Christy O'Connor Jnr

Christy O'Connor Jnr
— Golfer —

O'Connor in 2010
Personal information
Nickname Junior
Born (1948-08-19)19 August 1948
County Galway, Ireland
Died 6 January 2016(2016-01-06) (aged 67)
Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Weight 86 kg (190 lb; 13.5 st)[1]
Nationality  Ireland
Spouse Ann[1]
Career
Turned professional 1967
Former tour(s) European Tour
European Seniors Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins 17
Number of wins by tour
European Tour 4
PGA Tour Champions 2
European Senior Tour 2
Other 9
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament CUT: 1977
U.S. Open DNP
The Open Championship T3: 1985
PGA Championship DNP

Christy O'Connor Jnr (born Christopher O'Connor; 19 August 1948 – 6 January 2016) was an Irish professional golfer. He was known as "Junior" as a nephew of golfer Christy O'Connor Snr.[2][3]

Career

O'Connor was born in Knocknacarra, County Galway, near Salthill, in 1948, the son of Elizabeth (née Noone) and John O'Connor. The family farmed cattle and pigs near a golf club.[1]

He turned professional in 1967. The European Tour officially began in 1972, and O'Connor made the top hundred on the Order of Merit in each of its first twenty-one seasons, with a best ranking of seventh in 1975. He won four European Tour events. As a senior he has competed on both the European Seniors Tour and the U.S. based Champions Tour, and has won two Senior British Open titles (before it became one of the senior majors)[4] and two Champions Tour events.[5]

In 1992 O'Connor won the Dunhill British Masters at Woburn, his fourth and final European Tour victory, with scores of 71, 67, 66, 66. A weather-interrupted tournament meant that 36 holes had to be played on Sunday. At 44 years, O'Connor was the oldest player in the field.

O'Connor played in the Ryder Cup twice. In 1975 he was a member of a losing Great Britain & Ireland team and in 1989 he was part of a European team which tied the match to retain the trophy. His personal record was one win, three losses and no ties. His win over Fred Couples was best remembered for a stunning 2 iron shot on the last hole at The Belfry which he left just 4 feet from the hole.[6]

O'Connor was also active in golf course design, being involved in the design of at least 18 courses in Ireland, and many more abroad.[7]

Death

O'Connor died whilst on holiday with his wife Ann on 6 January 2016 in Tenerife, Canary Islands.[8][9][10]

Professional wins

European Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 14 Jun 1975 Martini International −5 (71-68-70-70=279) Tie Australia Ian Stanley
2 31 Aug 1975 Carroll's Irish Open −21 (66-70-69-70=275) 1 stroke Scotland Harry Bannerman
3 9 Apr 1989 Jersey Open −3 (73-70-66-72=281) Playoff England Denis Durnian
4 31 May 1992 Dunhill British Masters −18 (71-67-66-66=270) Playoff Zimbabwe Tony Johnstone

European Tour playoff record (2–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1972 Penfold-Bournemouth Tournament England Peter Oosterhuis Lost on first extra hole
2 1986 Bell's Scottish Open Australia Ian Baker-Finch, Northern Ireland David Feherty Feherty won with birdie on second extra hole
3 1989 Jersey Open England Denis Durnian Won with par on first extra hole
4 1992 Dunhill British Masters Zimbabwe Tony Johnstone Won with birdie on first extra hole

[4]

Other wins (9)

European Seniors Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 25 Jul 1999 Senior British Open −6 (76-69-68-69=282) 3 strokes South Africa John Bland
2 30 Jul 2000 Senior British Open −9 (69-68-70-68=275) 2 strokes South Africa John Bland

Senior PGA Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 4 Jul 1999 State Farm Senior Classic −18 (65-66-67=198) 1 stroke United States Bruce Fleisher
2 15 Aug 1999 Foremost Insurance Championship −11 (69-68-68=205) 4 strokes United States George Archer, United States John Jacobs,
United States Jim Thorpe

Results in major championships

O'Connor in 1985
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT DNP DNP DNP T24 T47 T5 T52 CUT T36
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Open Championship CUT DNP CUT T8 CUT T3 T11 CUT CUT T49
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
The Open Championship T25 T32 DNP T39 T60 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T60

Note:O'Connor did not play in the U.S. Open or PGA Championship.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances

Source:[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Christy O'Connor Jnr biography". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Christy O'Connor Jnr dies suddenly aged 67". Irish Times. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Christy O'Connor dies, aged 67". Sporting Life. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Christy O'Connor Jnr – Professional wins". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Christy O'Connor career summary". Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Pye, Steven (6 January 2016). "How Christy O'Connor Jr became Europe's hero at the 1989 Ryder Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Christy O'Connor Junior passes away". RTÉ. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  8. ↑ Kelly, Liam (6 January 2016). "'The saddest day in Irish golf' - legend Christy O'Connor Jnr passes away at just 67". Irish Independent. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  9. ↑ McConnell, Daniel (6 January 2016). "Tributes pour in for 'golfing great' Christy O'Connor Jnr". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  10. ↑ "Ireland's Ryder Cup hero Christy O'Connor Jr dies aged 67". The Guardian. Press Association. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
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