Peter Joseph Butler (25 March 1932 – 13 October 2022) was an English

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 was one of the leading British golfers of the 1960s and early 1970s. He won a number of important tournaments including the 1963

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 ...

and the 1968

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

. He played in four

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

matches between 1965 and 1973 and three times in 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 ...

. He 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 ...

23 times, with two top-10 finishes, and seven successive times in the Masters from 1964 to 1970.

Golf career

Butler turned professional as a teenager in 1947, becoming an assistant to Bill Button at Harborne Golf Club,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. He played in the 1949 PGA Assistants' Championship, which was restarted that year, but finished a distant 38 strokes behind the winner. He had more success the following year, finishing in 6th place. The leading 16 players qualified for the Gor-Ray match-play tournament which had prize money of £580. Butler lost in the first round. Over the next few years Butler had considerable success at the local level but had limited success at the national level although he was a runner-up in the 1955

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 ...

behind Peter Mills. In 1958 Butler became joint professional with Button at Harborne and played more regularly on the British circuit. He had achieved little success when in May 1959 he was the surprise winner of 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 ...

. Rounds of 75-72-67-66 gave him a one stroke win ahead of

Harry Weetman Harry Weetman (25 October 1920 – 19 July 1972) was an English professional golfer. Weetman won many tournaments on the British PGA circuit in the pre-European Tour era and won the Harry Vardon Trophy for lowest stroke average in 1952 and 1956. ...

and the £1,000 first prize. Butler had trailed Weetman by eight strokes after the first two rounds. Butler had his second important success in 1962, winning the

Yorkshire Evening News Tournament The Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was an international golf tournament in the English Yorkshire area before the European Tour was founded. It was a match play tournament for most of its existence, but switched to stroke play in the 1940s. The ...

four ahead of

Ken Bousfield Ken Bousfield (2 October 1919 – 25 May 2000"Ken Bousfield - Winner of 19 professional golf championships in six years" ''The Times'', 2 June 2000.) was one of the leading British golfers of the immediate post-World War II World War&nb ...

and taking another £1,000 prize. Like his 1959 win, this was also something of a surprise since he had achieved relatively little in the interim period. 1963 started with his third £1,000 win, 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 ...

where he finished two strokes ahead of Bobby Walker. The event was played 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 ...

in a strong wind with bare greens. His winning score of 306 was the highest for an important tournament in living memory. Butler trailed John Jacobs by 10 shots at the start of the final day but scored 77 and 76 while Jacobs had two rounds of 83 to drop to third place. Butler was runner-up in the

in May and won the 36-hole

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 professional ...

in July. Despite his good season, a number of poor finishes left him 14th in the Ryder Cup rankings, the leading 10 making the team. Butler spent the early part of 1964 playing on the

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 ...

only returning after the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

to which he received an invitation. He was tied for 4th place after three rounds but a final round 75 dropped him out of the top 10. The following week he defended his

title, finishing tied for third, and then won the

Cox Moore Tournament The Cox Moore Tournament was a professional golf tournament. The event was played in 1961, 1963 and 1964 and was sponsored by Long Eaton Long Eaton is a town in the Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, abou ...

the week after, beating

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. He ...

by a stroke. Butler returned to America to play in the

Carling World Open The Carling World Open was the last incarnation in a series of golf tournaments on the 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 ...

. After two rounds he was only a stroke behind the leader but he faded in the last two rounds. He was runner-up in 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 ...

, losing 3&2 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 ...

. Coles and Butler received invitations to the inaugural

Piccadilly 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 ...

. Butler played

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

and was two up with seven holes to play. Palmer then won four holes in a row and won by one hole. Butler took £1,000 for losing this first-round match. In early 1965 Butler was the runner-up in the

, losing in a sudden-death playoff to

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 g ...

, and later in May he won 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 ...

. Qualification for 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 ...

was based on performances in 1964 and 1965, Butler finishing in third place in the points list to make the team. He had a disappointing Ryder Cup, gaining just two halves in his five matches, although his three losses all went to the final hole. The Ryder Cup was immediately followed by the

Piccadilly Medal The Piccadilly Medal was a men's professional golf tournament on the British PGA tournament circuit that was played in 1962 and from 1964 to 1976. Since the circuit later evolved into the European Tour, the tournament is recognised as an official ...

which Butler won by two strokes from

Dai Rees David James Rees, (31 March 1913 – 15 November 1983) was one of the Britain's leading golfers either side of the Second World War. The winner of many prestigious tournaments in Britain, Europe and farther afield, Rees is best remembered as ...

. 1966 was a disappointing season although he started well in both the

and the

. In the Masters he was the 36-hole co-leader before finishing tied for 13th. He was second, behind

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

, at the half-way stage of the Open but finished with rounds of 80 and 75 to drop into joint 15th place. Butler had a better start to 1967 finishing runner-up in the

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 ...

and the

. He also won the

for the second time with a final round of 61. Butler's poor 1966 season meant he was outside the top-10 in the Ryder Cup points list and he missed out on a place in the

1967 Ryder Cup The 17th Ryder Cup Matches were held October 20–22, 1967 at the Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. The United States team won the competition by a record score of 23 to 8 points. To date, the 15-point victory margin remains the largest at ...

. The year finished on a successful note with a win in the

. Butler had one of his best seasons in 1968, winning the

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 ...

, after beating

Dave Thomas Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * Dave (film), ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * Dave (musical), ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital ...

in a playoff, the

and the W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament and finishing second in the Order of Merit. Butler made the team for the

1969 Ryder Cup The 18th Ryder Cup Matches were held 18–20 September 1969 at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. The competition ended in a tie at 16 points each, when America's Jack Nicklaus conceded a missable three-foot (0.9 m) putt to Bri ...

as one of the leading six players in the Order of Merit in late July. In August 1969 he had his first important win in Ireland, the

R.T.V. International Trophy The R.T.V. International Trophy was a professional golf tournament. In its first year, 1967, there was a professional team tournament between the four home nations at Edmondstown Golf Course, County Dublin. The next year the event became an ind ...

. The win took him to the top of the Order of Merit and he was selected to represent England in the

. Butler was runner-up in the

Dunlop Masters The Betfred British Masters is a professional golf tournament. It was founded in 1946 as the Dunlop Masters and was held every year up to 2008, except for 1984. Dunlop's sponsorship ended in 1982, and the name sponsor changed frequently therea ...

the week before the Ryder Cup. In the Ryder Cup, Butler lost his foursomes and fourball matches, both at the final hole, but won both his singles matches on the final day to help Britain to tie the match. Although he had a less successful season Butler was again selected to play in the 1970

in Argentina. In August 1971 Butler won the Classic International, an event he had helped to organise, and lost in a playoff to

Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is a retired English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain ...

in the

Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf The Benson & Hedges International Open was a men's professional golf tournament which was played in England. It was founded in 1971 and for its first five years it was called the Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf. It was sponsored by Benson & Hedge ...

. As in 1969, Butler was one of the leading six in the Order of Merit when the

1971 Ryder Cup The 19th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 16–18, 1971, in the United States at the Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri. The U.S. team won the competition by a score of 18 to 13 points. Format The Ryder Cup is a match play ev ...

was selected in late August and made the team automatically. He played in both the foursomes sessions on the opening day, winning one and losing the other. He was then ill and didn't play on the other two days. Butler played regularly 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 ...

from its foundation in 1972 until 1979. He never won on the tour but was runner-up four times, twice in 1972 at the

John Player Trophy The John Player Trophy was a golf tournament on the European Tour that was played in England. It was played twice. The first event in 1970 at Notts Golf Club in Nottinghamshire was the 36-hole qualifying event for the John Player Classic. In 19 ...

and the W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament and in the 1975 Sun Alliance Match Play Championship, where he lost at the 23rd hole of the final, and the 1977

Callers of Newcastle The Callers of Newcastle was a golf tournament on the European Tour in 1977 named for its sponsor, the Callers department store. It was held at Whitley Bay Golf Club in Whitley Bay, England. The tournament was won by South Africa's John Fourie, ...

, where he lost a four-man playoff. He was 7th in the Order of Merit in 1972 and 11th in 1973. He had his best finish in the Open in 1973 finishing in sixth place. Qualification for the most of the 1973 Ryder Cup team was based on performances in events in 1972 and 1973 and Butler finished in the sixth place in the final table to ensure his place. At the Ryder Cup at

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The ...

, he recorded the first ever hole-in-one in the history of the event. Butler also played in the 1973

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

, Spain. After turning 50, Butler was a regular competitor in 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 ...

. He was runner-up four times, in 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1989, losing in a four-man sudden-death playoff in 1982, just two months after his 50th birthday. He was one of the founders of the

European Seniors 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 insur ...

and finished fourth on the Order of Merit in its 1992 debut season, even though, at sixty, he was ten years past the minimum age. His only senior win came at the 1993

Lawrence Batley Seniors The Lawrence Batley Seniors was a senior (over 50s) men's professional golf tournament on the European Senior Tour. It was played from 1992 to 2002 in the Huddersfield area of West Yorkshire, England. From 1995 the tournament was held at Huddersf ...

, having been a runner-up in the event the previous season. Butler was captain of the PGA in 1972.

Personal life

Butler married Doreen Houghton in 1961. They had a daughter Verity. Butler died in October 2022, at the age of 90.

Professional wins (26)

Important European wins (14)

Other wins (11)

*1956 Midland Open Championship *1958 Midland Open Championship *1960 Midland Open Championship *1961

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 ...

*1963

Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament The Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament was a pro-am golf tournament played at the Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland. The event was held annually from 1953 to 1966. From 1953 to 1957 it was called the Gleneagles-Saxone Foursom ...

(with

David Kelley David Christopher Kelley (born June 23, 1949) is an American philosopher. He is a professed Objectivist, though his position that Objectivism can be revised and influenced by other schools of thought has prompted disagreements with other Objec ...

) *1965 Midland Open Championship *1969 Midland Open Championship *1971

Grand Bahama Open The Grand Bahama Open was a professional golf tournament that was held in Freeport on the island of Grand Bahama in The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipel ...

*1972

*1974 Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball (with Clive Clark) *1975

Colombian Open The Colombian Open, or Abierto de Colombia, is a golf tournament on the Colombian Tour and PGA Tour Latinoamérica that was first played in 1945. It has also on occasion been an event on the Tour de las Americas. In 2001, Camilo Villegas Ca ...

European Senior Tour wins (1)

Source:

Playoff record

European Tour playoff record (0–1) Source:

Results in major championships

''Note: Butler only played in the

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 th ...

.''
CUT = Missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1968, 1970 and 1979 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1971 Open Championship – 1978 Open Championship) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice) Source:

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

, 1969,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

(representing England): 1969,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

* Amateurs–Professionals Match (representing the Professionals): 1960 (winners) *

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): 1971 (winners), 1972 (winners), 1976 (winners) *

Philip Morris International Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational tobacco company, with products sold in over 180 countries. The most recognized and best selling product of the company is Marlboro. Philip Morris I ...

(representing England): 1976 *

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): 1976 (winners) *

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 PG ...

(representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1978 (winners), 1979 (winners), 1981, 1982, 1984 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Peter English male golfers European Tour golfers European Senior Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands People from Leatherhead 1932 births 2022 deaths