Sir Bob Charles

• Born in the small town of Carterton on March 14th 1936.
• Ivor, his father was a school teacher at the Hinekura Area School in the Wairarapa and then later was headmaster at Cashmere School in Christchurch.
• Phyllis his mother comes from Martinborough.
• Both parents were keen and talented golfers.
• Played rugby and cricket in his youth at school.
• Was a bank clerk before playing golf professionally.
• At the age of 16 Entered his first golf tournament the Wairarapa Mixed Foursomes with his mother in 1951 - and was beaten in the final.
• In 1954 at the age of 18 years old he won the New Zealand Open – an amazing feat considering that he had never had a professional golf lesson.
• Married his wife Verity in 1963 and has a daughter Beverly (born 22 nd January 1966) and a son David (born 29 th August 1968).
• Has four grandchildren.
• Biggest career highlight was winning the prestigious British Open in 1963, at the Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Course in Lancashire. He remains the only left-handed golfer in the world to have achieved this. He is the only New Zealander to have won this prestigious tournament, and the first to have won a major golf tournament.
• Current places of residence are Florida, USA and Oxford, Canterbury NZ.
• Continues to play professional golf on the Senior PGA tour and other tournaments.
• Played in the 2004 New Zealand Golf Open (Jan 15-18, 2004) for the last time but failed to make the cut (did not score well enough to win a place in the final two rounds).

Sources

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  • Bob Charles by Margot Butcher in North and South magazine, March 1998
  • Sir Bob Won't Cry Alone by Kevin Tutty in The Press, Jan 10, 2004 F8