Peter Thomson

Peter Thomson was born on 23 August 1929 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was the son of Alexander Thomson, a printer and journalist, and Beatrice Thomson, a schoolteacher. He developed a passion for golf at an early age and joined the Royal Melbourne Golf Club as a junior member. He won his first tournament at the age of 15 and turned professional at 19. Thomson became one of the greatest golfers of his era and one of the most successful players in the history of the British Open. He won the Open five times, in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958 and 1965. He is the only player in the 20th century to win three consecutive Opens and one of only two players to win five Opens in one decade. He also finished second in four other Opens and third in two Masters tournaments. He won 84 professional tournaments worldwide, including six Australian Opens, nine New Zealand Opens, four Canadian Opens and three Hong Kong Opens. He was a member of nine World Cup teams and captained the International team in the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994. Thomson was also a renowned course architect, writer and administrator. He designed or co-designed more than 100 courses in Australia, Asia, Europe and Africa. He wrote several books on golf instruction and history, as well as columns for newspapers and magazines. He served as the president of the Australian PGA for 32 years and was instrumental in developing professional golf in Asia. He was also a founding chairman of the Asian Tour and a board member of the International Golf Federation. Thomson was honoured with many awards and accolades for his contributions to golf. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1979 and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2001. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. He received the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 and was named an Immortal by Golf Australia in 2014. Thomson died on 20 June 2018 at the age of 88 after a four-year battle with Parkinson's disease. He is survived by his wife Mary, whom he married in 1951, and their four children Deirdre, Pan, Andrew and Fiona. He is widely regarded as one of Australia's greatest sportsmen and one of the finest golfers of all time.