Graham Marsh

Graham Vivian Marsh MBE (born 14 January 1944) was one of the leading Australian professional golfers of his generation. During his career he won over 70 tournaments around the world, including ten on the European Tour and twenty on the Japan Golf Tour, plus two senior major championships.

For the American music producer, see Graham Marsh (producer).

Graham Marsh
Personal information
Full nameGraham Vivian Marsh
Born (1944-01-14) 14 January 1944
Kalgoorlie, Australia
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight187 lb (85 kg; 13.4 st)
Nationality Australia
Career
CollegeUniversity of Western Australia
Claremont Teachers College
Turned professional1969
Current tour(s)Champions Tour
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Japan Golf Tour
Asia Golf Circuit
Professional wins69
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
European Tour10
Japan Golf Tour20 (Tied 9th all time)
PGA Tour of Australasia7
PGA Tour Champions6
Other21 (Regular)
4 (Senior)
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT9: 1976
PGA ChampionshipT7: 1978
U.S. OpenT16: 1979
The Open Championship4th: 1983
Achievements and awards
Asia Golf Circuit
champion		1972, 1973
Member of the Order
of the British Empire		1984

Early life

Marsh was born in Kalgoorlie, Australia. He attended the University of Western Australia and Claremont Teachers College before turning professional in 1969. Marsh is a former mathematics teacher.[1]

Professional career

Marsh's first professional tournament was in May 1968 at South Australian Open. He finished in solo third place. Peter Thomson, writing about the event for The Age, stated that "this talented player seems sure to finish higher before long."[2] In 1970 he played well at New Zealand's Caltex Tournament. Entering the par-5 18th hole he was tied for the lead with Maurice Bembridge and Terry Kendall. However, he could only make par. His competitors played the hole under par to defeat him. Marsh finished in solo third at 287, one behind.[3]

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Marsh was a regular winner on the European Tour, the Japan Golf Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia. He also won several events in Asia outside Japan, winning the Asia Golf Circuit overall title in 1972 and 1973,[4][5] and one on the U.S.-based PGA Tour, the 1977 Heritage Classic. Marsh had an outstanding win rate on the European Tour, where he accumulated eleven titles even though he never played more than seven events in Europe in a season. He also won the Colgate World Match Play Championship, which was not an official money European Tour event at the time, in England in 1977. He had 56 wins in all in his regular career, making him one of the most successful players of his era not to win a major championship. He was voted Australian Sportsman of the year in 1977 and awarded Golf Digest Rookie of the Year the same year,[6] 13 years before the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award was instituted by the PGA Tour.

As a senior, Marsh has played extensively in the United States on the Champions Tour winning six events including two senior majors: the 1997 U.S. Senior Open and the 1999 Tradition. He has also won the Japan Senior Open twice.

Marsh is also active in golf course design through Graham Marsh Golf Design which he established in 1986. The company's early projects were in Australia and Japan, but it later branched out to other parts of Asia, Europe and the United States. His work has included courses such as The Vines Resort (Perth), Palm Meadows Resort(Gold Coast) Old Silo (Kentucky), Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club (New South Wales) and Terrey Hills Golf & Country Club just to name a few.

In 1984, Marsh was made an MBE for services to golf. He is a past chairman of the PGA Tour of Australasia.

His younger brother Rod Marsh was a distinguished Australian cricketer and coach.

Professional wins (69)

PGA Tour wins (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 27 Mar 1977 Heritage Classic −11 (65-72-67-69=273) 1 stroke Tom Watson

European Tour wins (10)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 30 Jul 1972 Swiss Open −14 (67-67-66-70=270) 1 stroke Tony Jacklin
2 6 Aug 1972 German Open −13 (70-70-67-64=271) 4 strokes Brian Huggett
3 30 Jun 1973 Sunbeam Electric Scottish Open −2 (72-69-68-77=286) 6 strokes Peter Oosterhuis
4 25 Sep 1976 Benson & Hedges International Open −12 (67-66-71-68=272) 2 strokes Mark James
5 29 Jul 1979 Dutch Open −3 (71-70-74-70=285) 1 stroke Antonio Garrido, Malcolm Gregson
6 6 Oct 1979 Dunlop Masters −5 (70-68-72-73=283) 1 stroke Isao Aoki, Neil Coles
7 10 Aug 1980 Benson & Hedges International Open (2) −16 (65-64-73-70=272) 2 strokes John Bland
8 6 Sep 1981 Dixcel Tissues European Open −13 (67-72-68-68=275) 2 strokes Seve Ballesteros
9 13 Jul 1985 Lawrence Batley International Golf Classic −5 (69-71-70-73=283) 2 strokes Rick Hartmann
10 28 Jul 1985 KLM Dutch Open (2) −6 (68-68-73-73=282) 1 stroke Bernhard Langer

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1975 Scandinavian Enterprise Open George Burns Lost to par on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (20)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 12 Aug 1973 Fujisankei Classic −16 (68-66-70-68=272) 1 stroke Tōru Nakamura
2 12 May 1974 Fujisankei Classic (2) −12 (71-67-71-67=276) 1 stroke Tōru Nakamura
3 19 May 1974 Dunlop Tournament −12 (68-67-68-69=276) 3 strokes Masashi Ozaki, Teruo Sugihara
4 26 May 1974 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament −4 (71-74-72-67=284) Playoff Hsieh Yung-yo
5 3 Nov 1974 Bridgestone Tournament −10 (67-75-67-69=278) 1 stroke Seiichi Numazawa
6 15 Jun 1975 Sapporo Tokyu Open −8 (71-71-71-67=280) 1 stroke Hsieh Yung-yo, Shozo Miyamoto
7 29 Aug 1976 KBC Augusta −9 (69-69-69=207) Playoff Haruo Yasuda
8 12 Sep 1976 Suntory Open −15 (66-68-66-73=273) 3 strokes Isao Aoki
9 28 Nov 1976 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament −16 (66-69-65-72=272) 6 strokes Miller Barber
10 1 May 1977 Chunichi Crowns E (71-73-70-66=280) 4 strokes Kenji Mori
11 2 Sep 1979 ANA Sapporo Open −4 (71-73-68-72=284) 2 strokes Kikuo Arai
12 3 May 1981 Chunichi Crowns (2) −3 (73-72-65-67=277) 2 strokes D. A. Weibring
13 21 Jun 1981 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament (2) −18 (70-68-66-66=270) 1 stroke Yutaka Hagawa
14 30 May 1982 Mitsubishi Galant Tournament −13 (66-69-69-67=271) Playoff Teruo Sugihara
15 19 Jun 1983 Yomiuri Open −12 (72-71-67-70=280) Playoff Tōru Nakamura
16 6 Oct 1985 Tokai Classic −10 (70-71-68-69=278) 1 stroke Isao Aoki
17 14 Sep 1986 Suntory Open (2) −13 (67-69-67-72=275) Playoff Isao Aoki
18 15 Nov 1987 Visa Taiheiyo Club Masters −12 (70-69-71-66=276) 1 stroke Tom Watson
19 11 Jun 1989 Sapporo Tokyu Open (2) −6 (71-65-76-70=282) 3 strokes Katsuji Hasegawa, Tsuneyuki Nakajima
20 30 Sep 1990 Tokai Classic (2) −10 (70-72-64=206)* 2 strokes Saburo Fujiki, Tadami Ueno

*Note: The 1990 Tokai Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Japan Golf Tour playoff record (5–5)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1973 World Friendship Isao Aoki, Lu Liang-Huan Lu won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1974 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament Hsieh Yung-yo Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
3 1976 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament Brian Jones, Shozo Miyamoto,
Peter Thomson		 Thomson won with par on fourteenth extra hole
Jones eliminated by par on fourth hole
Miyamoto eliminated by par on first hole
4 1976 KBC Augusta Haruo Yasuda Won with birdie on first extra hole
5 1978 Japan Open Golf Championship Seve Ballesteros Lost to birdie on first extra hole
6 1982 Fujisankei Classic Tsuneyuki Nakajima Lost to par on first extra hole
7 1982 Mitsubishi Galant Tournament Teruo Sugihara Won with par on first extra hole
8 1983 Pocari-Sweat Hakuryuko Open Saburo Fujiki, Shinsaku Maeda,
Hiroshi Makino
9 1983 Yomiuri Open Tōru Nakamura Won with birdie on third extra hole
10 1986 Suntory Open Isao Aoki Won with par on first extra hole

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (7)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 9 Apr 1978 Western Australia PGA Championship −8 (71-70-69-70=280) 7 strokes Graham Johnson
2 24 Jan 1982 Ford Dealers South Australian Open −13 (71-67-67-70=275) 8 strokes Bill Dunk
3 21 Feb 1982 Australian Masters −3 (71-72-71-75=289) 1 stroke Stewart Ginn
4 17 Oct 1982 Dunhill Queensland Open −3 (73-69-70-73=285) Playoff Wayne Grady
5 7 Nov 1982 Mayne Nickless Australian PGA Championship −6 (71-69-70-72=282) 3 strokes John Clifford, Ben Crenshaw,
Bob Shearer
6 30 Oct 1983 Resch's Pilsner Tweed Classic −12 (69-70-70-67=276) 1 stroke Terry Gale
7 11 Dec 1983 New Zealand PGA Championship −11 (70-72-68-67=277) 2 strokes Vaughan Somers

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1976 Victorian Open Guy Wolstenholme Lost to birdie on third extra hole
2 1982 Dunhill Queensland Open Wayne Grady Won with par on first extra hole

Asia Golf Circuit wins (5)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 21 Mar 1971 Indian Open −17 (66-66-74-69=275) 1 stroke David Graham
2 25 Mar 1973 Indian Open (2) −12 (71-73-68-68=280) 3 strokes Stewart Ginn
3 1 Apr 1973 Thailand Open −2 (75-73-66-72=286) 2 strokes Ben Arda, Mitsutaka Kono
4 10 Mar 1974 Malaysian Open −10 (69-70-69-70=278) 1 stroke Wally Kuchar
5 9 Mar 1975 Malaysian Open (2) −12 (66-69-71-70=276) 2 strokes Hsieh Min-Nan

Other European wins (3)

Other Japan wins (5)

Other Australasian wins (7)

Other Asian wins (1)
  • 1976 Dunhill International Match-Play (Hong Kong)[8][9]

Champions Tour wins (6)
Legend
Champions Tour major championships (2)
Other Champions Tour (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 4 Jun 1995 Bruno's Memorial Classic −15 (68-63-70=201) 5 strokes J. C. Snead
2 5 May 1996 PaineWebber Invitational −10 (66-71-69=206) 1 stroke Brian Barnes, Tom Wargo
3 1 Sep 1996 Franklin Quest Championship −14 (70-65-67=202) 2 strokes Kermit Zarley
4 22 Jun 1997 Nationwide Championship −18 (67-68-70=205) 1 stroke Hale Irwin
5 29 Jun 1997 U.S. Senior Open −8 (72-67-67-74=280) 1 stroke John Bland
6 4 Apr 1999 The Tradition −8 (69-67=136)* 3 strokes Larry Nelson

*Note: The 1999 Tradition was shortened to 36 holes due to snow.

Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2004 MasterCard Classic Ed Fiori Lost to par on third extra hole

Other senior wins (4)

Results in major championships
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T31 T22 T9 T31 T28
U.S. Open T35 CUT T16
The Open Championship T25 57 T50 T31 T44 6 T17 T15 CUT T7
PGA Championship T58 T7 T16
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T33
U.S. Open
The Open Championship T45 T19 T25 4 T9 T20 T56 T11 T38
PGA Championship
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship T44
PGA Championship
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00001266
U.S. Open00000142
The Open Championship00014112019
PGA Championship00001233
Totals00016163330
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 16 (1978 PGA – 1991 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (2)
YearChampionshipWinning ScoreMarginRunner-up
1997U.S. Senior OpenE (72-67-67-74=280)1 stroke John Bland
1999The Tradition−8 (69-67=136)3 strokes Larry Nelson

Team appearances

See also

References
  1. "Marsh the 'Danger Man'". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. Thomson, Peter (27 May 1968). "'Quiet' End to SA Open". The Age. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Two tie in NZ". The Age. 23 November 1970. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  4. "Graham Marsh 1st". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 24 April 1972. p. 13. Retrieved 20 February 2020 – via Trove.
  5. "Marsh Best In Asian Golf Circuit". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 December 1973. p. 14. Retrieved 20 February 2020 – via Trove.
  6. "Awards, Rookies of the Year - Men Pros". Golf Digest. February 1978. p. 135.
  7. "Marsh victor for the 3rd time". Pacific Stars And Stripes. 10 May 1977.
  8. "Golf win for Marsh". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 June 1976. p. 20. Retrieved 19 February 2020 – via Trove.
  9. "Marsh wins". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 June 1976. p. 12.
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