Graham Vivian Marsh

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 14 January 1944) is a retired

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 ...

who was one of the leading Australian players of his generation. During his career he won more than 70 tournaments around the world, including 10 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 ...

and 20 on the

Japan Golf Tour The Japan Golf Tour ( ja, 日本ゴルフツアー機構) is a prominent golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offers the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after th ...

, plus two senior major championships.

Early life

Marsh was born in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. He attended the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

and

Claremont Teachers College Claremont Teachers College was Western Australia’s first post-secondary teaching institution. It opened in 1902 and closed in 1981, when it became a College of Advanced Education and later a campus of Edith Cowan University. The building is on ...

before turning professional in 1969. Marsh is a former mathematics teacher. His brother was cricketer

Rod Marsh Rodney William Marsh (4 November 1947 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian professional cricketer who played as a wicketkeeper for the Australian national team. Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian ...

Professional career

Marsh's first professional tournament was in May 1968 at

South Australian Open South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. He finished in solo third place.

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 ...

, writing about the event for ''The Age'', stated that "this talented player seems sure to finish higher before long." In 1970 he played well at New Zealand's

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 ...

. Entering the par-5 18th hole he was tied for the lead with

Maurice Bembridge Maurice Bembridge (born 21 February 1945) is an English golfer. He won the 1969 News of the World Match Play, the 1971 Dunlop Masters and won six times on the European Tour from its formation in 1972. He also won tournaments around the world, ...

and

Terry Kendall Terry Kendall (11 October 1947 – 15 November 2002) was a professional golfer from New Zealand. Professional career Kendall's first major success was at the 1969 New Zealand PGA Championship at the Mount Maunganai Golf Course. He shot a cour ...

. However, he could only make par. His competitors played the hole under par to defeat him. Marsh finished in solo third at 287, one behind. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Marsh was a regular winner on the

, the

and the

PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ra ...

. He also won several events in Asia outside Japan, winning the

Asia Golf Circuit The Asia Golf Circuit was the principal men's professional golf tour in Southeast Asia from the early 1960s through to the mid-late 1990s. The tour was founded in 1961 as the Far East Circuit. The first series of five tournaments was held in 1962 ...

overall title in 1972 and 1973, and one on the U.S.-based

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 ...

, the 1977 Heritage Classic. Marsh had an outstanding win rate on the

, where he accumulated eleven titles even though he never played more than seven events in Europe in a season. He also won the

Colgate 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 ...

, which was not an official money European Tour event at the time, in England in 1977. He had 56 wins in all in his regular career, making him one of the most successful players of his era not to win a major championship. He was voted Australian Sportsman of the year in 1977 and awarded ''Golf Digest'' Rookie of the Year the same year, 13 years before the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award was instituted by the PGA Tour. As a senior, Marsh has played extensively in the United States on the Champions Tour winning six events including two senior majors: the 1997

U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...

and the 1999

Tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

. He has also won the

Japan Senior Open The Japan Senior Open Golf Championship is one of the major championships in Japanese men's senior golf. It is administered by the Japan Golf Association (JGA) and is recognised as a major championship by the Professional Golfers' Association of Ja ...

twice. Marsh is also active in golf course design through Graham Marsh Golf Design which he established in 1986. The company's early projects were in Australia and Japan, but it later branched out to other parts of Asia, Europe and the United States. His work has included courses such as The Vines Resort (Perth), Palm Meadows Resort(Gold Coast) Old Silo (Kentucky), Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club (New South Wales) and Terrey Hills Golf & Country Club just to name a few. In 1984, Marsh was made an

for services to golf. He is a past chairman of the PGA Tour of Australasia. His younger brother

was a distinguished Australian cricketer and coach.

Professional wins (69)

PGA Tour wins (1)

European Tour wins (10)

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

Japan Golf Tour wins (20)

''*Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to weather.'' Japan Golf Tour playoff record (5–5)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (7)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–1)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (5)

Other European wins (3)

*1970

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 ...

*1977 Lancome Trophy,

Other Japan wins (5)

*1972 Dunlop Tournament *1973 Japan vs Australia Match individual *1975 Dunlop Wizard *1976 Dunlop Wizard *1977 Dunlop Wizard

Other Australasian wins (7)

*1966

Nedlands Masters The Nedlands Masters was a professional golf tournament in Australia, held at the Nedlands Golf Club in Nedlands, Perth, Western Australia. It was first played in 1947, again in 1950, and then annually from 1962. Like the Masters Tournament, the w ...

(as an amateur) *1967

(as an amateur) *1968 Western Australian Open *1969 Western Australia PGA Championship *1970 Wattie's Tournament *1971 Spalding Masters *1976 Western Australian Open

Other Asian wins (1)

*1976 Dunhill International Match-Play (Hong Kong)

Champions Tour wins (6)

''*Note: The 1999 Tradition was shortened to 36 holes due to snow.'' Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other senior wins (4)

*1997

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- ...

(with John Bland) *1998

*1999

*2010

– Raphael Division (with John Bland)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 16 (1978 PGA – 1991 Open Championship) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (2)

Team appearances

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 Australia):

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 ...

(winners) *

Four Tours World Championship The Four Tours World Championship was an annual professional golf tournament that was played from 1985 to 1991. It was played between teams representing the four main professional tours: the American PGA Tour, the PGA European Tour, the PGA Tour of ...

(representing Australasia): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991

References

External links

* * * *
Graham Marsh Golf Design
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Graham Australian male golfers PGA Tour of Australasia golfers European Tour golfers Japan Golf Tour golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of senior major golf championships Golf course architects Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Western Australian Sports Star of the Year winners Sportsmen from Western Australia Golfers from Perth, Western Australia People from Kalgoorlie 1944 births Living people