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Ronan Rafferty

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Ronan Rafferty
Personal information
Full nameRonan Patrick Rafferty
Born (1964-01-13) 13 January 1964 (age 60)
Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight189 lb (86 kg; 13.5 st)
Sporting nationality Northern Ireland
ResidenceGleneagles, Scotland[citation needed]
SpouseYvonne Rafferty
ChildrenJonathan, Emma
Career
Turned professional1981
Current tour(s)European Seniors Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
Professional wins14
Highest ranking16 (13 May 1990)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour7
PGA Tour of Australasia5
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT14: 1990
PGA ChampionshipCUT: 1990
U.S. Open63rd: 1990
The Open ChampionshipT9: 1984
Achievements and awards
European Tour
Order of Merit winner		1989

Ronan Patrick Rafferty (born 13 January 1964) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who formerly played on the European Tour. He was the leading European player of 1989.

Early life

Rafferty was born in Newry, Northern Ireland. He won the Boys Amateur Championship aged 15, qualified for the Open Championship at age 16, and played in the 1981 Walker Cup aged 17. He tied for first place with Peter McEvoy in the 1980 English Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy. According to Rafferty, as an amateur he and future pro Philip Walton had the best handicaps in the country.[2]

Professional career

For a period Rafferty was one of the best professional golfers in Europe. Between 1987 and 1993, he won 12 official tournaments around the world: five in Australia, seven in Europe. He led the 1989 European Tour Order of Merit and qualified for the 1989 Ryder Cup team. By the early 1990s, he came close to breaking the then-record for consecutive cuts made on the European Tour. He also spent over 100 weeks ranking inside the top 25 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1993.[3]

Rafferty joined the European Tour in 1982. His first year was solid (if unremarkable) with one top-ten placing and 48th ranking on the Order of Merit. His second season, in 1983, inaugurated an excellent stretch that lasted throughout the 1980s. In eight straight seasons, he finished in the top 30 of the Order of Merit and recorded at least six top-10s per year.

He struggled at coming through down the stretch, however. He recorded an astonishing 62 top-10s before his first European Tour victory.[4][5] This included a playoff loss to compatriot David Feherty at the 1986 Lancia Italian Open.

He had better luck winning down under, however, recording two wins on the 1987 Australasian Tour. The second victory was at the New Zealand Open, where he defeated defending PGA Championship winner Larry Nelson in a playoff. He was the first European to win New Zealand's national open since the 1920s. He also won the 1988 Australian Match Play Championship, defeating Australian Mike Clayton in the finals.

After knocking on the door for years, Rafferty would finally win in Europe in 1989. He avenged his 1986 playoff loss at the Italian Open with a one stroke win over Sam Torrance. This would be Rafferty's best season, as he would win an additional two events and record a 15 top-10 finishes. At the end of the year he won the Volvo Masters, the most prestigious win of his career, defeating Nick Faldo by one shot. He would go on to win the European Tour Order of Merit. He would also finish atop the 1989 Ryder Cup standings and play in his only Ryder Cup that year at The Belfry. Although Rafferty did not play well (he lost both team matches he played), he won his singles match against defending Open Championship winner Mark Calcavecchia on the 18th hole for a 1up win.[6] This tight win proved indispensable as the European team struggled on the last day and only barely retained the cup with a 14–14 tie.

In 1990 was another great season for Rafferty. He won the Coca-Cola Classic, PLM Open and Ebel European Masters Swiss Open, recorded two runner-ups and had 12 top-10s in 30 official tour events.[7] His excellent play earned him a special foreign invitation to play the Masters for the first time. In the spring he reached his career peak of #16 in the Official World Golf Ranking after a tie for 6th at the Belgian Open.[7] He also qualified for the U.S. Open and PGA Championship; he was the first Irish pro to play in the U.S. Open since the 1940s.[8]

The remainder of the early 1990s would see Rafferty play a mixture of some good and more disappointing golf. Although he recorded six official top-10s, including a runner-up finish at the European Pro-Celebrity pro-am, 1991 was a frustrating year. For the first time in five seasons, Rafferty did not win an official international event. He missed a European Tour cut for the first time in years at the Spanish Open.[9] His play at the majors was especially weak. He missed the cut at the Masters, abruptly withdrew from the U.S. Open in the middle of the second round and failed to qualify for the Open Championship for the first time. His withdrawal from the U.S. Open was particularly contentious and he was fined by the European Tour.[8] By the end of season he was in danger of leaving the top 50 in the world rankings.[9]

The beginning of the 1992 season suddenly saw Rafferty go on perhaps the hottest stretch of his career. He finished no worse than second place in five consecutive worldwide events: a victory at the Daikyo Palm Meadows Cup for his final win in Australia; a tie for second at the European-sanctioned Johnnie Walker Classic in Bangkok, Thailand; a playoff loss to Seve Ballesteros at the Dubai Desert Classic; a runner-up to American legend Tom Watson at the Hong Kong Open; and finally a victory at the Portuguese Open.[10] His world ranking would peak again at #16 after his win in Portugal.[10]

This period also marked the beginning of a slow decline that would persist. In the heart of the season, playing in more challenging European and American events, Rafferty missed the cut in most of the events he played; and, when he made the cut, he usually finished near the bottom.[10]

1993 marked a brief return to form. After recording some[which?] high finishes in minor European and South African events in late 1992/early 1993, Rafferty recorded a number of top-10s in the middle of the 1993 European season.[11] This would culminate with a victory at the 1993 Hohe Brucke Austrian Open. Rafferty would finish the season ranked inside the global top 50.[11]

The 1994 season, however, would mark the beginning of the end of his career as a touring professional. His victory in Austria would be his last. He recorded only two top-10s in 26 European events and failed to finish in the top 50 of the Order of Merit for the first time.[4]

Rafferty maintained full-time status for three more years and recorded a spate of top 10s but could come close to matching his 1980s' heyday.[4] In 1997 broken bones in his left hand severely affected his play. After the 1997 season, he failed to enter the top 100 of the Order of Merit again.[4] He would retire as a touring professional after the 2003 season.[4]

Personal life

Rafferty is married to Claire and has two adult children, Jonathan and Emma.[12] Though from Northern Ireland, he now lives in Ascot, England.[12]

In 1987, while playing on the Australasian Tour during the European Tour offseason, he lived with the family of Australian pro Ian Baker-Finch. During this time, Rafferty became a connoisseur of Australian wine. He remains a noted wine collector.[12]

Rafferty now plays few tournaments, and is involved in broadcasting, where he works as a commentator and analyst, and golf course design. He regularly appeared on Setanta golf's coverage.[2]

Legacy

Rafferty is known for prefiguring the rise of professional golf in Northern Ireland. He and David Feherty were the first Northern Irish golfers to win consistently on the European Tour. Shortly after they retired, golfers like Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke would go onto greater success, winning major championships.

Rafferty was one of the best European golfers during the 1980s and early 1990s. He won 12 official worldwide tour events between 1987 and 1993. By comparison, Nick Faldo, the best European golfer of that era, won 17 tour events during that timespan. Paul Azinger, the most victorious American golfer during that timespan, won only one more event than Rafferty during these years.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (14)

European Tour wins (7)

Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other European Tour (6)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 21 May 1989 Lancia Italian Open −15 (71-69-68-65=273) 1 stroke Scotland Sam Torrance
2 6 Aug 1989 Scandinavian Enterprise Open −20 (70-69-64-65=268) 2 strokes United States Michael Allen
3 29 Oct 1989 Volvo Masters −6 (72-69-70-71=282) 1 stroke England Nick Faldo
4 5 Aug 1990 PLM Open −18 (64-67-70-69=270) 4 strokes Fiji Vijay Singh
5 2 Sep 1990 Ebel European Masters Swiss Open −21 (70-65-66-66=267) 2 strokes South Africa John Bland
6 22 Mar 1992 Portuguese Open −15 (67-71-67-68=273) 1 stroke Sweden Anders Forsbrand
7 15 Aug 1993 Hohe Brücke Austrian Open −14 (65-69-72-68=274) Playoff Denmark Anders Sørensen

European Tour playoff record (1–4)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1986 Italian Open Northern Ireland David Feherty Lost to birdie on second extra hole
2 1989 KLM Dutch Open England Roger Chapman, Spain José María Olazábal Olazábal won with double-bogey on ninth extra hole
Chapman eliminated by par on first hole
3 1990 Vinho Verde Atlantic Open England Richard Boxall, Northern Ireland Stephen Hamill,
Scotland Stephen McAllister, Denmark Anders Sørensen,
England David Williams 		McAllister won with par on first extra hole
4 1992 Dubai Desert Classic Spain Seve Ballesteros Lost to birdie on second extra hole
5 1993 Hohe Brücke Austrian Open Denmark Anders Sørensen Won with par on first extra hole

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (5)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 14 Nov 1987 West End South Australian Open −8 (72-68-71-69=280) 1 stroke Australia Peter Fowler
2 13 Dec 1987 Nissan-Mobil New Zealand Open −9 (72-65-71-71=279) Playoff United States Larry Nelson
3 7 Feb 1988 Mercedes-Benz Australian Match Play Championship 1 up Australia Mike Clayton
4 21 Jan 1990 Coca-Cola Classic −10 (72-69-68-69=278) 2 strokes United States Brian Watts
5 19 Jan 1992 Daikyo Palm Meadows Cup −10 (68-72-73-65=278) 2 strokes Australia Bradley Hughes, Australia Brett Ogle

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1987 Nissan-Mobil New Zealand Open United States Larry Nelson Won with par on seventh extra hole

South American Golf Circuit wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 28 Nov 1982 Venezuela Open −8 (66-66-70-70=272) 1 stroke United States Lee Carter

Other wins (1)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
Masters Tournament T14 CUT
U.S. Open 63 WD CUT
The Open Championship CUT 61 T9 T44 T21 CUT T38 T61 T31 T39 T11 CUT
PGA Championship CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 3 12 9
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals 0 0 0 0 1 4 18 11
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (1988 Open Championship – 1990 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 19 1990 Ending 13 May 1990" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b "A firebrand still shooting from the hip". The Irish Times. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Ronan Rafferty". Official World Golf Ranking.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Ronan Rafferty". European Tour. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Ronan Rafferty – 1989". Official World Golf Ranking.
  6. ^ Swift, E.M. (2 October 1989). "Fit to Be Tied". Sports Illustrated.
  7. ^ a b "Ronan Rafferty – 1990". Official World Golf Ranking.
  8. ^ a b Kelly, Liam (15 June 2015). "How Ronan Rafferty paved way for Irish glory at US Open". Irish Independent.
  9. ^ a b "Ronan Rafferty – 1991". Official World Golf Ranking.
  10. ^ a b c "Ronan Rafferty – 1992". Official World Golf Ranking.
  11. ^ a b "Ronan Rafferty – 1993". Official World Golf Ranking.
  12. ^ a b c Reason, Mark (15 June 2002). "No sadness on Rafferty's golf odyssey". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
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