Brian J. Waites (born 1 March 1940) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

professional

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 not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er. Although he turned professional in 1957, he played little top-level golf for the next 20 years, but then has considerable success, winning twice 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 fi ...

, five times on the

Safari Circuit The Safari Circuit, or Safari Tour, was a small professional golf tour based in West and East Africa that ran from the 1970s through into the 1990s. From 1977, the tour was organised by the PGA European Tour and from 1991 the tournaments were inclu ...

and playing in the

1983 Ryder Cup The 25th Ryder Cup Matches were held October 14–16, 1983 at the PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The United States team won the competition by a score of 14 to 13 points, the closest Ryder Cup since the tie in 1969. In th ...

. After reaching 50 he had further success as a senior, winning the

PGA Seniors Championship The PGA Seniors Championship is a European Senior Tour golf tournament for men aged fifty and above. It was founded in 1957 and became part of the European Senior Tour on its founding in 1992. It was not held in 2016 or 2017 but returned in 2018 ...

twice, and winning four times on the

European Senior 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 insu ...

Professional career

Waites turned professional in 1957. He was an assistant professional at Hesketh Golf Club in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

, becoming the professional at Saltburn Golf Club in

Saltburn-by-the-Sea Saltburn-by-the-Sea, commonly referred to as Saltburn, is a seaside town in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England, around south-east of Hartlepool and southeast of Redcar. It lies within the historic boundaries of the North Ridin ...

from 1961, before moving to Brough Golf Club on

Humberside Humberside () was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East Riding of Yorkshire, We ...

in 1965. In early 1969 Waites became the professional at Hollinwell (

Notts Golf Club Notts Golf Club, more commonly referred to simply as Hollinwell, is an 18-hole members golf club in Nottinghamshire, England which has hosted a number of leading amateur and professional competitions. The course has widely been reviewed as one o ...

), replacing

David Talbot David Talbot (born September 22, 1951) is an American journalist, author, activist and independent historian. Talbot is known for his books about the "hidden history" of U.S. power and the liberal movements to change America, as well as his p ...

. He stayed at Hollinwell until 1998. Before moving to Hollinwell, Waites played relatively few national events and had limited success. While at Saltburn, he qualified for the

1964 Open Championship The 1964 Open Championship was the 93rd Open Championship, played 8–10 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Tony Lema won his only major championship, five strokes ahead of runner-up Jack Nicklaus. He led by seven strokes afte ...

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...

but missed the cut. After moving to Brough, he won the Yorkshire Open Championship in 1966 and was tied for third place in the 1968

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 professionals ...

, a 36-hole event at

Sunningdale Golf Club Sunningdale Golf Club is a golf club in Sunningdale, Berkshire, England, located approximately west-southwest of London. Sunningdale Golf Club was founded in 1900 and has two eighteen hole golf courses: the Old Course, designed by Willie Pa ...

. In 1969 Waites qualified for 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 ...

Royal Lytham Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, is one of the courses in the Open Championship rotation. The Women's British Open has also been played on the course five times: once prior to being designated a major c ...

and played all four rounds, finishing tied for 34th place. In the

News of the World Matchplay The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the ''News of the World'', and was commonly known b ...

in September, just his third national event of the year, he qualified in second place and reached the quarter-finals before losing to the eventual winner, Maurice Bembridge. Waites continue to play few national events in the early 1970s but had success locally. He won the Midland Open Championship in 1971 and the

Midland Professional Championship The Midland Professional Championship is an annual golf tournament played in the English Midlands. The event is organised by the Midlands Region of the Professional Golfers' Association. It is the oldest tournament in professional golf having be ...

in 1972. He played in the inaugural PGA Club Professionals' Championship in 1973 at Calcot Park Golf Club. The event was won by

Doug Sewell Douglas Norman Sewell (19 November 1929 – 9 September 2017) was an English professional golfer. Before turning professional he had a successful amateur career, playing in the Walker Cup in 1957 and 1959. Amateur career Sewell was a useful amat ...

but Waites was in the leading nine finishers that formed the team for the first Diamondhead Cup, played later in 1973. Waites continued to play in the PGA Club Professionals' Championship, finishing tied for fourth place in the 1975 and runner-up in 1976, to get a place each year in the

PGA Cup The PGA Cup is a men's golf competition for club professionals played between a Great Britain and Ireland team and a United States team. The winning team is presented with the Llandudno Trophy. The competition is run by the British PGA and the ...

, which replaced the Diamondhead Cup. In late 1976 he reached the quarter-finals of the

Sun Alliance Match Play Championship The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the '' News of the World'', and was commonly known ...

, losing to Brian Barnes. In the late 1970s Waites gradually extended his schedule. He played on the Safari Tour in 1977 and was a runner-up in the

Zambia Open The Zambia Open is a men's professional golf tournament played in Zambia, that has been part of the Sunshine Tour since 1996, and was co-sanctioned by the European-based Challenge Tour from 2001 to 2004. It was also an event on the Challenge Tour ...

, behind

Tommy Horton Thomas Alfred Horton, (16 June 1941 – 7 December 2017) was an English professional golfer. He finished in the top ten of the Open Championship four times, won a number of important tournaments both before and after the founding of the Europe ...

. In 1977 he had his first top-10 finishes in stroke-play events on the

, finishing 6th in the Benson and Hedges International Open and 5th in the Callers of Newcastle tournament, a stroke from being in a playoff. He was also 5th in the PGA Club Professionals' Championship. Between 1978 and 1984 Waites was ranked in top 25 of the

Order of Merit in each of those seven years. He won two European Tour events. He had his first win on the European Tour in 1978 at the

Tournament Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The P ...

, finishing a stroke ahead of

Neil Coles Neil Chapman Coles, MBE (born 26 September 1934) is an English professional golfer. Coles had a successful career in European golf, winning 29 important tournaments between 1956 and 1982. After reaching 50, he won a further 14 important Seniors ...

and taking the first prize of £8,000. Two weeks later he was a runner-up in the Dunlop Masters. a shot behind

. His best performance in 1979 was again late in year, a solo runner-up finish in the TPC behind Michael King. In 1980 Waites lost to

Des Smyth Desmond John Smyth (born 12 February 1953) is an Irish professional golfer. He won eight times on the European Tour between 1979 and 2001. He also had a successful senior career winning twice on the Champions Tour and five times on the European ...

at the sixth hole of a sudden-death playoff in the

Cold Shield Greater Manchester Open The Greater Manchester Open was a professional golf tournament which was played annually from 1975 to 1981. It was a European Tour event from 1976. It was held at Wilmslow Golf Club in Wilmslow, Cheshire, just to the south of Manchester. Three of ...

, and was a runner-up in the Bob Hope British Classic. In 1981 he again came close to winning the TPC, but lost at the fourth hole of a playoff to Brian Barnes, who had earlier scored a final round 62 to tie with Waites. Waites second European Tour win came at the 1982

Car Care Plan International The Car Care Plan International was a European Tour golf tournament which was played annually from 1982 to 1986. It was hosted by three golf clubs in the English city of Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of ...

, winning by a stroke despite a final round 73 and taking the first prize of £10,000. Despite his successes, Waites continued to play in the PGA Club Professionals' Championship. He was runner-up in 1978, tied for third place in 1979 and solo third in 1980, to get a place each year in the

, although he turned down the place in 1980 because of a clash with the

. Later in 1980 the PGA changed the eligibility rules, excluding Waites from the event for a number of years. Waites was a member of the European

team. The European team of 12 was chosen entirely from the

1983 European Tour The 1983 European Tour was the 12th official season of golf tournaments known as the PGA European Tour and organised by the Professional Golfers' Association. The season was made up of 27 tournaments counting for the Order of Merit, and some non ...

money list as at the conclusion of the St. Mellion Timeshare TPC on September 18. Waites was guaranteed his place before the final event and didn't play in it, finishing 7th in the money list with £40,482 and making his only appearance at the age of 43. He had played in 19 qualifying events and although he had not won, he had made the cut in all 19, with 7 top-10 finishes including runner-up finishes in the

and the

Lawrence Batley International The Lawrence Batley International was a European Tour golf tournament which was played annually from 1981 to 1987. The first three editions were played at Bingley St Ives, Bradford, the next three at Ryder Cup venue The Belfry and the final edit ...

. Europe lost the Ryder Cup by a single point. Waites played in four matches, winning in a four-ball match with Ken Brown on the opening day. Waites and Brown lost both their matches on the second day and Waites lost his singles match on the final day to

Calvin Peete Calvin Peete (July 18, 1943 – April 29, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was the most successful African-American to have played on the PGA Tour, with 12 wins, prior to the emergence of Tiger Woods. Peete won the 1985 Tournament ...

by one hole. Waites also represented England three times at the

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 ...

, in 1980, 1982 and 1983. Waites has some success on the

, winning five times between 1980 and 1985. His first win was in the

Kenya Open The Kenya Open, titled as the Magical Kenya Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament in Kenya founded in 1967. History The Kenya Open was an associate event on the Far East Circuit in 1967 and 1968, after which it became a ...

in March 1980. His other four wins were in Zambia. He won the

Mufulira Open The Mufulira Open was a men's professional 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 ...

in 1980, a week after his Kenyan win, and he won there again in 1982. He won the

the following week and won the Cock o' the North in 1985 at the age of 45. Waites was runner-up in the 1984 Tunisian Open, the opening event of the European Tour season but had little success on the tour after that. In 1990 he became eligible for seniors events and won the Trusthouse Forte PGA Seniors Championship in 1990 and 1991, with

runner-up both times. In 1990 he was a joint runner-up in the Seniors' British Open, a stroke behind

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 ...

. In August 1991 Waites was seriously injured in a car accident, spending three months in hospital. He made a full recovery and joined the

in its 1992 debut season, although he missed the opening event of the season. He had a successful career at that level, winning four tournaments and making the top ten on the Order of Merit four times. In 1999 he became the first player to make 100 appearances on the European Senior Tour. Waites won the Nottinghamshire Open Championship seven times, the Notts Professional Strokeplay Championship seven times and the Notts Professional Matchplay Championship five times.

Professional wins (41)

European Tour wins (2)

European Tour playoff record (0–2) Sources:

Safari Circuit wins (5)

*1980 Benson & Hedges Kenya Open,

*1982

*1985 Cock of the North

Other wins (28)

*1966 Yorkshire Open Championship *1969 Nottinghamshire Open, Notts Professional Strokeplay Championship, Notts Professional Matchplay Championship *1971 Midland Open Championship, Nottinghamshire Open, Notts Professional Matchplay Championship *1972

, Notts Professional Strokeplay Championship *1973 Nottinghamshire Open *1974 Nottinghamshire Open *1975 Notts Professional Strokeplay Championship, Notts Professional Matchplay Championship *1976 Midland Open Championship *1977

, Notts Professional Matchplay Championship *1978

, Nottinghamshire Open *1979

*1980 Notts Professional Strokeplay Championship *1981 Midland Open Championship, Notts Professional Strokeplay Championship *1982 Nottinghamshire Open *1986 Nottinghamshire Open, Notts Professional Strokeplay Championship *1988 Midland Masters *1989 Notts Professional Strokeplay Championship, Notts Professional Matchplay Championship

European Senior Tour wins (4)

Source: European Senior Tour playoff record (1–0) Source:

Other senior wins (2)

Sources:

Results in major championships

''Note: Waites only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1976 and 1984 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place Source:

Team appearances

* Ryder Cup (representing Europe):

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

(representing England): 1980, 1982,

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 Great Britain and Ireland): 1980 (winners), 1982 (winners), (representing England) 1984 (winners) *

/Diamondhead Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland/Europe): 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 (winners), 1979 (winners), 1990 * Chrysler Cup (representing the International team): 1991 *

Praia d'El Rey European Cup The Praia d'El Rey European Cup was an annual professional golf tournament played at Praia d'El Rey, Portugal. It was played in 1997, 1998 and 1999 between teams of men representing the European Seniors Tour and ladies representing the Ladies Europ ...

: 1997 (winners), 1998 (tie)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waites, Brian English male golfers European Tour golfers European Senior Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe People from Minehead 1940 births Living people