Guy Bertram Wolstenholme (8 March 1931 – 9 October 1984) was an English professional golfer. He had a successful career both as an amateur and then as a professional.[1]

Guy Wolstenholme
Personal information
Full nameGuy Bertram Wolstenholme
Born(1931-03-08)8 March 1931
Leicester, England
Died9 October 1984(1984-10-09) (aged 53)
Nottingham, England
Sporting nationality England
Career
Turned professional1960
Former tour(s)European Tour
Asia Golf Circuit
PGA Tour of Australia
New Zealand Golf Circuit
Champions Tour
Professional wins19
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open Championship6th: 1960
U.S. AmateurT33: 1957
British AmateurT3: 1959

Early life and amateur career

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Wolstenholme was born in Leicester. As an amateur, Wolstenholme won both the English stroke play and match play championships, the latter on two occasions. He also won several other prestigious titles, including the Berkshire Trophy three times, and the German Amateur Championship in 1956.[2] Wolstenholme remains one the few amateur golfers to have won both The Berkshire and Brabazon Trophies in the same calendar year. He played on the Great Britain and Ireland team in the 1957 and 1959 Walker Cup matches and the 1958 and 1960 Eisenhower Trophy, finishing third both years. The highlight of his amateur career came in 1960, when finishing 6th, and low amateur, in The Open Championship at St Andrews.[1]

Professional career

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Wolstenholme turned professional in 1960, and played for several years on the European Circuit, and later the European Tour following its formation in the early 1970s. Despite joining the pro ranks relatively late, he had considerable success, winning 5 tournaments including the British PGA Close Championship and three national opens. He also broke the record for the greatest winning margin on the circuit, when he won the 1963 Jeyes Tournament at Royal Dublin by 12 strokes.[1] He emigrated to Australia in the 1960s and enjoyed more successes, winning several tournaments including the Victorian Open on four occasions.

Senior career

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Wolstenholme played on the Senior PGA Tour in the United States in 1982 and 1983. He recorded two runner-up finishes, at the 1982 Greater Syracuse Senior's Pro Golf Classic and the 1983 Daytona Beach Seniors Golf Classic, and ended the season 8th on the money list in 1983.

Personal life

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In 1960, his son, Gary was born. Gary had a successful career as an amateur golfer before turning pro late in life.

Wolstenholme died in 1984 after losing his fight against cancer.

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (19)

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Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 13 Apr 1969 Yomiuri International E (71-72-66-69=288) 1 stroke   Teruo Sugihara

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1969 Singapore Open   David Graham,   Tomio Kamata Kamata won with birdie on third extra hole
Wolstenholme eliminated by par on first hole

PGA Tour of Australia wins (3)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 8 Feb 1976 Victorian Open −7 (72-72-69-68=281) Playoff   Graham Marsh
2 19 Feb 1978 Victorian Open (2) −4 (77-71-67-69=284) Playoff   Arnold Palmer
3 17 Feb 1980 Victorian Open (3) −6 (72-74-68-68=282) 4 strokes   Graham Marsh

PGA Tour of Australia playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1976 Victorian Open   Graham Marsh Won with birdie on third extra hole
2 1978 Victorian Open   Arnold Palmer Won with par on third extra hole

New Zealand Golf Circuit wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 23 Nov 1968 Sax Altman Tournament −3 (67-73-74-71=285) Shared title with   Peter Thomson
2 19 Dec 1971 City of Auckland Classic −9 (70-65-67-73=275) 3 strokes   Frank Phillips

Sources:[3][4]

Other Australian wins (6)

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Other wins (7)

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Results in major championships

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Amateur

Tournament 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960
The Open Championship CUT T16 6 LA
U.S. Amateur R64
The Amateur Championship R16 R64 R16 R64 R64 R16 SF R32

Professional

Tournament 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
The Open Championship T32 T24 CUT CUT T17 T37 T13 CUT T11
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
The Open Championship T22 T33 T39 T17 CUT T39 T57

Note: Wolstenholme played only in The Open Championship, U.S. Amateur and The Amateur Championship

  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = Low Amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1968 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play

Source for U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database

Source for British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 29 May 1953, p. 4., The Glasgow Herald, 27 May 1954, p. 4., The Glasgow Herald, 3 June 1955, p. 4., The Glasgow Herald, 30 May 1956, p. 4., The Glasgow Herald, 29 May 1957, p. 4., The Glasgow Herald, 6 June 1958, p. 4., The Glasgow Herald, 30 May 1959, p. 9., The Glasgow Herald, 26 May 1960, p. 13.

Team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

References

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  1. ^ a b c Alliss, Peter (1983). The Who's Who of Golf. Orbis Publishing. pp. 312–3. ISBN 0-85613-520-8.
  2. ^ Crawley, Leonard (18 August 1956). "Wolstenholme win two up in classic". The Daily Telegraph. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Putt Stayed Out". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 25 November 1968. p. 22. Retrieved 30 November 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ^ "Wolstenholme repels Charles' challenge". The Canberra Times. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 20 December 1971. p. 12. Retrieved 12 February 2020 – via Trove.
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