Sir Michael Francis Bonallack, OBE (born 31 December 1934) is an English amateur golfer who was one of the leading administrators in world golf in the late 20th century. Bonallack was born in

Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Lon ...

, Essex. He learned the game of golf under the tutelage of head professional

Bert Hodson Bert Hodson (1905–1971) was a Welsh professional golfer who played in the early 20th century. Hodson's best performances in major championships came in the 1927 and 1934 Open Championships when he was tied for seventh place in each event. Ho ...

at Chigwell and soon won the Boys Amateur Championship in 1952. A rare example of an outstanding golfer who remained an amateur in the era when professional domination of the sport became firmly entrenched, he went on to win

the Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

and the English Amateur five times each and the Brabazon Trophy four times. He was a member of nine

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

teams and played in the Eisenhower Trophy seven times. His best finish at

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 ...

was eleventh in 1959. He was the leading amateur at the Open in 1968 and 1971.

Affiliations

He was Secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews from 1983 to 1999 and Captain from 1999 to 2000. He has also been President of the Golf Club Managers' Association (1974–84), Chairman of the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland (1976–81), Chairman of the Golf Foundation (1977–82), and President of the

English Golf Union England Golf is the governing body for male and female amateur golf in England. It represents over 1,900 golf clubs with over 740,000 members and is affiliated to The R&A, the joint global governing body of golf. It was formed in 2012 as a me ...

(1982). He is the current President of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) and also served as President of the One Armed Golfers Society, the Professional Golfers Association of Europe and as Chairman of the advisory committee for the Official World Golf Rankings. He is also President of the National Association of Public and Proprietary Golf Courses (NAPGC).

Honours

Bonallack received an OBE for services to golf in 1971, and was created a Knight Bachelor in 1998. In 1972, he was voted the

Bob Jones Award The Bob Jones Award is the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It is named in honor of Bobby Jones. Winners *1955 Francis Ouimet *1956 William C. Campbell *1957 Babe Za ...

, the highest honour given by the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He is a member of

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Unlike most private clubs which operate as non-profits, Augusta National is a for-profit corporation, and it does ...

, and has received numerous honours from golfing organisations around the world, culminating in his induction into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

in 2000.

Legacy

Europe and the Asia-Pacific play for the Sir Michael Bonallack Trophy every two years. The teams consist of 12 amateur golfers and no more than two players can be from the same country.

Personal life

Bonallack married Angela Ward in February 1958.

Tournament wins (30)

''Note: This list may be incomplete'' *1952 Boys Amateur Championship *1957 Berkshire Trophy *1959 Sunningdale Foursomes (with

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 ...

) *1961

The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

, Berkshire Trophy,

Golf Illustrated Gold Vase The Golf Illustrated Gold Vase was a prestigious amateur golf tournament in England. It was a 36-hole scratch stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is co ...

(tie with David Harrison) *1962 English Amateur *1963 English Amateur *1964 Brabazon Trophy *1965

, English Amateur, Lytham Trophy (tie with Clive Clark), Berkshire Trophy *1967 English Amateur,

(tie with Bob Durrant lost playoff for Gold Medal) *1968

, English Amateur, Brabazon Trophy, Berkshire Trophy,

*1969

, Brabazon Trophy (tie with

Rodney Foster Rodney Foster (born 13 October 1941) is an English amateur golfer. He was one of the leading British amateurs of the 1960s and early 1970s. He represented Great Britain and Ireland in five successive Walker Cup matches from 1965 to 1973 and twice ...

*1970

, Berkshire Trophy *1971 Brabazon Trophy, Berkshire Trophy (tie with John Davies),

*1972 Lytham Trophy *1975

Results in major championships

Note: Bonallack did not play in the U.S. Open or the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

. LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1970 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10 Sources: Masters, U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur, Open Championship, Amateur Championship (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960The Glasgow Herald, 27 May 1960, pg. 13.
/ref>)

Awards and achievements

* 1968 British Association of Golf Writers award * 1971

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

* 1972

* 1991 American Society of Golf Course Architects Donald Ross award * 1998

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

* 1999 Spanish Golf Federation Golf Medal of Honour * 2000 Czech Republic Golf Shield of Honour * 2000 Metropolitan Golf Association Lifetime Service Award * 2000 Inducted into

Team appearances

''this list may be incomplete'' * Eisenhower Trophy (representing Great Britain and Ireland):

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

, 1964 (winners),

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

(individual leader, tie), 1970, 1972 *

(representing Great Britain and Ireland):

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

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 sworn in for a full term ...

(tied),

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

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 ...

(playing captain),

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 J ...

(winners, playing captain), 1973 *

Amateurs–Professionals Match The Amateurs–Professionals Match was an annual men's team golf competition between teams of golfers from Great Britain and Ireland representing amateurs and professionals. It was played from 1956 to 1960. The Professionals won four of the five c ...

(representing the Amateurs): 1957, 1958 (winners), 1959, 1960 * St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1958 (winners), 1960 (winners), 1962 (winners), 1964 (winners), 1966 (winners), 1968 (winners), 1970 (winners), 1972 (winners) * Commonwealth Tournament (representing Great Britain): 1959, 1963 (joint winners), 1967 (joint winners), 1971 * European Amateur Team Championship (representing England):

(winners),

(winners)

References

External links

*
Gazette of knighthood
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonallack, Michael English male golfers Amateur golfers Golf administrators World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Knights Bachelor People in sports awarded knighthoods People from Chigwell 1934 births Living people