English golfer
Peter Michael Paul Townsend (born 16 September 1946)[1] is an English professional golfer. After a very successful amateur career he turned professional in 1966. He had a number of wins in the early part of his professional career including the Piccadilly PGA Close Championship in 1968. He represented Great Britain twice in the Ryder Cup, in 1969 and 1971.
Amateur career
Townsend had a very successful amateur career. He won the Boys Amateur Championship in 1962 and 1964, the Carris Trophy in 1964 and the British Youths Open Amateur Championship in 1965. In 1966 he won both the Brabazon Trophy and the Lytham Trophy and made the cut in the Open Championship finishing as the second-best amateur to Ronnie Shade. He was selected for Great Britain & Ireland in the 1965 Walker Cup and the 1966 Eisenhower Trophy. He turned professional in December 1966 under the management of Mark McCormack.[2]
Professional career
Townsend won the 1967 Dutch Open in his first season as a professional.[3] In 1968 he won two British tournaments, the Coca-Cola Young Professionals' Championship and the Piccadilly PGA Close Championship.[4][5] He was also runner-up in the Open de France and the R.T.V. International Trophy.[6] These good performances gained him an entry to the Alcan Golfer of the Year Championship at Royal Birkdale where he finished second to Gay Brewer, winning over £6,000.[7] At the end of the year he travelled to Australia. He won The Western Australian Ten Thousand and finished runner-up at the Wills Masters (where he lost in a playoff to Gary Player) and the Dunlop International.[8][9][10]
After this promising start to his career, Townsend played a number of events on the PGA Tour in 1968, 1969, and 1970. He did not, however, enjoy the same degree of success although he did have four top-10 finishes in 1969, including a solo fourth place in the Western Open.
As well as playing in a number of PGA Tour events, Townsend was runner-up to Tony Jacklin in the 1970 W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament.[11] He had more success in 1971, winning the Walworth Aloyco Tournament in Italy and the Swiss Open and finishing 5th in the Order of Merit.[12][13]
Townsend played on the European Tour from its founding in 1972 to 1982. He never won on the tour although he came close to winning in the 1972 Lancia d'Oro. José María Cañizares led after each of the first three rounds with scores of 69, 70 and 75. However, after a final round 73 (E) he was tied with Townsend at 287 (−5). Cañizares won the playoff at the fifth extra hole with a birdie 3, after hitting a 4-iron to 2 feet from the pin.[14] Townsend was also a runner-up in the 1974 French Open and the 1979 European Open Championship. He finished in the top-10 of the Order of Merit twice: 4th in 1972 and 9th in 1974.
Townsend represented Great Britain twice in the Ryder Cup, in 1969 and 1971. He won his first three matches in 1969, playing twice with Tony Jacklin and once with Christy O'Connor Snr. However he lost in the next two sessions and was not selected for the final singles matches. In 1971 he played in all six sessions but lost each time, although four of the matches went to the final hole. He twice played for England in the World Cup, playing with Peter Butler in 1969 and Maurice Bembridge in 1974.
On turning professional, Townsend became the touring professional at Porters Park Golf Club, south of St Albans, where he had played as an amateur. In 1970 he became the touring professional at Portmarnock Golf Club where he stayed until 1990, having replaced Harry Bradshaw as the club professional. Townsend was elected Captain of the Professional Golfers' Association in 1994.
After turning 50, Townsend played on the European Senior Tour from 1996 to 2006, winning the Royal Westmoreland Barbados Open in March 2002.
Personal life
Townsend married Irish model Lorna Hogan, a niece of golfer Joe Carr, in 1969. They had three children—sons Stuart, an actor, Dylan, a writer, and daughter Chloe, a jewellery designer. His wife, Lorna, died of a brain haemorrhage in 1994. Townsend and his Swedish wife, Sofia, have two children, Hugo and Ella.[15] Hugo played for the International team at the 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup and represented Sweden at the 2022 European Amateur Team Championship, finishing second with his team at Royal St George's Golf Club, England,[16] the course where his father finished tied 19th at the Open Championship, 41 years earlier.
Professional wins (18)
Southern Africa Tour wins (1)
*Note: The 1976 ICL International was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
Safari Circuit wins (1)
| No.
|
Date
|
Tournament
|
Winning score
|
Margin of
victory
|
Runner-up
|
| 1
|
26 Mar 1978
|
Zambia Open
|
−14 (71-68-68-67=274)
|
4 strokes
|
 Brian Barnes
|
European circuit wins (5)
Caribbean Tour wins (2)
Other wins (8)
European Seniors Tour wins (1)
Playoff record
European Tour playoff record (0–1)
Results in major championships
Note: Townsend never played in the PGA Championship.
Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd-round cut in 1968 Open Championship)
"T" = tied
England
