John Player Classic

The John Player Classic was the richest golf tournament in Britain between 1970 and 1973. In 1972 and 1973 it was an event on the fledgling European Tour.

John Player Classic
Tournament information
LocationUnited Kingdom
Established1970
Course(s)Turnberry (1972–73)
Notts Golf Club (Hollinwell) (1970)
Tour(s)European Tour
FormatStroke play
Final year1973
Tournament record score
Aggregate285 Bob Charles (1972)
To par−2 Christy O'Connor Snr (1970)
Final champion
Charles Coody

The John Player Classic was first played in 1970 at Notts Golf Club (Hollinwell), when Ireland's Christy O'Connor Snr triumphed by one stroke over England's Tony Jacklin to collect the £25,000 first prize.[1] Having not been held in 1971, the tournament returned as part of the new European Tour in 1972. It also had a change of venue, being moved to Turnberry on the west coast of Scotland.

The tournament was played just once more, in 1973, when American Charles Coody took the title. The second round featured some of the worst conditions ever seen in a professional golf tournament, with a gale-force wind gusting up to 65 mph, and rain falling horizontally.[2]. Marquees and hoardings were destroyed, with several exhibitors tents being uprooted and flung onto the course.[2]

It was cancelled the following year because of a clash of dates with the PGA Tour's Kaiser International Open Invitational.[3][4]

Winners
YearWinnerCountryVenueScoreMargin
of victory		Runner(s)-upWinner's
share (£)		Ref
1973Charles Coody United StatesTurnberry289 (+5)3 strokes Tony Jacklin15,000[5]
1972Bob Charles New ZealandTurnberry285 (+1)1 stroke Gay Brewer
Peter Oosterhuis		15,000[6]
1971: No tournament
1970Christy O'Connor Snr IrelandNotts Golf Club286 (−2)1 stroke Tony Jacklin25,000[7]
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References
  1. "O'Connor Captures Player Golf Classic". Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press. 7 September 1970. p. 23.
  2. Ward, Andrew (1999). Golf's Strangest Rounds. London: Robson Books. p. 215. ISBN 1861051840.
  3. "Golf". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 6 March 1974. p. 6D.
  4. Jacobs, Raymond (6 March 1974). "Player Classic is dropped". Glasgow Herald. p. 4. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  5. "Another British tournament goes to a foreigner". The Glasgow Herald. 1 October 1973. p. 7.
  6. "Why victory matter more to Charles than £15,000". The Times. 2 October 1972. p. 11.
  7. "O'Connor holds off Jacklin and wins £25,000". The Glasgow Herald. 7 September 1970. p. 4.
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