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Lionel Platts

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Lionel Platts
Personal information
Born(1934-10-10)10 October 1934
Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
Died23 May 2021(2021-05-23) (aged 86)
Sporting nationality England
Children3
Career
StatusProfessional
Former tour(s)European Tour
European Senior Tour
Professional wins16
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 1966
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT12: 1965

Lionel Platts (10 October 1934 – 23 May 2021)[1][2][3] was an English professional golfer. He finished 7th in the PGA Order of Merit in both 1964 and 1965. He played in the 1965 Ryder Cup.

Professional career

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Platts was runner-up in the 1960 Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament and he returned to win the event in 1961.[4][5] Two weeks later he won the Gor-Ray Cup, the PGA Assistants' Championship, at Hartsbourne Country Club. Platts was 3 strokes behind leader Ross Whitehead after three rounds but had a last round 64 to win by 5 strokes from Whitehead, who was a further 6 strokes ahead of third-placed Alex Caygill.[6] Platts, an assistant at Thorndon Park Golf Club near Brentwood, Essex, became the professional there later in 1961.[6] In 1963 he won the Sunningdale Foursomes with David Snell.[7]

Platts was runner-up in the Schweppes PGA Close Championship at Western Gailes Golf Club in 1964, two strokes behind Tony Grubb. The event was played in April and was the first important event of the season. The PGA experimented with using the bigger ball, as used in America.[8] The following month he was again a runner-up, in the Martini International, six strokes behind Christy O'Connor Snr.[9] Later in 1964 Platts won the Braemar seven-club tournament at Turnberry by a stroke from John Jacobs, winning £550. He played with a driver, 4, 6, 7 and 9 irons, a wedge and a putter.[10] Platts finished the season 7th in the Order of Merit behind Peter Alliss, who won the Harry Vardon Trophy.[11]

In May 1965 he lost in a sudden-death playoff to Ángel Miguel in the Swallow-Penfold Tournament.[12] Later in the year he lost to Neil Coles at the 19th hole in the final of the News of the World Match Play.[13] The following week he again came close to success in the Gallaher Ulster Open, losing to Bernard Hunt at the sixth hole of sudden-death playoff.[14] Platts finished 7th in the Order of Merit for the second successive season, behind Bernard Hunt.[15]

Selection for the 1965 Ryder Cup was based on a points system, starting with the 1964 Carroll Sweet Afton Tournament and finishing with the 1965 Esso Golden Tournament in late July.[16] Platts finished 6th in the list to gain a place in the team.[17] Platts played two fourball matches on the second day with Peter Butler, both against Billy Casper and Gene Littler, halving them both.[18] He played in both singles sessions on the final day, losing to Julius Boros but beating Tommy Jacobs in the final match.[19] Platts accepted an invitation to play in the 1966 Masters Tournament, scoring 80 and 79 and missing the cut.[20]

Playing with Hedley Muscroft, Platts was runner-up in the inaugural Sumrie Better-Ball in 1969.[21] Platts won the 1971 Portuguese Open, a stroke ahead of Antonio Garrido and Paul Herbert.[22] In 1972 he won the Scottish Uniroyal Tournament, three strokes ahead of Peter Oosterhuis. The event had insufficient prize money to be part of the inaugural European Tour season.[23]

Platts played in the Open Championship every year from 1961 to 1977. His best performance was when he was tied for 12th in 1965. He scored 68 in the first round of the 1967 Open Championship to lead the field, and eventually finished tied for 13th place. Platts made a hole-in-one during the second round of the 1971 Open Championship, on the 212-yard 4th hole at Royal Birkdale.[24]

Platts was 57 when the European Senior Tour started in 1992 but he played a number of events, mostly between 1992 and 1994, making his final appearance in 2006.[2][1]

Personal life

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Platts' son Chris had some success as a professional golfer.[25] He won the 1988 Kenya Open on the Safari Circuit, the 1991 Open de Vittel on the Challenge Tour and the 1993 Perrier European Pro-Am, an unofficial money event on the Challenge Tour.[26][27][28]

Professional wins

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Source: [29]

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament CUT
The Open Championship T20 T24 T39 CUT T12 T55 T13 CUT CUT
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
Masters Tournament
The Open Championship CUT T40 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT

Note: Platts only played in the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1968 and 1973 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

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References

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  1. ^ a b European Tour - Lionel Platts - Biography
  2. ^ a b "Lionel Platts (1934 – 2021)". The PGA. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  3. ^ "The obituary notice of Lionel Platts". funeral-notices.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Assistants' win for Coles". The Glasgow Herald. 27 May 1960. p. 13.
  5. ^ "Assistants' event won by Platts". The Glasgow Herald. 19 May 1961. p. 13.
  6. ^ a b "Platts's fine last round". The Glasgow Herald. 2 June 1961. p. 15.
  7. ^ "Spectacular Victory for Platts and Snell" The Times, 30 March 1963; pg. 4; Issue 55663
  8. ^ "Grubb's victory in P.G.A. tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 20 April 1964. p. 4.
  9. ^ "Splendid putting by O'Connor". The Glasgow Herald. 4 May 1964. p. 4.
  10. ^ "Victory for Platts at Turnberry". Glasgow Herald. 5 October 1964. p. 4.
  11. ^ Wilson, Mark (2 November 1964). "Coles banked £2 7s 2d for every shot". Evening Standard. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "A Miguel triumphs in play-off". The Glasgow Herald. 10 May 1965. p. 7.
  13. ^ "Platts reaches the 19th hole once too often" The Times, 6 September 1965; pg. 4; Issue 56419
  14. ^ "B. J. Hunt's victory in long play-off". The Glasgow Herald. 13 September 1965. p. 4. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  15. ^ Wilson, Mark (30 October 1965). "Hunt becomes our top golfer again". Evening Standard. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Change in Ryder Cup selection". The Times. 15 January 1963. p. 4.
  17. ^ "British team for Ryder Cup match". Glasgow Herald. 26 July 1965. p. 4.
  18. ^ "U.S. two ahead in Ryder Cup". Glasgow Herald. 9 October 1965. p. 1.
  19. ^ "Ryder Cup again won by U.S." Glasgow Herald. 11 October 1965. p. 4.
  20. ^ "Past results – Masters tournament". PGA Tour. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  21. ^ "Anglo-Spanish team win Sumrie event with 28 under par". The Glasgow Herald. 9 June 1969. p. 4.
  22. ^ "Win for Platts". The Glasgow Herald. 29 November 1971. p. 5.
  23. ^ "Victory for Platts". The Guardian. 6 July 1972. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (9 July 1971). "Eagle 3 on the 18th puts Trevino level with Tony Jacklin". Glasgow Herald. p. 6.
  25. ^ "Hopefuls seek spot at St Andrews". BBC Sport. 4 July 2005. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  26. ^ "Chris Platts". The Glasgow Herald. 15 February 1988. p. 12.
  27. ^ "Open de Vittel". European Tour. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  28. ^ "Perrier European Pro-Am". European Tour. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  29. ^ Huggins, Percy, ed. (1973). The Golfer's Handbook. p. 399.
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