David Jones (golfer)

Not to be confused with the English golfer David R. Jones.

David Jones
Personal information
Born (1947-06-22) 22 June 1947 (age 77)
Newcastle, Northern Ireland
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight196 lb (89 kg; 14.0 st)
Sporting nationality Northern Ireland
SpouseDeirdre
Children4
Career
Turned professional1966
Former tour(s)European Tour
European Seniors Tour
Professional wins15
Number of wins by tour
European Senior Tour1
Other14
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT50: 1981

David Jones (born 22 June 1947) is a former European Tour golfer from Bangor, Northern Ireland. His best season was 1981, when he won the Irish PGA Championship and was joint third in the Carroll's Irish Open. He also won the 1989 Kenya Open and later played on the European Seniors Tour, winning the 1999 Jersey Seniors Open.

Golf career

Jones played regularly on the European Tour from the start of the tour in 1972. He had limited success, his best finish being tied for third in the 1981 Carroll's Irish Open. Played at Portmarnock Golf Club, the event was won by Sam Torrance who finished five strokes clear of Nick Faldo with Jones and two other Irishmen, Jimmy Heggarty and Des Smyth, a further shot behind.[1] Jones won over £4,000, enabling him to finish the 1981 season at a career high of 44 in the Order of Merit.

Jones made a number of appearances in the Open Championship between 1970 and 1990; his best finish being in 1981 where he tied for 50th place.

Jones had a number of wins in Ireland, the most important being the 1981 Irish PGA Championship at Woodbrook Golf Club. Jones score of 283 put him four shots clear of Leonard Owens and five ahead of Christy O'Connor Snr.[2]

At the age of 41, Jones had his biggest international success, winning the Kenya Open in February 1989. Thanks to a third round of 65, Jones total of 271 put him three ahead of Mark Mouland.[3]

After reaching 50, Jones played on the European Seniors Tour, having some success from 1997 to 2000, during which he won one event, was runner-up four times and a number of other high finishes. In his first season in 1997 he was runner-up to Tommy Horton in the Clubhaus Seniors Classic.[4] In 1998 he lost two playoffs, to Neil Coles in the Philips PFA Golf Classic and to David Huish in the Golden Charter PGA Scottish Seniors Open. He won the 1999 Jersey Seniors Open and was runner-up in the 2000 Ordina Legends in Golf in the Netherlands, a stroke behind American John Grace. He finished 4th in the Order of Merit in 1998 and 9th the following year and represented the tour in the Praia d'El Rey European Cup in those two years.

Jones played in seven PGA Cup matches between 1976 and 1994 and was also twice captain of the Great Britain and Ireland team. He won the PGA Club Professionals Championship three times, in 1978, 1979 and 1994.

After his career on the circuit, he became a course designer and golf coach. He was awarded 'Master Professional' status by the Professional Golfers Association in 1999, and Honorary Membership of the Association in 2018.

Professional wins (15)

Safari Circuit wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 12 Feb 1989 555 Kenya Open −13 (69-69-65-68=271) 3 strokes Wales Mark Mouland

Other wins (13)

European Seniors Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 13 Jun 1999 Jersey Seniors Open −8 (69-70-69=208) 2 strokes Northern Ireland Paul Leonard, England Jim Rhodes

European Seniors Tour playoff record (0–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1998 Philips PFA Golf Classic England Neil Coles Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2 1998 Golden Charter PGA Scottish Seniors Open Scotland David Huish Lost to par on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T58 CUT CUT
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Open Championship CUT T50 T72 77 CUT
Tournament 1990
The Open Championship CUT

Note: Jones only played in The Open Championship.

  Did not play

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

Team appearances

  • PGA Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland/Europe): 1976, 1977 (tie), 1978 (winners), 1979 (winners), 1981 (tie), 1982 (non-playing captain), 1992, 1994, 2003 (non-playing captain)
  • Europcar Cup (representing Ireland): 1988
  • Praia d'El Rey European Cup: 1998 (tie), 1999

References

  1. ^ "Torrance plays through slump to five-stroke win". The Glasgow Herald. 17 August 1981. p. 16.
  2. ^ "David Jones". The Glasgow Herald. 22 June 1981. p. 17.
  3. ^ "Jones in his prime – after 20 years". The Glasgow Herald. 13 February 1989. p. 17.
  4. ^ "Horton clinches Classic". The Times. 15 September 1997. p. 26.
  5. ^ "£6000 in Davy Jones locker". Irish Independent. Dublin, Republic of Ireland. 15 September 1993. p. 17. Retrieved 5 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.