Norman Vico Drew (25 May 1932 – 13 August 2023) was a Northern Irish

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 had a successful amateur career, winning a number of Irish championships and playing in the

1953 Walker Cup The 1953 Walker Cup, the 14th Walker Cup Match, was played on September 4 and 5, 1953, at the Kittansett Club, Marion, Massachusetts. The United States won by 9 matches to 3. Format Four 36-hole matches of foursomes were played on Friday and eigh ...

. In the 1959 season, he won 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 ...

and played in the

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 ...

. Drew later represented Ireland in the Canada Cup (later known as the World Cup), becoming the first golfer to play in the Walker Cup,

and Canada Cup. He was renowned for his short game.

Amateur career

Norman Vico Drew was born on 25 May 1932 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and started his golfing career at

Balmoral Golf Club Balmoral Golf Club is located on Lisburn Road, in south Belfast, three miles south of the city centre. It is an 18-hole course with a par of 69. The course was founded in 1914. The course is comparatively flat in nature and has a number of intent ...

in Belfast, before the family moved to Bangor, County Down in 1948. In 1947 and 1948, he won an open boys event at Donaghadee, and in 1948 he reached the last-16 of the Boys Amateur Championship at Kilmarnock (Barassie). In 1949, he won the inaugural Ulster Boys' Amateur Open Championship at Royal Belfast, beating John Glover at the 38th hole of the final. In the same year, he reached the final of the Boys Amateur Championship at

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

, losing to Harry MacAnespie 3&2 in the 36-hole final. Drew reached the semi-finals of the 1950 Irish Amateur Close Championship, losing to Brendan Herlihy, and soon afterwards won the North of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Portrush, beating Jackson Taggart at the 19th of the final. Taggart was 4 up with 8 holes to play and then dormie two, but Drew won the next three holes. Drew qualified for the

1951 Open Championship The 1951 Open Championship was the 80th Open Championship, held 4–6 July at Royal Portrush Golf Club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Until 2019, it was the only time the championship was played outside England or Scotland. In it, Max Faulkn ...

at Portrush. A first round 75 put him well up the field but a second round 88 meant he missed the cut by 9 strokes. Drew had a remarkable run of success in 1952. In April, he reached the final of the West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Rosses Point, losing to Joe Brown in the 36-hole final. Drew was 5 down after 6 holes and although he made a good recovery, he lost 2&1. In early June, he won the East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at County Louth, was a score of 306, three ahead of the field. Later in June, he won the

Irish Amateur Open Championship The Irish Amateur Open Championship is an amateur golf tournament held annually in Ireland and organised by the Golf Ireland. The championship has been played as a 72-hole stroke-play event since 1958. Previously it was played as a match-play to ...

at Portrush, beating

Cecil Beamish Air Vice Marshal Cecil Howard Beamish CB FDSRCS (31 March 1915 – 21 May 1999) was an Irish RAF officer, who served during the Second World War and was later Director of RAF Dental Services 1969–1973. He was the youngest of the Beamish broth ...

5&4 in the final. In July, he won the North of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Portrush, beating Billy Meharg 8&7 in the 36-hole final. The following month, he reached the final of the South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Lahinch, but lost to Michael Power by one hole in the 36-hole final. His one failure came in September at the Irish Amateur Open Championship at Royal Belfast, where he lost at the last-16 stage. In late September he made his debut in the

Men's Home Internationals The Men's Home Internationals were an amateur team golf championship for men between the four Home Nations. Ireland was represented by the whole island of Ireland.The event was organised by The R&A. The inaugural event was held in 1932 and the v ...

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O Ferrie ...

. In 1953 the

were moved to an earlier date than usual, in June, at Killarney, the week before the

which was also played there. In the Home Internationals, Drew won all his three singles matches and was undefeated in the foursomes. He then won the Irish Amateur Open beating Billy O'Sullivan 4&3 in the final. His second success in the championship came immediately before the selection of the final five players for the

team. Drew was selected and at 21, he was the youngest member of the side. Before the match, Drew played in the Canadian Amateur Championship at Kanawaki,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, losing in the quarter-finals to Don Cherry. The Walker Cup match was played at the Kittansett Club in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, the United States winning 9–3. Drew was not selected for the foursomes and lost his singles match 9&7 against Don Cherry, having been 7 down after the first 18 holes. He also played in the US Amateur but lost in the first round. Drew turned professional in November 1953, becoming an assistant to Sam Bacon at County Armagh.

Professional career

Sam Bacon moved to Knock Golf Club in early 1954 and Drew also left County Armagh, moving to Rossmore, before becoming an assistant at the North West Golf Club, Lisfannon, later in the year. In early 1956, Drew became the professional at Strabane golf club, which was in the process of moving to a new course. The move was to cause problems for Drew, since he had failed to serve a full three years as an assistant professional, although he satisfied Irish PGA rules which only required two years. He therefore became ineligible to play in British PGA events. In 1957, Drew became an assistant again, to Sam Bacon at Knock, but it was only in early 1958 that he was reinstated as a member of the British PGA. In 1958, Drew was a joint winner, with Harry Bradshaw, of the

Irish Dunlop Tournament The Irish Dunlop Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in Ireland until 1980. It was one of the top events on the professional circuit in Ireland. Prior to World War II, it was a 72-hole stroke play event known as the Dunlop-Irish ...

. 1959 was Drew's first full season on the British circuit and was to be his most successful, culminating with the

at Eldorado Golf Club,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, in November. Seven members of the 10-man British team were chosen using a Ryder Cup points system based on performances during the 1959 season. The first event was the

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 ...

starting on 8 April with the final event being the

Irish Hospitals Tournament The Irish Hospitals Tournament was a professional golf tournament played from 1958 to 1962. Total prize money was £5000 from 1958 to 1960 and £5,555 in 1961 and 1962. It was sponsored by the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake The Irish Hospitals' ...

finishing on 12 July. The remaining three members of the team were selected by the P.G.A. tournament committee in late September, after 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 ...

. Drew started with top-10 finishes in the PGA Close Championship, the

Spalding Tournament The Spalding Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom. It was played annually from 1946 to 1960. The total prize money was £1500 in 1946, £1250 in 1947 and 1948, £1350 from 1949 to 1959 and £2250 in 1960. Th ...

and the Dunlop Tournament and then finished fourth 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 ...

. After winning the

, he missed the cut at the

Daks Tournament The Daks Tournament was an important professional golf tournament held in England from 1950 to 1971 and was generally held in early June. 17 of the 22 events were held at the Wentworth Club. Neil Coles enjoyed considerable success in the event wi ...

but then has his first major British success, winning the

, four strokes ahead of Peter Alliss,

Harold Henning Harold Henning (3 October 1934 – 1 January 2004) was a South African professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. Early life Henning was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. His brothers Allan, Brian, and Graham ...

and

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 ...

. Drew was then 35th in the Open Championship and 14th in the Irish Hospitals Tournament to finish in sixth place in the rankings and gain his place in the team. The season continued with Drew playing in the

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 ...

, winning the

Irish Professional Championship The Irish Professional Championship was an invitational professional snooker tournament for mostly Irish and Northern Irish snooker players. History The Irish Professional Championship was first staged in 1947 in Northern Ireland, and Jack ...

and finishing joint runner-up in the

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 t ...

and level with

Joe Carr Joseph Benedict Carr (22 February 1922 – 3 June 2004) was an Irish amateur golfer. Carr was born in Inchicore, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, to George and Margaret Mary "Missie" Waters (the fifth of seven children). At 10 days old, he was ado ...

. The 1959 Ryder Cup was the last in which 36-hole matches were played. Drew became the first British ex- Walker Cup golfer to play in the

. He did not play in the foursomes on the first day but halved his singles match against Doug Ford. Drew was four down after nine holes but recovered and was only one down at lunch. In the afternoon, he was one down playing the last. At the 470-yard par-4, he hit a wood to 15 feet and holed the putt. Drew represented Ireland in the Canada Cup at

Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal suburban settlement in Fingal, Ireland, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , the population was ...

in 1960 and at

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

in 1961. Playing with Christy O'Connor, they finished in fourth place in both events. He became the first golfer to play in the Walker Cup, Ryder Cup and Canada Cup. He had some success in Irish events. He lost in a three-way playoff for the 1965

, O'Connor winning the title. He won the Ulster Professional Championship for the first time in 1966. In 1969, he was a joint runner-up in the

Gallaher Ulster Open The Gallaher Ulster Open was a professional golf tournament that was played in Northern Ireland between 1965 and 1971. It was last played the year prior to the formation of the formally organised professional tour which evolved into the Europea ...

, again behind O'Connor. His second win in the Ulster championship came in 1972 and he won the Benson & Hedges (Ulster) match-play championship in 1983. Drew held a number of professional positions. In 1960 he left Knock to become the professional at Ralston Golf Club near

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. During his time there, he was runner-up in the 1964

Cutty Sark Tournament The Cutty Sark Tournament was a 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 s ...

, seven strokes behind John Panton. He left Ralston in 1964 and was briefly at Rossmore before moving to Bradshaws Brae Range near

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...

in 1966. In 1973, he moved to

Malone Golf Club Malone Golf Club is a golf club located near Belfast, Northern Ireland. History The club, founded in 1895, hosted the 1933 Irish Open, won by Bob Kenyon Ernest William Henry "Bob" Kenyon (16 March 1905 – 15 March 1988) was an English pro ...

and then to Bangor Golf Club in 1983. Later Drew competed on 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 ...

for a number of years from the start of the tour in 1992 even though, at sixty, he was ten years past the minimum age. His best finish was a tie for fourth place in the 1992 Collingtree Homes Seniors Classic. He tied for ninth place in the 1993

Senior British Open The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open) is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Pr ...

despite a last round 80.

Personal life

Drew was married to Valerie and had two children, Heather and Gordon. Gordon Drew is also a professional golfer, currently at Donaghadee Golf Club,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Northern Ireland. Drew died in August 2023 at age 91.

Amateur wins

*1949 Ulster Boys' Open Championship *1950 North of Ireland Amateur Open Championship *1952 East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship,

, North of Ireland Amateur Open Championship *1953

Professional wins (7)

*1958

(tie with Harry Bradshaw) *1959

Irish PGA Championship The Irish PGA Championship, formerly the Irish Professional Championship and colloquially known as the Irish Professional Close or National Championship, is a golf tournament that is played annually in Ireland since 1907. It is one of the oldest ...

*1966 Ulster Professional Championship *1972 Ulster Professional Championship *1983 Ulster Matchplay Professional Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Drew only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1970 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place Source:

Team appearances

Amateur * Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

(representing Ireland): 1952, 1953 Professional *

(representing Great Britain):

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 ...

* Canada Cup (representing 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 ...

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 ...

(representing the Professionals): 1959 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drew, Norman Male golfers from Northern Ireland European Senior Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Sportspeople from Belfast Sportspeople from Bangor, County Down 1932 births 2023 deaths