Peter Alliss
| Peter Alliss | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Peter Alliss |
| Born | 28 February 1931 Berlin, Germany |
| Nationality |  England |
| Residence | Hindhead, Surrey |
| Spouse | Joan (m.1953) Jackie (m.1969) |
| Children | Gary, Carol (with Joan) Sara, Simon, Henry (with Jackie) |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1947 |
| Retired | 1975 |
| Professional wins | 23 |
| Best results in Major Championships |
|
| Masters Tournament | CUT: 1966, 1967 |
| U.S. Open | DNP |
| The Open Championship | 8th/T8: 1954, 1961, 1962, 1969 |
| PGA Championship | DNP |
Peter Alliss (born 28 February 1931) is an English professional golfer, BBC television presenter and commentator, author and golf course designer. Alliss is known for his charismatic and unique style of commentary, often displaying a witty demeanour. Since the death of Henry Longhurst, he has been regarded by many as the current "Voice of (British) Golf", along with long time commentating partner Alex Hay.[1][2] In December 2011, he was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in the Lifetime Achievement category and will be inducted in May 2012.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
His father Percy was a professional golfer who won several tournaments on the European golf circuit in the 1920s and 1930s, and Peter was born in Berlin while his father was employed as a club professional there.
Alliss left school at the age of 14 (then the minimum school leaving age in the UK), and began his career as a professional golfer in 1947, at the age of 16. In his 27 years of professional competition, he won three British PGA Championships, and was semi-finalist in the British PGA Matchplay Championship. Alliss played on eight Ryder Cup teams (1953, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, and 1969), compiling a 43 per cent winning percentage. He played on ten teams representing England in the World Cup. He had five top-ten finishes in the Open Championship, coming closest in 1954 at Royal Birkdale when he finished just four shots behind Peter Thomson. Percy and Peter Alliss were the first father and son to both participate in the Ryder Cup (Antonio Garrido and his son Ignacio later became the second). He won 23 tournaments, and gave Sean Connery golf tips before he filmed Goldfinger. His competitive career was almost over by the time the European Tour was formally established in 1972, but he played in some events in the Tour's early years, making his last appearance on the tour in 1975.
Alliss was the Captain of The Professional Golfers' Association twice, the president of the British Greenkeepers` Association, and was the first president of the European Women's Professional Golfers' Association. He has worked as a commentator for the BBC, ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In Britain he is probably the best known golf broadcaster. He has hosted a total of 140 Pro Celebrity Golf TV programmes, was the host of Around with Alliss, and is currently starring in A Golfer's Travels, which is airing worldwide. He has written 20 books, the last of which was Golf Heroes, as well as articles in Golf International and Golf World Magazine.
Alliss is also involved in golf course architecture. His first course design partner was Dave Thomas, with whom he created over 50 courses, including The Belfry, which is now the home of the Professional Golfers' Association and has staged the Ryder Cup several times. He then joined forces with Clive Clark, and added another 22 courses to his portfolio (including Old Thorns Golf Course in Hampshire).
In 2002 he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by Bournemouth University. In July 2005, he was honoured by the University of St Andrews, shortly before The Open Golf Championship, with the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.
Alliss's distinctive voice has featured on numerous golfing video games notably the Actua Golf series.
[edit] Tournament wins
this list is incomplete
- 1954 Daks Tournament
- 1955 Dunlop Tournament
- 1956 Spanish Open
- 1957 British PGA Championship
- 1958 Italian Open, Spanish Open, Portuguese Open
- 1959 Dunlop Tournament
- 1961 Brazil Open
- 1962 British PGA Championship
- 1963 Daks Tournament (tie with Neil Coles)
- 1964 Esso Golden Tournament, Swallow-Penfold Tournament
- 1965 British PGA Championship, Jeyes Tournament
- 1966 Martini International (tie with W. Large), Rediffusion Tournament
- 1967 Agfa-Gevaert Tournament
- 1969 Piccadilly Medal
[edit] Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | T31 | T9 | T8 | CUT | DNP | T12 | T11 | T16 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | CUT | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | CUT | T8 | T8 | T18 | CUT | T47 | T20 | WD | T13 | 8 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | T32 | T47 | T31 | T51 | CUT |
Note: Alliss never played in the U.S. Open nor the PGA Championship.
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10
[edit] References
- ^ "BBC at the Open". BBC Sport. 11 July 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/3051800.stm. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ "The Observer Profile: Peter Alliss". The Observer. 17 July 2004. http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-17-2004-56776.asp. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
- ^ Sandy Lyle, Peter Alliss picked for Hall
