| Maurice Bembridge | |
|---|---|
 Bembridge in 2010 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Maurice Bembridge |
| Born | (1945-02-21)21 February 1945 Worksop,Nottinghamshire, England |
| Died | 2 March 2024(2024-03-02) (aged 79) Uzwil, Switzerland |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Sporting nationality |  England |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1960 |
| Former tour(s) | European Tour New Zealand Golf Circuit Safari Circuit European Seniors Tour |
| Professional wins | 20 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| European Tour | 6 |
| European Senior Tour | 2 |
| Other | 12 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | T9:1974 |
| PGA Championship | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP |
| The Open Championship | 5th:1968 |
Maurice Bembridge (21 February 1945 – 2 March 2024) was an Englishprofessional golfer. Early in his career he had some success on the British PGA, winning the 1969News of the World Match Play and the 1971Dunlop Masters. He would go on to win six times on the British PGA's successor circuit, theEuropean Tour. He also had some success overseas, winning theNew Zealand Golf Circuit'sCaltex Tournament in 1970 and theKenya Open three times. In addition, Bembridge brokeAugusta National Golf Club's course record at the1974 Masters Tournament with a 64. Late in his career, Bembridge had some success on theEuropean Senior Tour, winning twice.
Bembridge turned professional at an early age in 1960 and was an assistant at Worksop Golf Club. In 1966 he won the Llandudno Assistant Professionals' Tournament and was a runner-up in theGor-Ray Cup, the PGA Assistants’ Championship, behindVince Hood.[1][2] In 1967 Bembridge moved to Little Aston Golf Club and had more success, winning the Gor-Ray Cup and the Hesketh Assistant Professionals' Tournament.[3][4] Bembridge qualified for the Open Championship in both 1966 and 1967, although he missed the cut on both occasions. In1967 he led the qualifiers at Delamere Forest Golf Club.
In April 1968, Bembridge had his first overseas success, winning theKenya Open, two strokes ahead ofTerry Westbrook.[5] Later in the year he finished 5th in theOpen Championship, four shots behind winnerGary Player and was the leading British golfer. In April 1969 Bembridge retained hisKenya Open title.[6] In June he won theSumrie Better-Ball, which he andÁngel Gallardo won by a shot fromHedley Muscroft andLionel Platts. In July he was selected for theRyder Cup atRoyal Birkdale, to be played in late September. In early September, Bembridge had his first big solo tournament win, theNews of the World Match Play, where he beat 56-year-oldDai Rees 6&5 in the 18-hole final.[7] Bembridge performed well in the tied Ryder Cup match with two wins and a half in his five matches. His victory in the News of the World Match Play earned Bembridge an invitation to play in the1969 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, where he lost 6&5 toBob Charles.[8]
In 1971 Bembridge had his first important British stroke-play victory, taking theDunlop Masters, two strokes ahead ofPeter Oosterhuis.[9]
Bembridge played on theEuropean Tour from its foundation in 1972. In March 1972 he won theLusaka Open in Zambia, by a stroke fromDoug McClelland, having started with a 63, but he only finished 19th in the European Tour Order of Merit that season.[10][11] He finished second in the European Tour Order of Merit was second in 1973. He won theMartini International, was third three times and had a number of other top-10 finishes.[12] Bembridge won three times on the1974 European Tour, thePiccadilly Medal, theDouble Diamond Strokeplay and theViyella PGA Championship but was less consistent, finishing 12th in the Order of Merit. He won again in 1975, theGerman Open where he won by 7 strokes. He was also runner-up in theBenson & Hedges Festival of Golf and finished 11th in the Order of Merit.[13]
After 1975 his best year was 1979 when he won his thirdKenya Open and had his finalEuropean Tour win in theBenson & Hedges International Open, a result that lifted him to 18th in the Order of Merit.[14] He also came close to winning the 1982Irish Open where he was runner-up, a stroke behindJohn O'Leary.[15] Bembridge continued playing on theEuropean Tour but with less success, his final season being 1987.
After turning fifty Bembridge played on theEuropean Senior Tour, winning twice at that level, the 1996Hippo Jersey Seniors and the 1998Swedish Seniors. He was also runner-up in the 2001De Vere PGA Seniors Championship and was twice in the top 10 of the Order of Merit, 7th in1996 and 9th in1997. He was a member of the European Senior Tour committee for nine years and was its chairman from 2007 to 2011.[16]
Bembridge died from cancer on 2 March 2024, at the age of 79.[17][18][19][20]
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 Jun1973 | Martini International | −9 (70-68-67-74=279) | 1 stroke |  Dai Rees,Peter Wilcock |
| 2 | 25 May1974 | Piccadilly Medal | −8 (65) | 5 strokes | Peter Oosterhuis |
| 3 | 21 Aug 1974 | Double Diamond Strokeplay | −4 (70-66=136) | 1 stroke |  Bob Charles |
| 4 | 31 Aug 1974 | Viyella PGA Championship | −10 (76-69-69-64=278) | 1 stroke | Peter Oosterhuis |
| 5 | 3 Aug1975 | German Open | +5 (75-72-69-69=285) | 7 strokes |  Lon Hinkle, Bob Shearer |
| 6 | 12 Aug1979 | Benson & Hedges International Open | −8 (67-67-69-69=272) | 2 strokes |  Ken Brown |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 Nov1970 | Caltex Tournament | +2 (69-76-70-71=286) | Shared title withTerry Kendall | |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 Mar 1979 | Benson & Hedges Kenya Open | −13 (67-65-69-70=271) | Playoff | Bernard Gallacher |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 Jun1996 | Hippo Jersey Seniors | −14 (68-67-67=202) | 7 strokes |  Roberto Bernardini,Alberto Croce,David Huish, Vincent Tshabalala |
| 2 | 27 Jun1998 | Swedish Seniors | −4 (70-67-72=209) | Playoff | Jim Rhodes |
European Seniors Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1998 | Swedish Seniors | Jim Rhodes | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| Tournament | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | 5 | CUT |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T38 | T9 | T26 | CUT | ||||||
| The Open Championship | T13 | T60 | T19 | CUT | T44 | T16 | CUT | T56 | CUT |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
Note: Bembridge only played in theMasters Tournament andThe Open Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1969, 1980 and 1981 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Source:[22]
Maurice Bembridge in theRyder Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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