Howard Clark (golfer)

Howard Keith Clark (born 26 August 1954) is an English professional golfer who played on the European Tour for many years and had his most successful period in the mid-1980s.

Howard Clark
Clark in 1976
Personal information
Full nameHoward Keith Clark
Born (1954-08-26) 26 August 1954
Leeds, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Nationality England
ResidenceKnaresborough, England
Career
Turned professional1973
Former tour(s)European Tour
Professional wins14
Number of wins by tour
European Tour11
Other3
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT35: 1987
PGA ChampionshipT80: 1996
U.S. OpenCUT: 1992
The Open ChampionshipT8: 1981

Early life and amateur career

Clark was born in Leeds, England. He learned the game from his father, who was a scratch amateur. He won the 1971 Boys Amateur Championship and played for Great Britain & Ireland in the 1973 Walker Cup.

Professional career

Clark turned professional in 1973 and joined the European Tour in 1974. His first professional tournament win came in the 1975 Greater Manchester Open.[1] In 1976 he won the T.P.D. Under-25 Championship and his first win on the European Tour was two years later at the 1978 Portuguese Open. Clark's final tally of European Tour wins was eleven, including pairs of wins in four consecutive seasons from 1984 to 1987. He also won the individual title at the World Cup of Golf in 1985. His best placing on the Order of Merit was third, which he achieved in both 1984 and 1986. His form fell away in the early 1990s but revived for a time in the middle of that decade, and he made the top twenty on the Order of Merit in 1994 and 1995. His last season on the tour was 1999 and he subsequently worked as an on-course commentator for BBC Sport before moving to Sky Sports.

Clark played in the Ryder Cup six times and was on three winning European teams and also the 1989 team which tied the match and retained the Cup.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (14)

European Tour wins (11)
Legend
Whyte & Mackay PGA Championships (1)
Other European Tour (10)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 15 Apr 1978 Portuguese Open −1 (71-75-71-74=291) 1 stroke Brian Barnes, Simon Hobday
2 29 Apr 1978 Madrid Open −6 (70-70-72-70=282) 2 strokes José María Cañizares
3 29 Apr 1984 Cepsa Madrid Open (2) −14 (66-68-69-71=274) 3 strokes José María Cañizares
4 28 May 1984 Whyte & Mackay PGA Championship −12 (64-69-71=204)* 2 strokes Gordon J. Brand, Bernhard Langer
5 16 Jun 1985 Jersey Open −1 (71-69-71-68=279) 1 stroke Warren Humphreys, Philip Parkin,
Ian Woosnam
6 11 Aug 1985 Glasgow Open −6 (71-65-70-68=274) Playoff Sandy Lyle
7 27 Apr 1986 Cepsa Madrid Open (3) −14 (70-68-67-69=274) 1 stroke Seve Ballesteros
8 18 May 1986 Peugeot Spanish Open −16 (68-71-66-67=272) 1 stroke Ian Baker-Finch
9 22 Mar 1987 Moroccan Open −8 (73-73-66-72=284) 3 strokes Mark James
10 9 Aug 1987 PLM Open −17 (68-73-67-63=271) 2 strokes Ossie Moore
11 2 Oct 1988 English Open −9 (72-71-67-69=279) 3 strokes Peter Baker

*Note: The 1984 Whyte & Mackay PGA Championship was shortened to 54 holes due to bad weather.

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1985 Glasgow Open Sandy Lyle Won with birdie on second extra hole
2 1995 Murphy's Irish Open Stuart Cage, Sam Torrance Torrance won with eagle on second extra hole
Cage eliminated by par on first hole

Other wins (3)

Results in major championships
Tournament 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT CUT T13 T44 CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T35
U.S. Open
The Open Championship T32 T8 CUT T26 T52 T47 CUT T62 T28 T13
PGA Championship CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship CUT T80 CUT T21 CUT CUT 70 CUT
PGA Championship T80
  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 Tournament00000011
U.S. Open00000010
The Open Championship0000142313
PGA Championship00000021
Totals0000142715
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (1987 Masters – 1989 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References
  1. "Howard Clark, the former Walker Cup player..." The Glasgow Herald. 21 June 1976. p. 22.
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