Graham Henning was a South African professional golfer. Henning was born into a golfing family. His brothers

Allan Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) ...

, Brian, and

Harold Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts a ...

all became professional golfers. In addition, his son

Nic Henning Nic Henning (born 26 April 1969) is a South African professional golfer. Professional career Henning states he had "no choice" but to become a professional golfer as he was born into a big golfing family; his father, Graham Henning, and thre ...

is a professional golfer. In the late 1960s and early 70s Henning was briefly one of the top golfers in South Africa. He recorded several 1st and 2nd place finishes in top international events across Europe and Africa. This excellent play helped him qualify for South Africa's 1969 World Cup team.

Professional career

Henning's first top performance on the international stage was at the 1967 Engadine Open. After opening with an even par 70 Henning fired consecutive rounds of 67 and 66 to get into contention. As the final round started he was at −7, one back of Australia's

Randall Vines Randall Vines (born 6 June 1945) is an Australian professional golfer. Vines was one of the top Australian golfers of his generation, winning a number of worldwide tournaments. He may be best remembered for his sterling 1968 season which included ...

. Henning fired an astonishing final round 62 to outplay Vines by 11 and win by 10 strokes. Two years later, in 1969, he would play excellently on the international circuit. In February, he won the 1969 General Motors Open at the Wedgewood Golf Course in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

, South Africa. He defeated compatriot

Hugh Inggs Hugh William Inggs (born 15 May 1938) is a South African professional golfer. Early life Inggs was born in Boksburg, South Africa. He started to play golf at the age of 15. Professional career Inggs turned pro at the age of 20. In 1965, he r ...

by two shots. A month later he nearly won again on the South African circuit. He held the 36-hole lead at the

Rhodesian Masters The Rhodesian Dunlop Masters was a golf tournament that was held in Rhodesia. It was an event on the Southern Africa Tour until the late 1970s. History The tournament rotated round three host courses, Royal Salisbury Golf Club and Chapman Gol ...

before shooting a "disastrous" third round 75 (+4) and ultimately finishing one behind, this time losing to Inggs. In June, he tied England's Alex Caygill at the

Martini International The Martini International was a men's professional golf tournament that was held from 1961 to 1983. It was hosted by several different golf clubs in England, Scotland and Wales. It was part of the British PGA tournament circuit, which evolved into ...

on the European circuit. Henning had a chance to win outright but hit his drive in the woods on the last hole and would make bogey. In August, he finished runner-up to Italy's

Roberto Bernardini Roberto Bernardini (born 21 January 1944) is an Italian professional golfer. He represented Italy 9 times in the World Cup between 1966 and 1975. Most of his success came in continental Europe as he won a number of tournaments in his native Ita ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Agfa-Gevaert Tournament The Agfa-Gevaert Tournament was a golf tournament in England from 1963 to 1971. It was played at Stoke Poges Golf Club in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire. It was sponsored by Agfa-Gevaert Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Agfa) is a Belgian-German multinatio ...

, one stroke behind. His final high finishes were in the early 1970s. In 1971 he would finish a distant runner-up to England's

Peter Oosterhuis Peter Arthur Oosterhuis (born 3 May 1948) is an English professional golfer and golf broadcaster. Oosterhuis played on the European circuit from 1969 to 1974, winning 10 tournaments and taking the Harry Vardon Trophy for heading the Order of Mer ...

at the

Transvaal Open The Transvaal Open was a golf tournament in South Africa. In later years it was a fixture on the South African Sunshine Circuit. Winners * 1911 Laurie Waters * 1912 ''No tournament'' * 1913 Jock Brews * 1914–18 ''No tournament'' * 1919 Laurie ...

. The following year he would win two team events with brother

. After his touring career was over Henning was the club professional at Wanderers for many years.

Professional wins

Southern African circuit wins (5)

*1967 Bata Bush Babes Tournament,

Rhodesian Dunlop Masters The Rhodesian Dunlop Masters was a golf tournament that was held in Rhodesia. It was an event on the Southern Africa Tour until the late 1970s. History The tournament rotated round three host courses, Royal Salisbury Golf Club and Chapman G ...

*1969 General Motors Open *1972 International Better-Ball (with Harold Henning), Ellerines Team Tournament (with Harold Henning)

European circuit win (2)

*1967 Engadine Open *1969

(tied with Alex Caygill)

Team appearances

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 South Africa):

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

References

South African male golfers 20th-century South African people {{SouthAfrica-sport-stub