- Max Faulkner
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For other people named Faulkner, see Faulkner (surname).
Max Faulkner Personal information Full name Herbert Gustavus Max Faulkner Born 27 July 1916
Bexhill-on-Sea, EnglandDied 26 February 2005 (aged 88) Nationality 
EnglandCareer Status Professional Professional wins 18 Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 1)Masters Tournament DNP U.S. Open DNP The Open Championship Won: 1951 PGA Championship DNP Achievements and awards Officer of the Order
of the British Empire2001 Herbert Gustavus Max Faulkner, OBE (29 July 1916 – 26 February 2005) was an English professional golfer who won The Open Championship in 1951 and was renowned for his colourful dress sense.[1]
Faulkner was born in Bexhill-on-Sea, the son of a club professional who had once been assistant to James Braid. During World War II he served in the RAF as a Physical Training (PT) instructor.[2] He hardly played any golf during this time, but took up boxing instead, becoming services champion.[3]
Faulkner's tournament career began in 1946, shortly after the war. He won 16 regular tournaments in Europe, including three Spanish Opens, with his last being the 1968 Portuguese Open at the age of 52. He also won the PGA Seniors Championship on two occasions. His greatest achievement was his victory in the 1951 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. With a round still to be played he had a 6 stroke lead and is reported to have signed autographs with the postscript "1951 Open Champion".[4] Helped by what he called a "mystery guiding light",[5] he went on to finish with a score of 3 under par, two ahead of Antonio Cerdá, and said later "It was all I ever wanted. The Open meant everything to me."[1][6]
Faulkner played in the Ryder Cup Matches on five occasions, including the historic 1957 contest at Lindrick when the Great Britain team defeated a powerful United States contingent.[1]
Faulkner was believed to have over 300 putters, always searching for the perfect one. He very rarely used a conventional set of clubs, sometimes having several of the same club with a variety of shaft lengths and flexes. He was known for his shotmaking ability, being able to make the ball curve in the air even on short lofted shots.[5]
In 2001, on the 50th anniversary of the Open triumph, Faulkner was honoured with an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to golf.[4] He died in 2005 at the age of 88.
Contents
Tournament wins
this list is incomplete
Regular career
- 1946 Dunlop-Southport Tournament
- 1949 Penfold Tournament (with John Burton), Dunlop Tournament, Lotus Tournament
- 1951 The Open Championship, British Masters
- 1952 Spanish Open, Dunlop Tournament
- 1953 Spanish Open, News of the World Match Play
- 1957 Spanish Open
- 1959 Irish Hospitals Tournament
- 1968 Portuguese Open
Senior
Major championships
Wins (1)
Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin Runner-up 1951 The Open Championship 6 shot lead −3 (71–70–70–74=285) 2 strokes 
Antonio CerdáResults timeline
Of the four majors, Faulkner only played The Open Championship.
1947 1948 1949 T32 T15 T6 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 T5 1 T17 12 T20 T35 DNP T9 T16 CUT 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 DNP DNP CUT T20 T38 T10 CUT CUT CUT T30 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10References
- ^ a b c Farrell, Andy (2 March 2005). "Max Faulkner; Flamboyant golfer who won the Open in 1951". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/max-faulkner-526868.html. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ^ "Max Faulkner". Daily Telegraph. 2 March 2005. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1484699/Max-Faulkner.html. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ^ Rees, Michael (February 2009). "Legends of the game ... Max Faulkner". Tee Times: p. 50. http://www.maxfaulkner.com/Assets/MikeReesArticle.pdf. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ^ a b "Faulkner's reward for Open triumph". BBC Sport. 31 December 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/in_depth/2001/new_year_honours/1734788.stm. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ^ a b Alliss, Peter (1983). The Who's Who of Golf. Orbis Publishing. p. 240. ISBN 0-85613-520-8.
- ^ "Max Faulkner, former Open winner, dies aged 88". Golf Today. 2005. http://www.golftoday.co.uk/news/yeartodate/news05/faulkner.html. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
External links
The Open Championship champions 1860 Willie Park, Sr. · 1861 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1862 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1863 Willie Park, Sr. · 1864 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1865 Andrew Strath · 1866 Willie Park, Sr. · 1867 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1868 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1869 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1870 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1871 No championship · 1872 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1873 Tom Kidd · 1874 Mungo Park · 1875 Willie Park, Sr. · 1876 Bob Martin · 1877 Jamie Anderson · 1878 Jamie Anderson · 1879 Jamie Anderson · 1880 Bob Ferguson · 1881 Bob Ferguson · 1882 Bob Ferguson · 1883 Willie Fernie† · 1884 Jack Simpson · 1885 Bob Martin · 1886 David Brown · 1887 Willie Park, Jr. · 1888 Jack Burns · 1889 Willie Park, Jr.† · 1890 John Ball# · 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy · 1892 Harold Hilton# · 1893 William Auchterlonie · 1894 John Henry Taylor · 1895 John Henry Taylor · 1896 Harry Vardon · 1897 Harold Hilton# · 1898 Harry Vardon · 1899 Harry Vardon · 1900 John Henry Taylor · 1901 James Braid · 1902 Sandy Herd · 1903 Harry Vardon · 1904 Jack White · 1905 James Braid · 1906 James Braid · 1907 Arnaud Massy · 1908 James Braid · 1909 John Henry Taylor · 1910 James Braid · 1911 Harry Vardon† · 1912‡ Edward Ray · 1913 John Henry Taylor · 1914 Harry Vardon · 1915-19 No Championships due to World War I · 1920 George Duncan · 1921 Jock Hutchison† · 1922 Walter Hagen · 1923 Arthur Havers · 1924 Walter Hagen · 1925 Jim Barnes · 1926 Bobby Jones# · 1927‡ Bobby Jones# · 1928 Walter Hagen · 1929 Walter Hagen · 1930 Bobby Jones#· 1931 Tommy Armour · 1932‡ Gene Sarazen · 1933 Denny Shute† · 1934‡ Henry Cotton · 1935 Alf Perry · 1936 Alf Padgham · 1937 Henry Cotton · 1938 Reg Whitcombe · 1939 Dick Burton · 1940-45 No Championships due to World War II · 1946 Sam Snead · 1947 Fred Daly · 1948 Henry Cotton · 1949 Bobby Locke† · 1950 Bobby Locke · 1951 Max Faulkner · 1952 Bobby Locke · 1953 Ben Hogan · 1954 Peter Thomson · 1955 Peter Thomson · 1956 Peter Thomson · 1957 Bobby Locke · 1958 Peter Thomson† · 1959 Gary Player · 1960 Kel Nagle · 1961 Arnold Palmer · 1962 Arnold Palmer · 1963 Bob Charles† · 1964 Tony Lema · 1965 Peter Thomson · 1966 Jack Nicklaus · 1967 Roberto De Vicenzo · 1968 Gary Player · 1969 Tony Jacklin · 1970 Jack Nicklaus† · 1971 Lee Trevino · 1972 Lee Trevino · 1973‡ Tom Weiskopf · 1974 Gary Player · 1975 Tom Watson† · 1976 Johnny Miller · 1977 Tom Watson · 1978 Jack Nicklaus · 1979 Seve Ballesteros · 1980 Tom Watson · 1981 Bill Rogers · 1982 Tom Watson · 1983 Tom Watson · 1984 Seve Ballesteros · 1985 Sandy Lyle · 1986 Greg Norman · 1987 Nick Faldo · 1988 Seve Ballesteros · 1989 Mark Calcavecchia† · 1990 Nick Faldo · 1991 Ian Baker-Finch · 1992 Nick Faldo · 1993 Greg Norman · 1994 Nick Price · 1995 John Daly† · 1996 Tom Lehman · 1997 Justin Leonard · 1998 Mark O'Meara† · 1999 Paul Lawrie† · 2000 Tiger Woods · 2001 David Duval · 2002 Ernie Els† · 2003 Ben Curtis · 2004 Todd Hamilton† · 2005‡ Tiger Woods · 2006 Tiger Woods · 2007 Pádraig Harrington† · 2008 Pádraig Harrington · 2009 Stewart Cink† · 2010 Louis Oosthuizen · 2011 Darren Clarke
† indicates the event was won in a playoff ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire in 72-holes # indicates the event was won by an amateur Categories:- English golfers
- Winners of men's major golf championships
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Royal Air Force Physical Training instructors
- People from Bexhill-on-Sea
- 1916 births
- 2005 deaths
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