Bobby Locke

Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke (20 November 1917 – 9 March 1987) was a South African professional golfer.

He is generally regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time.

He won The Open Championship four times and 15 PGA Tour events in total.

In addition, he was a prolific tournament winner in South Africa, ultimately recording over 50 significant victories in his home country, including the South African Open nine times.

Locke was born in Germiston, South Africa the only son of Mr. C.J. and Mrs. O. Locke of 70 Nottingham Road, Kensington, Johannesburg.

He obtained his Educational Junior Certificate pass at Benoni High School in 1934.

Locke won the South African Open for the first of nine times in 1935, at the Parkview Golf Club in Johannesburg, with a score of 296, playing as an amateur.

He played in his first Open Championship in 1936, when he was eighteen, and finished as low amateur.

He turned professional in March 1938 at the age of 20 and was engaged by the Maccauvlei Country Club as club professional in December 1939.

Problems arose when Locke wanted to give lessons to non-members as well as take leave of absence, without advance request, to take part in outside competitions such as the U.S. Open.

Locke resigned from the club, by letter, on 26 July 1940.

His golf career was interrupted by service in the South African Air Force during World War II.

Following the end of World War II, Locke successfully resumed his career in South Africa in 1946.

He hosted Sam Snead, one of the top American golfers of the day, for a series of exhibition matches in South Africa in January/February 1947, winning 12 out of the 16 matches, two were halved and Snead won two.

So impressed was Snead that he suggested that Locke come to the United States and give the PGA Tour a try, advice that Locke quickly followed.

Locke arrived in the U.S. for the first time in April 1947, well after the American Tour season had begun.

In two-and-a-half years on the PGA Tour, Locke played in 59 events; he won 11, and finished in the top three in 30, just over half.

In 1947, despite a late start, Locke dominated the American tour, winning six tournaments (including four in a five-week period), and finishing second to Jimmy Demaret on the money list.

In 1948, he won the Chicago Victory National by 16 strokes, which remains a PGA Tour record for margin of victory (tied for margin of victory with J. Douglas Edgar's win in the 1919 Canadian Open).

The following year, Locke was banned from the tour, ostensibly because of a dispute over playing commitments.

Locke had indeed given several advance commitments to appear at tournaments and exhibitions, then had not turned up nor given adequate notice nor explanations for his absences.

However, the 1948 Masters champion Claude Harmon stated, unsolicited, to another golf personality during that era: "Locke was simply too good. They had to ban him."

He explained how he had been helped to iron out a putting problem which led to him winning the 1949 Open Championship.

He gives the "Open" win as one of his reasons to breach his contract.

The text indicates that he understood the contractual nature of his dealings with the PGA.

After leaving the PGA Tour, Locke continued his career in Europe and Africa, where he felt more comfortable.

He won 23 times in Europe, most notably a quartet of successes in The Open Championship, which came in 1949, 1950, 1952 and 1957.

He was the first of many South Africans who subsequently won major championships, including Gary Player, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.

The ban was lifted in March 1950.

However, Locke chose not to return to play in the United States, except for a few isolated appearances.

Locke explained his point of view and events leading up to the banning.

He stated that he had accepted invitations, organised through the PGA to play in two local tournaments, The Inverness Fourball and Western Open.

In 1955 he won the Australian Open held at Gailes Golf Club in Queensland; he later rated this as one of the best courses he had ever played.

His win in the 1957 Open Championship was with some controversy.

In 1959, Locke was involved in a serious car accident.

Locke had failed to properly replace his ball after marking on the 72nd green, and proceeded to putt out.

This had been confirmed through newsreel footage provided to the Royal and Ancient after the trophy presentation.

The rules at the time made no provision for a two shot penalty, thus Locke's win could have been overturned through disqualification.

However, the Championship committee did not enforce the disqualification rule, citing "equity and spirit of the game" as overriding factors in sustaining the posted result.

During this time Locke also played many other parts of the world.