Lionel Platts (10 October 1934 – 23 May 2021)European Tour - Lionel Platts - Biography
/ref> was an English 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 ...

er. He finished 7th in the PGA Order of Merit in both 1964 and 1965. He played in the

1965 Ryder Cup The 16th Ryder Cup Matches were held 7–9 October 1965 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. For the first time commercialisation started to make a presence on site. The United States team won the competition by a score of 19 to 12 ...

Professional career

Platts was runner-up in the 1960

Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament The Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament was a professional golf tournament for assistant professionals played from 1951 to 1964. History The Coombe Hill Club had held a 36-hole tournament for southern assistants for a few years before 1951. Howev ...

and he returned to win the event in 1961. Two weeks later he won the Gor-Ray Cup, the PGA Assistants' Championship, at Hartsbourne Country Club. Platts was 3 strokes behind leader Ross Whitehead after three rounds but had a last round 64 to win by 5 strokes from Whitehead, who was a further 6 strokes ahead of third-placed Alex Caygill. Platts, an assistant at Thorndon Park Golf Club near Brentwood, Essex, became the professional there later in 1961. In 1963 he won the

Sunningdale Foursomes The Sunningdale Foursomes is an open foursomes golf tournament contested at the Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire in March. It was first contested in 1934 and has been held annually since, except between 1940 and 1947. The event is open to all gol ...

with David Snell. Platts was runner-up in the

Schweppes PGA Close Championship The BMW PGA Championship is an annual men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour. It was founded in 1955 by the Professional Golfers' Association, and originally called the British PGA Championship. History The BMW PGA Championship ...

at Western Gailes Golf Club in 1964, two strokes behind

Tony Grubb Antony Gawen Grubb (22 July 1936 – 6 June 2017) was an English professional golfer. He is remembered for winning the 1964 Schweppes PGA Close Championship. Golf career In 1958 Grubb won the Gor-Ray Cup, the Assistants' Championship, at Hart ...

. The event was played in April and was the first important event of the season. The PGA experimented with using the bigger ball, as used in America. The following month he was again a runner-up, in 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 int ...

, six strokes behind

Christy O'Connor Snr Patrick Christopher "Christy" O'Connor (21 December 1924 – 14 May 2016) was an Irish professional golfer. He was one of the leading golfers on the British and Irish circuit from the mid-1950s. O'Connor won over 20 important British and Irish ...

. Later in 1964 Platts won the Braemar seven-club tournament at Turnberry by a stroke from John Jacobs, winning £550. He played with a driver, 4, 6, 7 and 9 irons, a wedge and a putter. Platts finished the season 7th in the Order of Merit behind

Peter Alliss Peter Alliss (28 February 1931 – 5 December 2020) was an English professional golfer, television presenter, commentator, author and golf course designer. Following the death of Henry Longhurst in 1978, he was regarded by many as the "Voice of ...

, who won the

Harry Vardon Trophy The Harry Vardon Trophy is awarded by the European Tour. Since 2009 it has been awarded to the winner of the Race to Dubai. Before then it was awarded to the winner of the "Order of Merit". From 1975 to 2008 the Order of Merit was based on prize mo ...

. In May 1965 he lost in a sudden-death playoff to Ángel Miguel in the

Swallow-Penfold Tournament The Penfold Tournament was a golf tournament on the British PGA tournament circuit. Since the circuit later evolved into the European Tour, the tournament is recognised as an official European Tour event from 1972. It was played between 1932 and ...

. Later in the year he lost to

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 ...

at the 19th hole in the final of the

News of the World Match Play 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 ...

. The following week he again came close to success in the Gallaher Ulster Open, losing to

Bernard Hunt Bernard John Hunt, MBE (2 February 1930 – 21 June 2013) was an English professional golfer. Hunt was born in Atherstone, Warwickshire. He turned professional in 1946 and was a leading player on the European circuit in the 1950s and 1960s. ...

at the sixth hole of sudden-death playoff. Platts finished 7th in the Order of Merit for the second successive season, behind

. Selection for the

was based on a points system, starting with the 1964 Carroll Sweet Afton Tournament and finishing with the 1965

Esso Golden Tournament The Esso Golden Tournament was a golf tournament on the British PGA circuit from 1961 to 1967. It was played in a round-robin format at the Moor Park Golf Club in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England. The event was sponsored by Esso, and was ...

in late July. Platts finished 6th in the list to gain a place in the team. Platts played two fourball matches on the second day with

Peter Butler Peter or Pete Butler may refer to: * Pete Butler (coach) (1909–1983), American football, basketball, and baseball coach and college athletics administrator * Peter Butler (politician) (born 1951), Conservative Member of Parliament * Peter Butler ...

, both against

Billy Casper William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...

and

Gene Littler Gene Alec Littler (July 21, 1930 – February 15, 2019) was an American professional golfer and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Known for a solid temperament and nicknamed "Gene the Machine" for his smooth, rhythmical swing, he once said ...

, halving them both. He played in both singles sessions on the final day, losing to

Julius Boros Julius Nicholas Boros (March 3, 1920 – May 28, 1994) was an American professional golfer noted for his effortless-looking swing and strong record on difficult golf courses, particularly at the U.S. Open. Early years Born in Fairfield, Connecti ...

but beating

Tommy Jacobs Keith Thomas Jacobs Jr. (February 13, 1935 – July 9, 2022) was an American professional golfer and golf course owner/operator who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He was the older brother of John Jacobs who has also played on t ...

in the final match. Platts accepted an invitation to play in the

1966 Masters Tournament The 1966 Masters Tournament was the 30th Masters Tournament, held April 7–11 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Jack Nicklaus, age 26, earned his third Green Jacket in an 18-hole Monday playoff and became the first back-to-back c ...

, scoring 80 and 79 and missing the cut. Playing with Hedley Muscroft, Platts was runner-up in the inaugural

Sumrie Better-Ball The Sumrie Better-Ball was a professional golf tournament played from 1969 to 1978. It was a 72-hole better-ball stroke-play event. It was played at Pannal in 1969 and 1970 and then at Blairgowrie in 1972 and 1973. From 1974 it was called the Sum ...

in 1969. Platts won the 1971

Portuguese Open The Open de Portugal, previously the Portuguese Open, is an annual professional golf tournament, currently played on the Challenge Tour. History It was first played in 1953, and was part of the European Tour's schedule from 1973 to 2010. After a ...

, a stroke ahead of Antonio Garrido and Paul Herbert. In 1972 he won the Scottish Uniroyal Tournament, three strokes ahead of

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 ...

. The event had insufficient prize money to be part of the inaugural

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 ...

season. Platts played in 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 ...

every year from 1961 to 1977. His best performance was when he was tied for 12th in 1965. He scored 68 in the first round of the 1967 Open Championship to lead the field, and eventually finished tied for 13th place. Platts made a

hole-in-one In golf, a hole in one or hole-in-one (also known as an ace, mostly in American English) occurs when a ball hit from a tee to start a hole finishes in the cup. A ball hit from a tee following a lost ball, out-of-bounds, or water hazard is not a h ...

during the second round of the

1971 Open Championship The 1971 Open Championship was the 100th Open Championship, played 7–10 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Lee Trevino won the first of his consecutive Open Championships, one stroke ahead of Lu Liang-Huan. It was the th ...

, on the 212-yard 4th hole at

Royal Birkdale Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a golf course in the United Kingdom in North West England, located in Southport, Merseyside. It is one of the clubs in the rotation for both the Open Championship and Women's British Open and has hosted the Open Champ ...

. Platts was 57 when 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 ...

started in 1992 but he played a number of events, mostly between 1992 and 1994, making his final appearance in 2006.

Personal life

Platts' son

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

had some success as a professional golfer. He won the 1988

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 ...

on the Safari Circuit, the 1991 Open de Vittel on the

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe. History T ...

and the 1993 Perrier European Pro-Am, an unofficial money event on the Challenge Tour.

Professional wins

*1961

, Gor-Ray Cup *1963

(with David Snell) *1964 Braemar Seven-club Tournament *1971

*1972 Scottish Uniroyal Tournament

Results in major championships

''Note: Platts only played in the Masters Tournament and

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 t ...

.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1968 and 1973 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

* Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain): 1965 *

Double Diamond International The Double Diamond International was a team golf tournament that was played from 1971 to 1977. It was hosted in England for the first three years, and then in Scotland. From 1974 and 1977 the event was preceded by an individual 36-hole stroke pla ...

(representing England): 1972 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Platts, Lionel English male golfers European Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe 1934 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Sheffield