Bob Charles

Lore & Background

Born in Carterton, a small town in the Wairarapa district in New Zealand's North Island, Charles lived in Masterton, where he worked as a bank teller, before moving to Christchurch in mid-1956. He came to prominence when he won the New Zealand Open at Wellington Golf Club in November 1954, as an 18-year-old amateur. He turned professional in late 1960 and won his first PGA Tour event in April 1963, the Houston Classic, the first PGA Tour event won by a left-handed golfer. He won The Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in 1963, defeating Phil Rodgers in a 36-hole playoff by eight shots.

In Their Own Story

Royal Birkdale, 1964. The North Sea wind is coming off the rough in salt-sting sheets, and the gallery on the 18th has thinned to a few hundred shivering fans huddled under oilskin. Bob Charles lines up his approach from the fringe, his hair whipping across his face, and he tucks it behind his ear with the back of his gloved hand — the same padded, multi-fingered glove he's been wearing all week, the one that still looks a little strange in a field of bare-handed and one-fingered players. He swings. The ball tracks low and straight, landing just short of the green and bouncing up to within a foot of the flagstick. The New Zealanders in the crowd, maybe thirty of them, let out a roar that the wind almost steals back. Charles doesn't celebrate. He just adjusts his glove, taps the putter on the grass, and walks to the hole with that unhurried, almost bored stride that made people love him and drive the old guard slightly mad. He will sink the putt. He will win the Open. And somewhere in a locker room that night, a young American pro will pick up the glove from Charles's bag, try it on, and never go back to the old one-fingered wrap again.

Reader's Guide

Charles played mostly on the PGA Tour from 1963 until the mid-1970s, winning five times on the tour. He finished in the top-60 on the money list each year from 1963 to 1971, except 1966, and again in 1974. Later he played more on the European Tour before joining the Senior PGA Tour when he reached 50. He was very successful on the Senior PGA Tour with 23 titles between 1987 and 1996, and winning over $9 million between 1986 and 2008. In addition to his PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour wins, Charles won nine times in Europe, including the 1969 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, and 25 times in domestic New Zealand tournaments.

Did You Know?

• Charles won the 1963 Open Championship as the first left-handed player to win a major championship.
• He made the cut in the New Zealand Open in 2007 at the age of 71.
• Charles won the Senior British Open twice, in 1989 and 1993.
• He is one of only three New Zealanders to win a men's major golf championship, along with Michael Campbell and Ryan Fox.