Bobby Locke

"For the baseball player, see: Bobby Locke (baseball)"Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke (20 November 1917 – 9 March 1987) was one of the first internationally successful South African golfers.

Locke was born in Germiston, South Africa. He played in his first British Open in 1936, when he was eighteen, and finished as low amateur. He turned professional two years later and was a prolific tournament winner in his native country, eventually accumulating 38 wins on the Southern Africa Tour (now the Sunshine Tour). His golf career was interrupted by service in the South African Air Force during World War II.

Locke resumed his career in America in 1946, and played a series of exhibitions against Sam Snead, one of the top American golfers of the day, winning 12 out of 14 matches. So impressed was Snead that he invited Bobby to come to the United States and give the PGA Tour a try, advice that Locke quickly followed. In two-and-a-half years on the PGA Tour, Locke played in 59 events; he won eleven, and finished in the top three in thirty -- just over half. In 1947, Locke dominated the American tour, winning six tournaments (including four in a five-week period) and finishing second to Jimmy Demaret on the money list. Even more remarkably, Locke did all this after arriving in the United States for the first time in April.

In 1948, he won the Chicago Victory National by 16 strokes, which, as of 2006, remains a PGA Tour record for margin of victory. The following year, Locke was banned from the tour, ostensibly because of a dispute over playing commitments. However it is most likely he was banned because of growing resentment towards him from the other PGA players. The ban was lifted in 1951, but Locke chose not to return to play in the United States. Despite (or perhaps because of) his success, many American players disliked Locke, though not for anything Locke did. They simply resented a foreign player arriving on tour and "raiding" the prize money, as the highly skilled Locke often did.

Locke built his success around his outstanding putting ability, coining the phrase "You drive for show, but putt for dough." Wearing his trademark knickers, white shoes, and stockings, Locke played the game at a slow and deliberate pace, perhaps another reason that American pros were annoyed with him. Locke placed great emphasis on accuracy in hitting fairways and greens, and employed an extreme right-to-left ball flight (one that bordered on a hook) for nearly every shot. On the greens, Locke was a bona fide genius, using a strange putting style (he would bring the putter back far to the inside, then "cut" it with a hooded approach) and a great eye for reading breaks to put on veritable putting clinics every time he played. Locke believed he could put spin on putts (similar to full-swing shots) and make them "hook" and "slice", and used his unorthodox technique to great success.

After leaving the PGA Tour, Locke continued his career in Europe and Africa, where he felt more comfortable. He won twenty-three times in Europe, most notably a quartet of successes in the British Open titles, which came in 1949, 1950, 1952 and 1957. During this time Locke also played many other parts of the world. In 1955 he won the Australian Open held at Gailes Golf Club in Queensland, he later rated this as one of the best courses he had ever played. In 1959, Locke was involved in a serious car accident, and subsequently he suffered from migraines and eye problems that put an end to his competitive career.

Locke was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1977. He was the first member who did not come from either the United States or the United Kingdom. He died in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1987.

PGA Tour wins (15)

*1947 (6) Canadian Open, Houston Open, Philadelphia Inquirer Open, All American Open, Columbus Open, Goodall Round Robin
*1948 (2) Phoenix Open, Chicago Victory Open
*1949 (3) Cavalier Invitational, Goodall Round Robin, The Open Championship
*1950 (2) All American Open, The Open Championship
*1952 (1) The Open Championship
*1957 (1) The Open Championship

Major championships are shown in bold.

Other wins

*1931 South Africa Boys
*1935 South African Open, South Africa Amateur, Natal Open, Natal Amateur, Transvaal Amateur
*1936 Natal Open, Natal Amateur, Lucifer Empire Trophy
*1937 South African Open, South Africa Amateur, Transvaal Amateur, Orange Free State Amateur
*1938 South African Open, Irish Open, New Zealand Open, South Africa Professional, Transvaal Open
*1939 South African Open, Dutch Open, South Africa Professional, Transvaal Open
*1940 South African Open, Transvaal Open, South Africa Professional
*1946 South African Open, South Africa Professional, Transvaal Open, Yorkshire Evening News, British Masters, Brand Lochryn Tournament
*1947 Carolinas Open, Carolinas PGA Championship
*1948 Carolinas Open
*1949 Transvaal Open
*1950 South African Open, South Africa Professional, Transvaal Open, Dunlop Tournament, Spalding Tournament, North British Tournament
*1951 South African Open, Transvaal Open, South Africa Professional
*1952 French Open, Mexican Open, Lotus Tournament, Carolinas Open
*1953 French Open, Natal Open
*1954 Egyptian Open, German Open, Swiss Open, Dunlop Tournament, British Masters, Egyptian Match Play, Transvaal Open, Swallow-Harrogate Tournament
*1955 Australian Open, Transvaal Open, South African Open, South Africa Professional
*1957 Daks Tournament, Bowmaker Amateur-Professional
*1958 Transvaal Open
*1959 New Hampshire Open

Major championships

Wins (4)

NT = No tournament
LA = Low Amateur
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

ee also

*Golfers with most major championship wins
*Golfers with most PGA Tour wins