Tony Jacklin

Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is an English golfer, who was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships. He was also the most successful European Ryder Cup captain ever.

Early life and education

Jacklin was born in the North Lincolnshire town of Scunthorpe in 1944, the son of a truck driver. He attended Henderson Avenue Primary School in the town. He turned professional in 1962.

Playing career

In 1969, Jacklin became the first British player to win The Open Championship for 18 years, winning by two strokes at Royal Lytham & St Annes. The following season he won his second major title, the U.S. Open by seven strokes on a windblown Hazeltine National Golf Club course. It was the only U.S. Open victory by a European player in an 84-year span (1926–2009); Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell ended that streak in 2010.

Jacklin won eight events on the European Tour between its first season in 1972 and 1982. He also won tournaments in Europe prior to the European Tour era, and in the United States, South America, South Africa and Australasia. His 1968 PGA Tour win at the Jacksonville Open Invitational was the first by a European player on the U.S. Tour since the 1920s; Jacklin was the first British player since the 1940s and Henry Cotton to devote much of his effort to American Tour events.