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John O'Leary (golfer)

John Eudes O'Leary (19 August 1949 – 26 March 2020) was an Irish professional golfer who played on the European Tour through the 1970s and 1980s. In 1976 he won his first European Tour event, the Greater Manchester Open, and in 1982 he became only the third Irishman to win the Irish Open. He played in a number of team competitions, representing Great Britain and Ireland in the 1975 Ryder Cup, and playing for Ireland three times in the World Cup.

John O'Leary
Personal information
Full nameJohn Eudes O'Leary
Born(1949-08-19)19 August 1949
Dublin, Ireland
Died26 March 2020(2020-03-26) (aged 70)
Esher, England
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Sporting nationality Ireland
Career
Turned professional1970
Former tour(s)European Tour
Southern Africa Tour
Professional wins5
Number of wins by tour
European Tour2
Sunshine Tour1
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT13: 1979

After retiring as a tournament golfer he was an active administrator, being a director of the European Tour from 1985 to 2019 and being on the Ryder Cup committee.

Amateur career

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O'Leary was born in Dublin and joined Foxrock Golf Club, situated in the southern part of the city, as a junior member in the 1960s. In 1969, he was runner-up to Vincent Nevin in the Irish Amateur Close Championship and represented Ireland in the European Amateur Team Championship. In 1970, he won the South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship and was runner-up in the West of Ireland Amateur Open.[1]

Professional career

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O'Leary turned professional in late 1970. In 1971, his first season as a professional, he made the cut in the Open Championship, having been just one off the lead after the first round, and was a runner-up in Lord Derby’s Under-23 Professional Tournament.[2]

Although Leary played full-time on the European Tour, he played in South Africa in the winter. His first professional successes were on its tour. In December 1972 he took a three-shot lead entering the final round of the South African Masters after shooting a third-round 64 (−6).[3] However he would slip up in the final round and Gary Player would surpass him. Later in the season, at the Western Province Open, he once again held the lead entering the final round but shot a disappointing 75 (+2) to lose to South Africa's Hugh Baiocchi by one.[4] Two seasons later, in February 1975, O'Leary finished in third place at the South African Open behind Gary Player.[5] The next week he finally won, winning the Holiday Inns Royal Swazi Sun Open, an official event on the South African Tour which was played in Swaziland. He shot 271 (−17) to defeat South Africans Dale Hayes and John Fourie by four shots.[6]

Later in 1975, back in Europe, he picked up a runner-up finish at the Open de France, tying for second with fellow Irishman Eamonn Darcy and in May, playing with Jack Newton, he won the Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball.[7]

Also in February 1975, while he was in South Africa, O'Leary received a £500 fine and a one-year ban from representing any PGA team, a ban that would have ruled him out of the 1975 Ryder Cup. The ban followed complaints about his conduct in an event in Jamaica in late 1974.[8] O'Leary appealed and the one-year ban was lifted, although the £500 fine stood.[9] Eight members of the Great Britain and Ireland team for the 1975 Ryder Cup were chosen from the money leaders in 1975 European Tour events after the Benson & Hedges Festival on 16 August, with the remaining four members of the 12-man team selected by a committee. His performance in the Open de France, as well as three other top-10 performances, were enough for O'Leary to finish 6th among the automatic qualifiers and gain a place on the team.[10][11] O'Leary played four matches in the Ryder Cup, losing all four.[12]

The next season produced O'Leary's first European Tour win, the Greater Manchester Open. Like his first official win, it was a four-shot victory over South Africa's John Fourie. He finished a career-best 16th on that year's European Tour Order of Merit.[13]

Afterwards, O'Leary played solidly but did not move into the upper echelon of European players. He finished in the top 60 on the Order of Merit every season through 1987 but never the top 15.[13] The highlight during this part of his career was undoubtedly at the 1982 Carroll's Irish Open.[12] In difficult conditions at Portmarnock, he defeated English veteran Maurice Bembridge by one shot. This avenged a one-shot defeat to Ken Brown in 1978. He was only the third Irishman to win his national open and he was the last one to win for 25 years, Pádraig Harrington being victorious in 2007.[14]

During the 1988 and 1989 seasons, O'Leary did not come close to making the top 100 of the Order of Merit.[13] He retired as a touring professional after the 1989 season.[15]

From 1985 O'Leary served as one of the directors of the European Tour, leaving the position in 2019.[16] He had also been on the Ryder Cup committee and had been head professional at Buckinghamshire Golf Club.[17]

Death

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Following a short illness, O'Leary died in Esher, Surrey, United Kingdom on 26 March 2020, aged 70.[18]

Amateur wins

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  • 1970 South of Ireland Amateur Open[1]

Professional wins (5)

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European Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 20 Jun 1976 Greater Manchester Open −4 (64-68-70-74=276) 4 strokes South Africa  John Fourie
2 15 Aug 1982 Carroll's Irish Open −1 (74-68-72-73=287) 1 stroke England  Maurice Bembridge

Sources:[19][20]

Southern Africa Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 9 Feb 1975 Holiday Inns Invitational −17 (70-69-65-67=271) 4 strokes South Africa  John Fourie, South Africa  Dale Hayes

Other wins (2)

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Results in major championships

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Tournament 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987
The Open Championship T40 T56 T44 CUT CUT T26 T13 CUT T58 WD T59 T54
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1975, 1976 and 1980 Open Championships)
WD = Withdrew
"T" = tied
Note: O'Leary only played in The Open Championship. Source:[21]

Team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

References

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  1. ^ a b c "John O'Leary". Foxrock Golf Club. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Lytham". The Times. 23 July 1971. p. 6.
  3. ^ "O'Leary Deposes Player". The Glasgow Herald. 2 December 1972. p. 2. Retrieved 6 December 2019 – via Google News Archive Search.
  4. ^ "Baiocchi slips by O'Leary". The Glasgow Herald. 15 January 1973. p. 5.
  5. ^ "It's the Player Habit". The Age. 3 February 1975. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  6. ^ "O'Leary's win". The Glasgow Herald. 10 February 1975. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b "O'Leary and Newton storm home as Scots fade". The Glasgow Herald. 19 May 1975. p. 23.
  8. ^ "£500 fine on O'Leary". The Glasgow Herald. 18 February 1975. p. 23.
  9. ^ "PGA lift ban on O'Leary". The Glasgow Herald. 13 May 1975. p. 25.
  10. ^ "Horton chosen for Ryder Cup but is centre of controversy again". The Times. 19 August 1975. p. 6.
  11. ^ "British Ryder Cup team completed". Glasgow Herald. 19 August 1975. p. 21.
  12. ^ a b "John O'Leary: Former Irish Open winner and Ryder Cup player dies". BBC Sport. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  13. ^ a b c "John O'Leary". European Tour. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Former Irish Open champion John O'Leary passes away". Irish Examiner. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  15. ^ "John O'Leary: 1949 – 2020". European Tour. 26 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Former Irish Open champion John O'Leary passes away aged 70". The Independent. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  17. ^ Smith, Colm (8 July 2001). "Clarke king of the K Club". The Independent.
  18. ^ "O'Leary, John Eudes : Death notice". The Irish Times. 26 March 2020.
  19. ^ "Results - Greater Manchester Open 1976". European Tour. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  20. ^ "Results - Carroll's Irish Open 1982 -". European Tour. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ Reid, Philip. "Former Irish Open winner John O'Leary has died". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  23. ^ "Horton and Jacklin clinch cup". The Glasgow Herald. 20 September 1976. p. 15.
  24. ^ "Short game is golf answer". The Glasgow Herald. 25 September 1978. p. 12.
  25. ^ "James proves too hot for Faldo". The Glasgow Herald. 13 September 1982. p. 16.
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