Greater Manchester Open

The Greater Manchester Open was a professional golf tournament which was played annually from 1975 to 1981. It was a European Tour event from 1976. It was held at Wilmslow Golf Club in Wilmslow, Cheshire, just to the south of Manchester. Three of the six winners were from the Republic of Ireland, and a fourth, Mark McNulty, became an Irish citizen many years later. In 1981 the prize fund was £40,000, which was the third smallest on the European Tour that season.

Greater Manchester Open
Tournament information
LocationWilmslow, Cheshire, England
Established1975
Course(s)Wilmslow Golf Club
Par70
Tour(s)European Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fund£40,000
Month playedJune
Final year1981
Tournament record score
Aggregate264 Bernard Gallacher (1981)
To par−16 as above
Final champion
Scotland Bernard Gallacher
Location map
Wilmslow GC is located in England
Wilmslow GC
Wilmslow GC
Location in England
Wilmslow GC is located in Cheshire
Wilmslow GC
Wilmslow GC
Location in Cheshire

Winners

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Year Winner Score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Winner's
share (£)
Ref.
Cold Shield Greater Manchester Open
1982 Cancelled due to lack of funding [1]
1981   Bernard Gallacher 264 −16 5 strokes   Nick Faldo 7,000 [2]
1980   Des Smyth 273 −7 Playoff[a]   Brian Waites 5,830 [3]
Greater Manchester Open
1979   Mark McNulty 267 −13 5 strokes   Manuel Piñero 5,000 [4]
1978   Brian Barnes 275 −5 Playoff[b]   Bob Charles
  Denis Durnian
  Nick Job
4,000 [5]
1977   Eamonn Darcy 269 −11 8 strokes   Brian Barnes
  Ken Brown
  John Morgan
4,000 [6]
1976   John O'Leary 276 −4 4 strokes   John Fourie 2,200 [7]
1975   Howard Clark 284   1,000 [8]

Notes

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  1. ^ Smyth won with birdie on sixth extra hole.
  2. ^ Barnes won with birdie on first extra hole.

References

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  1. ^ Hennessy, John (22 April 1982). "Tournament cancelled". The Times. London, England. p. 22. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  2. ^ "Gallacher bounces in with a record victory". The Glasgow Herald. 15 June 1981. p. 16.
  3. ^ "Smyth wins play-off duel". The Glasgow Herald. 23 June 1980. p. 17.
  4. ^ "McNulty's triumph with record aggregate". The Glasgow Herald. 25 June 1979. p. 16.
  5. ^ "Barnes wins play-off with 20-foot putt". The Glasgow Herald. 19 June 1978. p. 17.
  6. ^ "Darcy by 8 shots". The Glasgow Herald. 20 June 1977. p. 17.
  7. ^ "O'Leary by 4 shots". The Glasgow Herald. 21 June 1976. p. 22.
  8. ^ "Howard Clark, the former Walker Cup player..." The Glasgow Herald. 30 June 1975. p. 22.
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