Amy Alcott)
• 1987 Mauna Lani Invitational
• 1988 Fuji Electric Grandslam, 1st National Bank Classic
• 1989 Fuji Electric Grandslam, Senior British Open
• 1990 Fuji Electric Grandslam, Kintetsu Home Senior, Daikyo Senior Invitational
• 1991 Kintetsu Home Senior
• 1998 Office Depot Father/Son Challenge (with son David)
• 2004 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf – Raphael Division (with Stewart Ginn)
• 2009 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf – Demaret Division (with Gary Player)
• 2010 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf – Demaret Division (with Gary Player)

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1963	The Open Championship	1 shot lead	−7 (68-72-66-71=277)	Playoff1	Phil Rodgers

1Defeated Phil Rodgers in a 36-hole playoff (Charles 69-71=140, Rodgers 72-76=148).

Results timeline

Amateur

Professional

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
"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

Source for The Masters: www.masters.com

Source for U.S. Open: USGA Championship Database

Source for The British Open: www.opengolf.com

Source for PGA Championship: PGA Championship Media Guide

Source for 1958 Amateur Championship: The Glasgow Herald, 6 June 1958, pg. 4.

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (1962 Masters – 1965 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1968 U.S. Open – 1968 PGA)

Amateur

• Eisenhower Trophy (representing New Zealand): 1958, 1960

Professional

• World Cup (representing New Zealand): 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972
• Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 1982
• Dunhill Cup (representing New Zealand): 1985, 1986