Frank Phillips (golfer)

Frank Phillips OAM
Personal information
Full name	Frank Stafford Phillips
Born	(1932-07-24)24 July 1932 Moss Vale, New South Wales, Australia
Died	2 May 2023(2023-05-02) (aged 90) Bowral, New South Wales, Australia
Sporting nationality	Australia
Career
Status	Professional
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour of Australasia Asia Golf Circuit
Professional wins	35
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	CUT: 1958, 1962
PGA Championship	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT: 1962
The Open Championship	12th: 1964

Frank Stafford Phillips OAM (24 July 1932 – 2 May 2023) was an Australian professional golfer. He was rated one of the best ball strikers of his era winning the 1957 and 1961 Australian Opens. He was a Life Member of the PGA of Australia from 2002.[1]

Phillips was born in Moss Vale, New South Wales on 24 July 1932.[2] In Jack Pollard's book, Australian Golf: The Game and the Players, Phillips is described as "a tall Sydney professional who built an outstanding record in Australian golf in the 1950s and 1960s".^[citation needed]

Phillips was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours for service to golf.[3]

Phillips died at a nursing home in Bowral on 2 May 2023, at the age of 90.[4]

Professional wins (35)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	25 Feb 1962	Malayan Open	−20 (71-71-64-70=276)	1 stroke	Bob Charles, Peter Thomson
2	7 Mar 1965	Singapore Open	−13 (72-70-71-66=279)	2 strokes	Tadashi Kitta
3	4 Apr 1965	Yomiuri International	E (72-73-74-69=288)	1 stroke	Chen Ching-Po
4	27 Mar 1966	Hong Kong Open	−5 (69-66-68-72=275)	2 strokes	Hideyo Sugimoto
5	4 Mar 1973	Hong Kong Open (2)	−6 (74-69-68-67=278)	1 stroke	Ben Arda

Australia and New Zealand wins (26)

• 1955 New Zealand PGA Championship[5]
• 1956 New South Wales Close[6]
• 1957 New South Wales PGA,[7] Australian Open[8]
• 1959 Lakes Open
• 1960 New South Wales Open, North Coast Open, Lakes Open
• 1961 Australian Open
• 1962 New South Wales Open, Tasmanian Open, North Coast Open, West End Tournament
• 1963 Adelaide Advertiser Tournament (tie with Bruce Devlin)
• 1964 Victorian Open,[9] Adelaide Advertiser Tournament, West End Tournament (tie with Walter Godfrey)
• 1966 New South Wales Open, Victorian Open, Lakes Open
• 1967 Aeron Tournament[10]
• 1969 Aeron Tournament[11]
• 1970 New South Wales Open, West End Tournament
• 1971 Tasmanian Open
• 1976 Ben Guzzardi Classic[12]

European circuit wins (1)

• 1968 Woodlawn International Invitational[13]

Other wins (3)

• 1960 Philippine Open[14]
• 1961 Singapore Open[15]
• 1975 Air New Zealand Fiji Open[16]

Results in major championships

Tournament	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968
Masters Tournament			CUT				CUT
U.S. Open							CUT
The Open Championship	CUT					T41		T18	12				CUT

Note: Phillips never played in the PGA Championship.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1968 Open Championship)
"T" = tied

Team appearances

• Canada Cup (representing Australia): 1958
• Slazenger Trophy (representing British Commonwealth and Empire): 1956
• Vicars Shield (representing New South Wales): 1954 (winners), 1956 (winners)

References

1. "PGA Life Member awarded an OAM". PGA Australia.
2. "Oral History Project". Australian Golf Heritage. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
3. "2017 Queen's Birthday honours list". The Roar. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
4. "Two-time Australian Open golf champion Frank Phillips dies". AP News. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
5. "Frank Phillips Wins N.Z. Golf". The Age. 13 October 1955. p. 12 – via Google News Archive.
6. Ryan, Les (23 September 1956). "Phillips streaks away in N.S.W. close golf". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 39 – via Google News Archive.
7. "Professional Golf Title To Phillips". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 9 September 1957. p. 7. Retrieved 29 January 2020 – via Trove.
8. "Phillips Wins Australian Open By One". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 18 November 1957. p. 12. Retrieved 29 January 2020 – via Trove.
9. Lawrence, Don (28 September 1964). "Phillips' open win sounds warning to star players". The Age. p. 20 – via Google News Archive.
10. Wilkins, Phil (12 February 1967). "Leisurely win for Phillips". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 57. Retrieved 31 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Delayed win to Phillips". The Age. 17 February 1969. p. 20. Retrieved 31 October 2023 – via Google News Archive.
12. "Wolstenholme just pipped". The Glasgow Herald. 27 January 1976. p. 25 – via Google News Archive.
13. "Golf win to Phillips". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. AAP-Reuter. 7 August 1968. p. 30. Retrieved 9 April 2020 – via Trove.
14. "Phillips Wins Manila Golf". The Age. 25 January 1960. p. 22 – via Google News Archive.
15. "Easy victory for Phillips". The Straits Times. 6 February 1961. p. 15 – via National Library Board Singapore.
16. "One-stroke victory for Phillips". The Canberra Times. 27 January 1976. p. 18.