Sir Robert James Charles (born 14 March 1936) is a New Zealand

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. His achievements over five decades rank him among the most successful left-handed golfers of all time, being the first lefty to win a major championship, winning more than 70 titles and beating his age twice during a tournament as a 71-year-old. Although Charles plays golf left-handed, he is naturally right-handed.

Early years

Born in Carterton, a small town in the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

district in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

, Charles lived in

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

where he worked as a bank teller. He won the

New Zealand Open The New Zealand Open is the premier men's golf tournament in New Zealand. It has been a regular fixture on the PGA Tour of Australasia tournament schedule since the 1970s. The 2019 event was the 100th edition of the tournament. Since 2014 it has ...

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.

Professional career

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 The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

event in the United States, the

Houston Classic The Cadence Bank Houston Open is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played in November. As a part of a restructuring of the schedule, the event moved to the fall in 2019. Because the tour year starts the previous fall, the ...

, the first PGA Tour event won by a left-handed golfer. Later that year he won

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

at Royal Lytham and St. Annes. After four rounds (68-72-66-71) his 277 was level with American

Phil Rodgers Phil Rodgers (April 3, 1938 – June 26, 2018) was an American professional golfer. Life Rodgers was born in San Diego, California. He won the 1958 NCAA Division I Championship while playing at the University of Houston. Immediately afte ...

. 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 The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open) is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Pr ...

30 years after winning his British Open title. He remains, along with

Michael Campbell Michael Shane Campbell (born 23 February 1969) is a New Zealand professional golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and, at the time, the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the s ...

, one of only two New Zealanders to win a

men's major golf championship The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the major championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the most prestigious tournaments in golf. Historically, the national open and amateur championships of Great Britain a ...

. In 2007 Charles became the oldest golfer to make a cut on the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

at the

Michael Hill New Zealand Open The New Zealand Open is the premier men's golf tournament in New Zealand. It has been a regular fixture on the PGA Tour of Australasia tournament schedule since the 1970s. The 2019 event was the 100th edition of the tournament. Since 2014 it has ...

. 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

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many year ...

) 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 The Legends Tour is the current branding of the European Senior Tour, a professional tour for male golfers aged 50 and over, run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was branded as the Staysure Tour for the 2018 and 2019 seasons after UK-based insur ...

'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 The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

, 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 Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters To ...

was elected in 2011. At the

Senior British Open Championship The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open) is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Pr ...

in 2010, Charles announced in an

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

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."

Personal life

In the 1971 Queen's Birthday Honours, Charles was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to sport. In the 1992 New Year Honours, he was promoted to

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to golf. In the 1999 New Year Honours, Charles was appointed a

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to golf. In the 2011 New Year Honours 2011, Charles was appointed as a

Member of the Order of New Zealand The Order of New Zealand is the highest honour in the New Zealand royal honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity". It was instituted by royal warrant on 6 F ...

, New Zealand's highest civilian honour, for services to New Zealand. In December 1962, Charles married Verity Joan Aldridge in

Johannesburg, South Africa Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. They met three years previously at the Commonwealth Golf tournament when it was held in South Africa. The golfers

Denis Hutchinson Denis John Hutchinson (born 14 March 1932) is a former South African professional golfer. Hutchinson was born and raised in Rhodesia but moved to South Africa as a young adult. He represented South Africa in several elite amateur events, inclu ...

and Bobby Verwey served as groomsmen. They had 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 Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, Millbrook at the resort town of Queenstown, and The Dunes course at

Matarangi Matarangi is a beach settlement on the Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand, with around 420 permanent residents in 2018 which increases to over 7000 holidaymakers during the summer period of late December to February. It was developed in the 1 ...

on the

Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula ( mi, Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Māui) on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the we ...

. He was also consultant to the Clearwater course, near Christchurch, designed by golf architect John Darby. Charles has played in the

Gary Player Invitational The Nelson Mandela Invitational was a charity golf tournament which took place annually in South Africa from 2000 until 2006. It was named in honor of former South African President Nelson Mandela, and hosted by South Africa's most successful prof ...

several times to assist

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

raise funds for various underprivileged children's causes.

Professional wins (80)

PGA Tour wins (6)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

European Tour wins (4)

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

Sunshine Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (5)

''*Note: The 1973 City of Auckland Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.'' PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–2)

Tournament Players Series wins (1)

Tournament Players Series playoff record (1–0)

European circuit wins (6)

* 1961

Bowmaker Tournament The Bowmaker Tournament was an invitation pro-am golf tournament played from 1957 to 1970. Except in the first and final years the tournament was held at Sunningdale Golf Club. The main event was a 36-hole stroke play event for the professional ...

* 1962

Swiss Open The Omega European Masters is the Swiss stop on professional men's golf's European Tour, and in 2009 it became the first event in Europe to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Founded as the Swiss Open in 1923, the tournament was prefixed with Eu ...

Daks Tournament The Daks Tournament was an important professional golf tournament held in England from 1950 to 1971 and was generally held in early June. 17 of the 22 events were held at the Wentworth Club. Neil Coles enjoyed considerable success in the event wi ...

(tie with

Dai Rees David James Rees, (31 March 1913 – 15 November 1983) was one of the Britain's leading golfers either side of the Second World War. The winner of many prestigious tournaments in Britain, Europe and farther afield, Rees is best remembered as ...

), Engadine Open * 1963 Open Championship * 1969

Piccadilly World Match Play Championship The Volvo World Match Play Championship was an annual match play men's professional golf tournament which was staged from 1964 to 2014. The World Match Play Championship was a limited field event, originally contested by just eight players before ...

New Zealand circuit wins (19)

*1954

(as an amateur) *1961

New Zealand PGA Championship The New Zealand PGA Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It is currently known for sponsorship reasons as the SEC NZ PGA Championship. History The tournament been played since 1909, with some gap periods. It was orig ...

Caltex Tournament The Caltex Tournament was a golf tournament held at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club in Paraparaumu, New Zealand from 1955 to 1972. History Bob Charles (golfer), Bob Charles and Peter Thomson (golfer), Peter Thomson each won the event five times, wh ...

*1962

*1963 Wattie's Tournament *1966

, Wattie's Tournament, Metalcraft Tournament, Forest Products Tournament (tie with

Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is a retired English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain ...

) *1967 New Zealand Wills Masters (tie with Martin Roesink),

(tie with

Peter Thomson Peter Thomson may refer to: * Peter Thomson (golfer) (1929–2018), Australian golfer * Peter Thomson (diplomat) (born 1948), Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations * Peter Thomson (footballer) (born 1977), English footballer * Peter ...

), Wattie's Tournament *1968 Wattie's Tournament,

*1969 Spalding Masters *1970

*1971 Otago Charity Classic,

*1972 Spalding Masters

Other wins (1)

Senior PGA Tour wins (25)

''*Note: The 1988 Pepsi Senior Challenge was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.'' Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–8)

European Senior Tour wins (1)

European Senior Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other senior wins (13)

*1986 Mazda Champions (with

Amy Alcott Amy Alcott (born February 22, 1956) is an American professional golfer and golf course designer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1975, and won five major championships and 29 LPGA Tour events in all. She is a member of the World Golf H ...

) *1987 Mauna Lani Invitational *1988 Fuji Electric Grandslam, 1st National Bank Classic *1989 Fuji Electric Grandslam *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 The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar is a golf tournament in Missouri on the PGA Tour Champions. Since 2014, it has been played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the 18- ...

– Raphael Division (with

Stewart Ginn Stewart Ginn (born 2 June 1949) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Ginn was born in Melbourne. He grew up behind the twelfth green of the Royal Melbourne Golf Club. Early in his life "he used to caddy at Royal Melbourne." He t ...

) *2009

– Demaret Division (with

) *2010

– Demaret Division (with

)

Major championships

Wins (1)

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

Results timeline

Amateur Professional CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1976 Open Championship)
WD = withdrew
QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place. 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, p. 4.

Summary

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

Senior major championships

Wins (2)

Team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

(representing New Zealand): 1958, 1960 *

Commonwealth Tournament The Commonwealth Tournament was a men's team golf tournament between teams of amateurs golfers from Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. It was played roughly every four years, in 1954, 1959, 1963, 1967, 1971 and 1975. I ...

(representing New Zealand): 1959 *

Sloan Morpeth Trophy The Sloan Morpeth Trophy was an amateur team golf tournament, played between Australia and New Zealand. It was contested irregularly from 1947 to 2016. The trophy was presented by Sloan Morpeth in 1956. From 1993 to 2005 the two countries played ea ...

(representing New Zealand): 1956 Professional *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(representing New Zealand): 1962,

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

, 1966, 1967, 1968,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

Hennessy Cognac Cup The Hennessy Cognac Cup was a biennial team golf tournament contested from 1976 to 1984. The contests in 1976, 1978 and 1980 were between teams of professional male golfers; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representi ...

(representing the Rest of the World): 1982 *

Dunhill Cup The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championshi ...

(representing New Zealand):

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Bob New Zealand male golfers PGA Tour of Australasia golfers PGA Tour golfers European Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Winners of senior major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Members of the Order of New Zealand Left-handed golfers People in sports awarded knighthoods People educated at Wairarapa College People from Carterton, New Zealand Sportspeople from Masterton People from Oxford, New Zealand 1936 births Living people