Brian Marchbank (born 20 April 1958) is a Scottish

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 ...

. He had a successful amateur career in which he won

Boys Amateur Championship The Boys Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held annually in the United Kingdom. The competition is organised and run by The R&A. History The Boys Amateur Championship was first played at Royal Ascot in 1921. In 1921 boys had to ...

and the

British Youths Open Championship The British Youths Open Championship was a youths golf tournament that was played from 1954 to 1994. It was 72-hole stroke-play event for golfers under 22. From 1954 to 1962, it was organised by a committee led by Sam Bunton, a Glasgow architect, ...

and played in the

1979 Walker Cup The 1979 Walker Cup, the 27th Walker Cup golf match, was played on 30 and 31 May 1979, at Muirfield, Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. The event was won by the United States 15½ to 8½. The United States had an 8½ to 7½ lead after the second ...

. He made over 400 appearances on

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 ...

without winning, his best finish being when he was runner-up in the 1982 State Express English Classic

Amateur career

Marchbank was a successful amateur golfer. In 1975 he won the

Bruntsfield Links Bruntsfield Links is of open parkland in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, immediately to the south-west of the adjoining Meadows. Unlike The Meadows, which formerly contained a loch drained by the end of the 18th century, Bruntsfield Links has always ...

, beating

Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr Lyle (born 9 February 1958) is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s. He spen ...

by one hole in the 36-hole final, making a 12-foot birdie putt at the final hole. In 1978 Marchbank won the

Lytham Trophy The Lytham Trophy is an amateur golf tournament founded in 1965 by the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, where it has always been held. It is a 72-hole scratch stroke play competition, and is classified as a Category A event by the World Amateur ...

. He led by 5 strokes after three rounds and, despite a final round of 77, won by three strokes from Peter Thomas. Later in the year he won the

, with two rounds of 68 on the final day giving him the championship by three strokes from Hugh Evans. Marchbank played in the

. He won two of his four matches, winning his singles on the opening day but losing to

Hal Sutton Hal Evan Sutton (born April 28, 1958) is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the PGA Tour Champions, who achieved 14 victories on the PGA Tour, including a major championship, the 1983 PGA Championship, and the 1983 Tournament ...

in the final-day singles.

Professional career

Marchbank turned professional in 1979, making his debut in the

Scottish PGA Championship The Scottish PGA Championship is a golf tournament played annually in Scotland since 1907. For many years the event was called the Scottish Professional Championship. It is the flagship event on the "Tartan Tour", the PGA Tour in Scotland's sche ...

in early September. He made his debut on the

in late 1979 and was a regular competitor until the end of the 1996 season, making over 400 appearances. He never won an official European Tour event although he won the Equity & Law Challenge, an unofficial-money event on the tour, two years in succession. His best finish in an official event was second in the 1982 State Express English Classic at

The Belfry The Belfry is a golf resort and hotel in Wishaw, Warwickshire, close to Sutton Coldfield, England, located approximately 8 miles from the centre of Birmingham. It was acquired by KSL Capital Partners in August 2012. The resort has three golf c ...

, one stroke behind

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

. On the final day Marchbank finished with three birdies in the last four holes for a round of 67, the lowest of the day. Marchbank played in 12 Open Championships, with a best finish in

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 ...

at Turnberry, when he finished in a tie for 8th place. He had an opening round of 78 but his final three rounds of 70, 72 and 69 were better than anyone else, except the winner

Personal life

Marshbank's father Ian (1931–2019) was also a golfer and was the professional at Gleneagles for many years.

Amateur wins

*1975

*1978

British Youths Open Amateur Championship The British Youths Open Championship was a youths golf tournament that was played from 1954 to 1994. It was 72-hole stroke-play event for golfers under 22. From 1954 to 1962, it was organised by a committee led by Sam Bunton, a Glasgow architect, ...

Professional wins (4)

*1980

Scottish Under-25 Championship The Scottish Under-25 Championship was a golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does n ...

*1990 Equity & Law Challenge *1991 Equity & Law Challenge *1996

Results in major championships

''Note: Marchbank only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = Missed the cut (3rd round cut in 1980 and 1984 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

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 Great Britain & Ireland):

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

European Amateur Team Championship The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959. The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been ...

(representing England):

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

(representing Great Britain & Ireland):

St Andrews Trophy The St Andrews Trophy is a biennial men's team golf tournament contested between teams of amateur golfers representing Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It takes its name from St Andrews in Scotland. It was first played in 1 ...

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1976 (winners), 1978 (winners)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marchbank, Brian Scottish male golfers European Tour golfers European Senior Tour golfers Golfers from Perth, Scotland 1958 births Living people