Neil Chapman Coles, MBE (born 26 September 1934) is an English professional golfer. Coles had a successful career in European golf, winning 29 important tournaments between 1956 and 1982. After reaching 50, he won a further 14 important Seniors tournaments between 1985 and 2002, winning his final European Seniors Tour event at the age of 67. He also played in eight Ryder Cup matches between 1961 and 1977.

Neil Coles
MBE
Personal information
Full nameNeil Chapman Coles
Born (1934-09-26) 26 September 1934 (age 89)
London, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight182 lb (83 kg; 13.0 st)
Sporting nationality England
ResidenceWalton-on-Thames, England
SpouseAnn
ChildrenKeith, Gary
Career
Turned professional1950
Former tour(s)European Tour
European Seniors Tour
Professional wins55
Number of wins by tour
European Tour7
PGA Tour Champions1
European Senior Tour9 (Tied 5th all time)
Other33 (regular)
5 (senior)
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentWD: 1966
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT2: 1973
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2000 (member page)
Harry Vardon Trophy1963, 1970

While he never became one of the leading stars of global golf, and did not win a major championship, Coles was remarkable for his consistency, and even more for his durability. He was five times a top-ten finisher in the Open Championship, finishing third in 1961 and second in 1973. In 1982 at the age of 48 he won the Sanyo Open in Spain and held the distinction of being the oldest winner of a European Tour event for nearly 20 years. Even at the peak of his career, he made few appearances in the United States because of his fear of flying.[1]

In his eight Ryder Cup appearances, Coles had 5 wins, 6 defeats and 4 halves in his 15 singles matches; the 7 points he won in these is tied for the most singles points in Ryder Cup history. All his appearances were in a winless period for the Great Britain and Ireland team.

Early life edit

Coles was born in London, England, and grew up in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. He started out as a junior golfer at Letchworth Golf Club, before becoming an assistant professional there at the age of 16.[2][3]

Playing career edit

Coles, then an assistant at Moor Park, was in contention for the 1955 Gor-Ray Cup, the Assistants' Championship, at Hartsbourne. However a poor finish left him in third place, two strokes behind Dave Thomas and Jimmy Hitchcock.[4] In 1956, having moved to Burhill, he won the event, finishing four strokes ahead of Peter Butler.[5] In 1956 he qualified for the Open Championship for the first time, at Hoylake, with rounds of 79 and 70.[6] However rounds of 78 and 82 meant he missed the cut.[7] As a previous winner Coles was unable to play in the 1957 assistants' championship but he was runner-up in the Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament, a stroke behind George Low.[8] In 1957 Coles became more prominent in major British events. In September he reached the quarter-finals of the News of the World Match Play and was sixth in the Dunlop Masters, despite a poor final round.[9][10] Coles played in a few PGA Tour events in early 1959, including the Bing Crosby Pro-Am where he finished tied for 28th place.[11] In the 1959 Open Championship at Muirfield Coles qualified in a tie for third place.[12] In the Open itself he finished in a tie for 21st place.[13]

In 1960 Coles moved to Coombe Hill and soon won the Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament, finishing a stroke ahead of Lionel Platts.[14] In June 1961 Coles had his best finish in an important event, finishing runner-up to Bernard Hunt in the Daks Tournament.[15] Coles finished joint-3rd in the 1961 Open Championship in July.[13] These tournaments were among those that counted towards qualification for the 1961 Ryder Cup, the leading 9 in the Order of Merit after the Carling-Caledonian Tournament in early August gaining a place. Coles was 5th in the table and so qualified for his first Ryder Cup, at Royal Lytham in mid-October.[16] The week before the Ryder Cup was played, Coles won his first major event, the Ballantine Tournament at Wentworth, winning by five strokes from Ken Bousfield. Coles started the final round 7 strokes behind Bousfield but had a final round of 65 to Bousfield's 77. The first prize of £1,500 was more than Arnold Palmer received for winning that year's Open Championship.[17] That year's Ryder Cup was the first played with 18-hole matches; the United States winning by five points. Coles lost both his foursomes matches but halved his morning singles match and beat Dow Finsterwald in the afternoon singles.[18] Coles made his second trip to America to play in some PGA Tour events in California in early 1962. He had his best result in his final event, the 90-hole Palm Springs Golf Classic where he finished tied for 7th place, winning $1,350.[19]

After Coles's win in the 1961 Ballantine Tournament he won a further 10 British and Irish events between 1962 and 1966. Two of these were shared wins, both in 1963. In British tournaments at this time only "championships" required a champion; other events were often left with joint winners who shared the prize money. Coles won the Senior Service Tournament in 1962, which had first prize of £2,000.[20] He won two events in 1963, the Martini International and the Daks Tournament, both joint wins.[21][22] Coles won the 1963 Harry Vardon Trophy ahead of Bernard Hunt, despite Hunt having a lower stroke average and Hunt winning almost twice as prize money. Coles had 674 points to Hunt's 645.[23] He also led the Ryder Cup points list for the 1963 event in the United States.[24] The British and Ireland were heavily beaten, Coles getting a win and two halves from his six matches.[18]

Coles won three important events in 1964, the Daks Tournament, the Bowmaker Tournament and the News of the World Match Play.[25][26][27] He won nearly twice as much prize money as any other player but only finished fourth in the Order of Merit.[28] He reached the final of the 1964 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, losing 2&1 to Arnold Palmer and collecting the runners-up prize of £3,000.[29] Coles won two events in 1965, the Carroll's International and the News of the World Match Play,[30][31] He finished second in the points list for the 1965 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale.[32] He played in all six sessions, winning three matches and losing three.[18] He finished the season third in the Order of Merit.[33] Coles played on the American winter circuit in early 1966, finishing with the Masters. He made the cut and was tied for 32nd place after three round, but withdrew from the final round after feeling ill.[34][13] Coles won two more events in 1966, the Pringle of Scotland Tournament and the Dunlop Masters.[35][36] He only finished fourth in the Order of Merit but set a new prize money record, £8,329, beating his own best of £7,890 from 1964.[37]

After winning 11 important British events between 1961 and 1966, Coles failed to win one from 1967 to 1969. He had some consistent results, including solo runner-up finishes behind Tony Jacklin in the 1967 Dunlop Masters and behind Peter Townsend in the 1968 Piccadilly PGA Close Championship.[38][39] He qualified for the 1967 Ryder Cup team, finishing third in the points list, and was placed fifth in the list for the 1969 team, to get an automatic place.[40][41] In the 1967 match in Houston, he lost his three opening pairs matches but beat Doug Sanders twice in the final-day single matches.[18] The 1969 match at Royal Birkdale was tied. Coles beat Tommy Aaron in the morning singles but lost to Dan Sikes in the afternoon.[18]

Coles made a remarkable start to the 1970 season. In March he won the Wentworth Foursomes with Peter Davidson.[42] He then won the Italian BP Open and the Walworth Aloyco Tournament in Italy, before travelling to Spain where he was runner-up in both the Madrid Open and the Spanish Open.[43][44][45][46] Returning to England he was runner-up in the Penfold Tournament in early May, and then in successive weeks he won the Southern Professional Championship, won the Sumrie Better-Ball with Bernard Hunt, was third in the Agfa-Gevaert Tournament and won the Daks Tournament at the end of the month.[47][48][49][50][51] After recovering from a leg-muscle injury, he won the Bowmaker Tournament at the end of June, and was then tied for 6th in the 1970 Open Championship.[52][13] Coles won the Harry Vardon Trophy for the second time, having previously won it in 1963.[53] Coles' continued his good form into 1971, winning four tournaments: the Penfold-Bournemouth Tournament, the Daks Tournament, the Carroll's International and the German Open.[54][55][56][57] He led the points list for the 1971 Ryder Cup in St. Louis.[58] He halved his single match with Frank Beard but lost to Jack Nicklaus in the second singles session.[18] He finished second in the 1971 Order of Merit, behind Peter Oosterhuis.[59]

Coles was ranked 7th in the world on the inaugural Mark McCormack's world golf rankings in December 1968, a position he regained at the end of 1970.[60][61]

European Tour edit

Coles was 37 when the European Tour started in 1972. He won seven times on the tour, six times between 1972 and 1978 and then in 1982 at the Sanyo Open in Barcelona.[62] At 48 years and 14 days he became the oldest winner on the tour and remained so until Des Smyth won in 2001 at the age of 48 years and 34 days.[63] Coles also held the record for the number of consecutive cuts made in European Tour events, 56, until that record was passed by Bernhard Langer in the 1990s. He made the cut in every event between the 1973 Viyella PGA Championship and the 1979 Open Championship, when he withdrew with an elbow injury.[64] Coles was in the top-10 of the Order of Merit every year from 1972 to 1979, except 1977 when he was 11th. His highest finish in the Order of Merit was 5th place in 1974.[65]

Coles had his best finish in the Open Championship in 1973, finishing joint runner-up three strokes behind Tom Weiskopf, after a final round of 66.[66][67] He also had a top-10 finish in 1975 when he was tied for 7th place, despite a final round 74.[13]

Coles qualified in second place for the 1973 Ryder Cup team, his seventh successive Ryder Cup appearance, in which he had never been outside the top 5 in the qualification points list.[68] The match at Muirfield was tied after two day but the United States dominated the two singles sessions. Coles halved his match against Gay Brewer but lost 6&5 to Lee Trevino in the afternoon session.[18] Coles withdrew from consideration for the 1975 Ryder Cup in Pennsylvania, because of his fear of flying and because it was impractical to travel by sea.[69] Coles finished in 15th place in the points list for the 1977 Ryder Cup at Royal Lytham, having missed some events with back trouble. The top 8 in the list were automatic selections and were joined by four further players selected by a committee of three consisting of Coles himself, the team captain Brian Huggett and Brian Barnes.[70] The committee chose Coles as one their four selections.[71] The selection seemed justified when Coles won the Tournament Players Championship the week before the Ryder Cup.[72] The match itself was a disappointment with the United States winning by five points with Coles losing all his three matches.[18]

1977 was Coles' last appearance in the Ryder Cup. In 8 contests he played 40 matches, winning 12, losing 21 and halving 7. However his singles record was better with 5 wins, 6 defeats and 4 halved matches. There were two sets of singles matches from 1961 to 1975 and Coles played in 7 of those matches. His total of 15 singles matches is the most for any Ryder Cup player and the 7 points he won in these matches is still tied for the most singles points won.[18]

Coles continued to play in European Tour events until his mid-50s, having his last top-10 finish, a tie for 6th place, at the 1987 Panasonic European Open at the age of 52.[73][74]

Seniors golf edit

The European Senior Tour started in 1992, when Coles was 57 years old. Before then there were very few professional seniors events in the UK. The PGA Seniors Championship had been played since 1957 and The Senior Open Championship was started in 1987. Coles dominated the PGA Seniors Championship between 1985, when he first played in it, to 1991. He won the events in 1985, two strokes ahead of the 60-year-old Christy O'Connor Snr.[75] He won again in 1986 and for a third time in 1987, when the event was reduced to 54 holes by bad weather.[76][77] He was tied for third place in 1988 behind Peter Thomson before winning for a fourth time in 1989.[78][79] In 1990 and 1991 he was the runner-up, behind Brian Waites on both occasions.[80][81] Coles won the inaugural Senior Open Championship in 1987 at Turnberry, a stroke ahead of Bob Charles.[82] The following year, again at Turnberry. he was just a stroke behind the leader Gary Player after three rounds, but a last round 79 dropped him into a tie for 6th place; Player scoring 69 to win the title.[83] He had further top-10 finishes in the 1989 and 1991.[84][85] From 1987 to 1991 it was only in the 1990 Seniors' British Open that he failed to get into the top 10.[86]

Coles played on the European Seniors Tour from its start in 1992, making his final appearances in 2007.[87] Although he never won the PGA Seniors Championship or the Senior Open Championship during this period, he did win 9 of the regular 54-hole events between 1992 and 2002.[87] His last win was in the 2002 Lawrence Batley Seniors at the age of 67 years and 276 days, beating his own record for the oldest winner of a European Seniors Tour event, set in 2000.[88] Amongst his high finishes was joint runner-up behind John Fourie in the 1992 Senior British Open.[89] He had a total of 68 top-10 finishes between 1992 and 2004, the last being in the Bovis Lend Lease European Senior Masters three weeks before his 70th birthday.[87] Coles finished in the top ten on the European Seniors Tour's Order of Merit every year from 1992 to 2000, except 1997, his best position being 3rd in 1992.[90] He was 11th in the Order of Merit in 2002.[65]

Other golfing activities edit

Coles was, since its inception in the 1980s, until November 2013, the chairman of the PGA European Tour's board of directors, when he was replaced by David Williams.[91] He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000. He was also a golf course architect designing courses such as Chartham Park.[92]

Personal life edit

Coles married Ann Keep, after growing up together in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. They had two sons, Keith and Gary. Ann died in 2015.[93] Gary was also a professional golfer and followed his father by winning the PGA Assistants' Championship in 1985, 29 years after his father.[92][94] He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1982 New Year Honours,[95]

Professional wins (55) edit

European Tour wins (7) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 1 Jul 1972 Sunbeam Electric Scottish Open −5 (72-72-70-69=283) Playoff   Brian Huggett
2 14 Apr 1973 Spanish Open −6 (67-71-72-72=282) 3 strokes   Tienie Britz,   Craig Defoy
3 26 May 1973 Benson & Hedges Match Play Championship 2 up   Doug McClelland
4 21 Sep 1974 W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament −5 (68-69-73-73=283) 1 stroke   Jack Newton
5 31 May 1976 Penfold PGA Championship E (70-69-71-70=280) Playoff   Eamonn Darcy,   Gary Player
6 10 Sep 1977 Tournament Players Championship −4 (76-70-73-69=288) 1 stroke   Peter Dawson
7 10 Oct 1982 Sanyo Open −14 (71-67-64-64=266) 1 stroke   Gary Cullen

Source:[62]

European Tour playoff record (2–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1972 Sunbeam Electric Scottish Open   Brian Huggett Won with birdie on second extra hole
2 1976 Penfold PGA Championship   Eamonn Darcy,   Gary Player Won with par on third extra hole
Player eliminated by par on first hole
3 1978 Benson & Hedges International Open   Noel Ratcliffe,   Lee Trevino Trevino won with par on fourth extra hole
Ratcliffe eliminated by par on first hole

Sources:[96][97][98]

Great Britain and Ireland wins (18) edit

Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Ref.
25 May 1956 Gor-Ray Cup 70-71-68-68=277 4 strokes   Peter Butler [5]
26 May 1960 Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament 66-70-71-73=280 1 stroke   Lionel Platts [99]
7 Oct 1961 Ballantine Tournament 71-72-69-65=277 5 strokes   Ken Bousfield [17]
22 Sep 1962 Senior Service Tournament 70-69-65-73=277 1 stroke   Denis Hutchinson,   Kel Nagle,
  Peter Thomson
[20]
4 May 1963 Martini International 74-74-71-79=298 Shared title with   Christy O'Connor Snr [21]
15 Jun 1963 Daks Tournament 75-68-69-68=280 Shared title with   Peter Alliss [22]
6 Jun 1964 Daks Tournament 67-74-73-68=282 1 stroke   Peter Thomson [25]
30 Jun 1964 Bowmaker Tournament 68-68=136 1 stroke   Peter Alliss [26]
5 Sep 1964 News of the World Match Play 3 & 2   Peter Butler [27]
18 Jul 1965 Carroll's International 68-67-69-65=269 6 strokes   Tommy Horton,   Harry Weetman [30]
5 Sep 1965 News of the World Match Play 19 holes   Lionel Platts [31]
25 Jun 1966 Pringle of Scotland Tournament 69-67-69-68=273 3 strokes   Peter Alliss [35]
17 Sep 1966 Dunlop Masters 70-69-70-69=278 1 stroke   Christy O'Connor Snr,   Peter Thomson [36]
30 May 1970 Daks Tournament 67-70-71-73=281 3 strokes   Peter Wilcock [51]
30 Jun 1970 Bowmaker Tournament 66-66=132 3 strokes   Jimmy Hitchcock [52]
8 May 1971 Penfold-Bournemouth Tournament 71-74-69-70=284 4 strokes   Stuart Brown,   Gordon Cunningham,
  Doug Sewell,   Ronnie Shade
[54]
5 Jun 1971 Daks Tournament 70-71-70-73=284 Shared title with   Brian Huggett [55]
20 Jun 1971 Carroll's International 69-67-72-68=276 3 strokes   Peter Oosterhuis [56]

Continental Europe wins (4) edit

Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Ref.
24 Aug 1963 Engadine Open 276 2 strokes   Stewart Davies,   Abdel Halim Kahoul [100]
29 Mar 1970 Italian BP Open 69-73-72-68=282 3 strokes   Valentín Barrios [43]
6 Apr 1970 Walworth Aloyco Tournament 282 3 strokes   Christy O'Connor Snr,   Brian Huggett [44]
25 Jul 1971 German Open 69-71-71-68=279 4 strokes   Peter Thomson [57]

Other wins (11) edit

Senior PGA Tour wins (1) edit

Legend
Senior major championships (1)
Other Senior PGA Tour (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 26 Jul 1987 Seniors' British Open −1 (66-73-67-73=279) 1 stroke   Bob Charles

Source:[108]

European Seniors Tour wins (9) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 4 Oct 1992 Collingtree Homes Seniors Classic +2 (72-72-74=218) 3 strokes   John Fourie,   Hugh Jackson
2 23 May 1993 Gary Player Seniors Classic E (76-66-71=213) 2 strokes   George Will
3 26 Aug 1995 Collingtree Seniors (2) −5 (71-72-68=211) 4 strokes   Brian Barnes
4 22 Jun 1997 Ryder Collingtree Seniors Classic (3) −8 (68-71-69=208) 7 strokes   Antonio Garrido,   Brian Waites
5 31 May 1998 Philips PFA Golf Classic −13 (67-69-67=203) Playoff   David Jones
6 1 Aug 1999 Energis Senior Masters −11 (68-69-68=205) 1 stroke   David Huish
7 22 Aug 1999 Dalmahoy Scottish Seniors Open −10 (69-68-69=206) 1 stroke   Jerry Bruner,   Jay Dolan
8 4 Jun 2000 Microlease Jersey Seniors Open −9 (66-71-70=207) 3 strokes   Jerry Bruner
9 29 Jun 2002 Lawrence Batley Seniors −4 (72-67-70=209) Playoff   David Creamer,   Steve Stull

Sources:[109][110][111]

European Seniors Tour playoff record (2–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1998 Philips PFA Golf Classic   David Jones Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1998 Schroder Senior Masters   Brian Huggett,   Eddie Polland Huggett won with birdie on first extra hole
3 2000 Lawrence Batley Seniors   John Fourie,   David Huish Huish won with par on first extra hole
4 2002 Lawrence Batley Seniors   David Creamer,   Steve Stull Won with birdie on fifth extra hole
Stull eliminated by par on fourth hole

Source:[112][113][114][115]

Senior circuit wins (5) edit

Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
28 Jul 1985 Trusthouse Forte PGA Seniors Championship −4 (72-67-70-75=284) 2 strokes   Christy O'Connor Snr
3 Aug 1986 Trusthouse Forte PGA Seniors Championship −4 (71-70-67-68=276) 1 stroke   Peter Butler
21 Jun 1987 Trusthouse Forte PGA Seniors Championship −13 (65-70-71=206) 4 strokes   Peter Thomson
26 Jul 1987 Seniors' British Open −1 (66-73-67-73=279) 1 stroke   Bob Charles
18 Jun 1989 Trusthouse Forte PGA Seniors Championship +1 (71-66-72-68=277) 4 strokes   Peter Butler

Sources:[109][108]

Other senior wins (1) edit

  • 1991 Léman International Senior Trophy[110]

Results in major championships edit

Tournament 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament
The Open Championship CUT CUT T21
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament WD
The Open Championship CUT T3 T20 CUT T12 CUT T36 T6 T11
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament
The Open Championship T6 T22 CUT T2 T13 T7 T28 T41 T48 WD
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985
Masters Tournament
The Open Championship T29 T39 T42 CUT CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1972, 1983 and 1984 Open Championships)
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Note: Coles never played in the U.S. Open or the PGA Championship.

Summary edit

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The Open Championship 0 1 1 2 5 11 28 18
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 0 1 1 2 5 11 29 19
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (1973 Open Championship – 1978 Open Championship)

Source:[13]

Senior major championships edit

Wins (1) edit

Year Championship Winning Score Margin Runner-up
1987 Seniors' British Open −1 (66-73-67-73=279) 1 stroke   Bob Charles

Source:[108]

Team appearances edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Old King Coles is a merry old soul". The Scotsman. 27 May 2007. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Golf History". Letchworth Golf Club. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019.
  3. ^ Huggan, John (25 September 2019). "The greatest golfer Americans have never heard of". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Assistants' tie". The Glasgow Herald. 18 June 1955. p. 7.
  5. ^ a b "Coles wins assistants' title by four strokes". The Glasgow Herald. 26 May 1956. p. 9.
  6. ^ "Qualifiers and aggregates". The Glasgow Herald. 4 July 1956. p. 4.
  7. ^ "Qualifiers for last day". The Glasgow Herald. 6 July 1956. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Low wins tournament by one stroke". The Glasgow Herald. 24 May 1957. p. 4.
  9. ^ "Halliburton-O'Connor's final for match-play title". The Glasgow Herald. 14 September 1957. p. 7.
  10. ^ "E. C. Brown's success in Masters tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 23 September 1957. p. 11.
  11. ^ "AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am History - 1959" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
  12. ^ Horne, Cyril (1 July 1959). "Holder leads 90 qualifiers for Open title". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. p. 9.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3360-5.
  14. ^ "Assistants' win for Coles". The Glasgow Herald. 27 May 1960. p. 13.
  15. ^ "Hunt's brilliant finish". The Glasgow Herald. 12 June 1961. p. 5.
  16. ^ "Ryder Cup places earned at Longniddry". The Times. 5 August 1961. p. 3.
  17. ^ a b "Magnificent final round by Coles". The Glasgow Herald. 9 October 1961. p. 9.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  19. ^ "Palmer wins at Palm Springs". The Glasgow Herald. 5 February 1962. p. 4.
  20. ^ a b "Coles fine win at Dalmahoy". The Glasgow Herald. 24 September 1962. p. 4.
  21. ^ a b "O'Connor and Coles joint winners". The Glasgow Herald. 6 May 1963. p. 5.
  22. ^ a b "Daks tournament ends in tie". The Glasgow Herald. 17 June 1963. p. 11.
  23. ^ "Vardon Trophy for Coles". The Glasgow Herald. 5 October 1963. p. 8.
  24. ^ "Brothers in". The Glasgow Herald. 23 September 1963. p. 10.
  25. ^ a b "Coles wins Daks by stroke". The Glasgow Herald. 8 June 1964. p. 4.
  26. ^ a b "Coles wins £650 in Bowmaker event – Alliss one stroke more". The Glasgow Herald. 1 July 1964. p. 11.
  27. ^ a b Crawley, Leonard (7 September 1964). "Mechanical Coles proves worthy champion". The Daily Telegraph. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Wilson, Mark (2 November 1964). "Coles banked £2 7s 2d for every shot". Evening Standard. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Palmer's Supreme Golf Under Pressure". The Times, Monday, 12 October 1964; pg. 3; Issue 56140.
  30. ^ a b "Last round of 65 brings Coles victory". The Times. 19 July 1965. p. 3.
  31. ^ a b "Coles keeps match-play title – Victory in final at nineteenth". The Glasgow Herald. 6 September 1965. p. 4.
  32. ^ "British team for Ryder Cup match". The Glasgow Herald. 26 July 1965. p. 4.
  33. ^ Wilson, Mark (30 October 1965). "Hunt becomes our top golfer again". Evening Standard. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ McKinlay, S. L. (11 April 1966). "Three to play-off for Masters golf title". The Glasgow Herald. p. 12.
  35. ^ a b "Coles victory in Pringle". The Glasgow Herald. 27 June 1966. p. 5.
  36. ^ a b Jacobs, Raymond (19 September 1966). "N. C. Coles triumphs in Dunlop Masters". The Glasgow Herald.
  37. ^ Wilson, Mark (4 November 1966). "King Coles pockets £8329 (It's a record)". Evening Standard. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (18 September 1967). "Jacklin arrives at milestone in burgeoning career". The Glasgow Herald.
  39. ^ "Townsend's first major triumph as professional". The Glasgow Herald. 23 September 1968. p. 7.
  40. ^ "Will wins Ryder Cup place". The Glasgow Herald. 17 July 1967. p. 4.
  41. ^ Ward-Thomas, Pat (14 July 1969). "Jacklin on Open road to golf". The Guardian. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  42. ^ a b "Davidson and Coles fight back". The Glasgow Herald. 14 March 1970. p. 4.
  43. ^ a b "Coles top in Rome". The Daily Telegraph. 30 March 1970. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ^ a b "Jacklin finishes eleventh". Evening Times. 6 April 1970. p. 24.
  45. ^ "Coles overtaken". The Glasgow Herald. 20 April 1970. p. 4.
  46. ^ Steel, Donald (27 April 1970). "Three-putts finish Coles' chances". The Daily Telegraph. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  47. ^ "Hunt triumphs in Penfold". The Glasgow Herald. 4 May 1970. p. 5.
  48. ^ a b Cousins, Geoffrey (9 May 1970). "Coles triumphs over Grubb at second play-off hole". The Daily Telegraph. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  49. ^ a b "Hunt and Coles invincible". The Glasgow Herald. 18 May 1970. p. 4.
  50. ^ "Third successive win for Hunt". The Glasgow Herald. 25 May 1970. p. 5.
  51. ^ a b "Coles holds off challenge". The Glasgow Herald. 1 June 1970. p. 5.
  52. ^ a b "Coles earnings for season now close to £10,000". The Glasgow Herald. 1 July 1970. p. 6.
  53. ^ "Vardon Trophy for Coles". The Glasgow Herald. 6 October 1970. p. 6.
  54. ^ a b Jacobs, Raymond (10 May 1971). "Coles takes Penfold first prize with 69 and 70 on last day". The Glasgow Herald. p. 4.
  55. ^ a b "Huggett and Coles in tie". The Glasgow Herald. 7 June 1971. p. 10.
  56. ^ a b "Coles gains second win of season". The Glasgow Herald. 21 June 1971. p. 4.
  57. ^ a b "Gallacher third after 75". The Glasgow Herald. 26 July 1971. p. 5.
  58. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (23 August 1971). "Bannerman in Ryder Cup team by being fourth in points table". The Glasgow Herald. p. 5.
  59. ^ "Player tops British earnings list". The Glasgow Herald. 6 November 1971. p. 4.
  60. ^ The World of Professional Golf 1968, Mark H. McCormack
  61. ^ The World of Professional Golf 1970, Mark H. McCormack
  62. ^ a b "Neil Coles". European Tour. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  63. ^ "The oldest winners in Tour history". European Tour. 30 July 2020.
  64. ^ "Most Consecutive Cuts Made". European Tour. 23 October 2012. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
  65. ^ a b "Neil Coles". European Tour. Archived from the original on 26 December 2015.
  66. ^ "Weiskopf win may be start of new phase". The Glasgow Herald. 16 July 1973. p. 4.
  67. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (14 July 1975). "Watson puts on his Sunday best". Glasgow Herald. p. 16.
  68. ^ "Selectors stick to Ryder Cup table". The Glasgow Herald. 21 August 1973. p. 4.
  69. ^ "Coles drop out of Ryder Cup". The Guardian. 6 August 1975. p. 18.
  70. ^ "People in Sport". The Evening Standard. 15 August 1977. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  71. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (16 August 1977). "Ken in Ryder Cup". The Glasgow Herald. p. 28.
  72. ^ "Coles proves he is worth place". The Glasgow Herald. 12 September 1977. p. 25.
  73. ^ "Neil Coles". European Tour. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  74. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (14 September 1987). "Paul's pressure putt is the turning point as he win European Open title". The Glasgow Herald. p. 9.
  75. ^ "O'Connor fails to catch 'young fox'". The Glasgow Herald. 29 July 1985. p. 15.
  76. ^ "Jittery Coles wins as Butler charge just fails". The Glasgow Herald. 4 August 1986. p. 10.
  77. ^ "Coles wins title for third time". The Times. 22 June 1987. p. 38.
  78. ^ "Thomson makes in a double". The Glasgow Herald. 27 June 1988. p. 9.
  79. ^ "Scots find Coles too hot to handle". The Glasgow Herald. 19 June 1989. p. 22.
  80. ^ "Newcomer deprives old hand". The Times. 18 June 1990. p. 45.
  81. ^ "In brief - Golf". The Times. 17 June 1991. p. 35.
  82. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (27 July 1987). "Charles finally closed out by chairman Coles' casting vote". The Glasgow Herald. p. 9.
  83. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (25 July 1988). "Vintage Player lands a second slam". The Glasgow Herald. p. 7.
  84. ^ "Charles streaks away to take Seniors title as Casper's bid falters". The Glasgow Herald. 31 July 1989. p. 17.
  85. ^ Rodney, Bob (15 July 1991). "Verwey's big pay day". The Daily Telegraph. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  86. ^ Donald, Peter (30 July 1990). "Player's triumph recalls '59 Open". The Daily Telegraph. p. 41 – via Newspapers.com.
  87. ^ a b c "Neil Coles". European Tour. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  88. ^ "Oldest winners on the European Senior Tour". European Tour. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015.
  89. ^ Rodney, Bob (27 July 1992). "Fourie recovers in time". The Daily Telegraph. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  90. ^ "John Jacobs Trophy Winners". European Tour. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015.
  91. ^ Carter, Iain (2 December 2013). "European Tour appoints first non-professional chairman". BBC Sport.
  92. ^ a b "About us - Neil Coles MBE". Neil Coles and Associates. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  93. ^ "Ann Coles: obituary". European Tour. 30 June 2015.
  94. ^ "Gary a chip off old Coles block". The Glasgow Herald. 17 August 1985. p. 19.
  95. ^ "No. 48837". The London Gazette. 30 December 1981. p. 13.
  96. ^ Ward-Thomas, Pat (3 July 1972). "Coles makes a worthy champion". The Guardian. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  97. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (1 June 1976). "Popular win for quiet man Coles". The Glasgow Herald. p. 28.
  98. ^ "Trevino ends play-off jinx". The Glasgow Herald. 14 August 1978. p. 14.
  99. ^ "Assistants' win for Coles". The Glasgow Herald. 27 May 1960. p. 13.
  100. ^ "Swiss Victory for Coles". The Glasgow Herald. 26 August 1963.
  101. ^ "Whitehead's foursomes double". The Glasgow Herald. 31 March 1962. p. 5.
  102. ^ "Win for Warren and Coles". The Glasgow Herald. 16 March 1963. p. 9.
  103. ^ Cousins, Geoffrey (25 March 1967). "Putting errors almost rob Coles & Warren". The Daily Telegraph. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  104. ^ a b Ryde, Peter (18 October 1971). "Top prize to Coles for third time". The Times. p. 9. Retrieved 21 April 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  105. ^ "Coles wins by 8 strokes". The Glasgow Herald. 19 October 1970. p. 5. Retrieved 21 April 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  106. ^ "Hunt and Coles play down their five-shot victory". The Glasgow Herald. 21 May 1973. p. 5.
  107. ^ Williams, Michael (29 March 1980). "McClelland helps Coles to triple". The Daily Telegraph. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
  108. ^ a b c Jacobs, Raymond (27 July 1987). "Charles finally closed out by chairman Coles' casting vote". The Glasgow Herald. p. 9. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  109. ^ a b "Senior Past Champions Current Events". PGA European Tour. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015.
  110. ^ a b "Senior Past Champions Former Events". PGA European Tour. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015.
  111. ^ "Most Official Staysure Tour Victories". European Tour. 12 December 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018.
  112. ^ "Individual Play-off Records since 1992". European Tour. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  113. ^ "Neil Coles". The Daily Telegraph. 1 June 1998. p. 44 – via Newspapers.com.
  114. ^ "Huggett ends wait with play-off win". The Daily Telegraph. 3 August 1998. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com.
  115. ^ Callander, Colin (1 July 2002). "New Coles record". The Daily Telegraph. p. 43 – via Newspapers.com.
  116. ^ "2014 Ryder Cup Media and Players' Guide". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  117. ^ Ward-Thomas, P.A. (29 October 1963). "Exciting play by United States". The Glasgow Herald. p. 6.
  118. ^ "More on golf: All the scores". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. Associated Press. 18 November 1968. p. 18 – via newspapers.com.
  119. ^ "England's clean sweep in R.T.V. Internationals". The Glasgow Herald. 28 August 1967. p. 4.
  120. ^ "Scotland lose all but one singles against English". The Glasgow Herald. 25 October 1971. p. 5.
  121. ^ "Scotland's £5000 team triumph". The Glasgow Herald. 3 September 1973. p. 5.
  122. ^ "Scots just miss second place". The Glasgow Herald. 29 September 1975. p. 17.
  123. ^ "Coles - Double Diamond triumph". The Glasgow Herald. 23 August 1976. p. 15.
  124. ^ "Wales left to carry home flag". The Glasgow Herald. 20 August 1977. p. 16.
  125. ^ Williams, Michael (29 October 1973). "Gallacher inspires Scots' 2-1 win over France in final". The Daily Telegraph. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  126. ^ "France's surprise win". The Glasgow Herald. 2 June 1975. p. 17.
  127. ^ "Gallacher undefeated in British victory". The Glasgow Herald. 4 November 1974. p. 4.
  128. ^ "Horton and Jacklin clinch cup". The Glasgow Herald. 20 September 1976. p. 15.
  129. ^ "Short game is golf answer". The Glasgow Herald. 25 September 1978. p. 12.
  130. ^ "Hennessy cheer for Britain". The Glasgow Herald. 15 September 1980. p. 20.
  131. ^ "European Cup". The Daily Telegraph. 16 November 1998. p. 46 – via Newspapers.com.
  132. ^ "1999 Praia D'el Rey Rover European Cup The Teams". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 27 October 2022.

External links edit