Sir Robert James Charles (born 14 March 1936) is a New Zealand professional golfer who won the 1963 Open Championship, the first left-handed player to win a major championship. He won the 1954 New Zealand Open as an 18-year-old amateur and made the cut in the same event in 2007, at the age of 71. His achievements over that period, in which he won 80 tournaments, rank him as one of the most successful New Zealand golfers of all time. Along with Michael Campbell and Ryan Fox, he is one of only three New Zealanders to win a men's major golf championship.
Charles turned professional in late 1960 and for the next two years had some success in tournaments around the world. From 1963 until the mid-1970s he played mostly on the PGA Tour. He won five times on the tour and finished in the top-60 on the money list each year from 1963 to 1971, except 1966, and again in 1974. Later he played more on the European Tour before joining the Senior PGA Tour when he reached 50. He was very successful on the Senior PGA Tour with 23 titles between 1987 and 1996, and winning over $9 million between 1986 and 2008. In Britain, Charles won the 1963 Open Championship and the Senior British Open twice, in 1989 and 1993. These were later added as official wins on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. In addition to his PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour wins, Charles won nine times in Europe, including the 1969 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, and 25 times in domestic New Zealand tournaments. He also won a number of other seniors events around the world, including in South Africa, Japan and Australia.
Early life Born in Carterton, a small town in the Wairarapa district in New Zealand's North Island, Charles lived in Masterton, where he worked as a bank teller, before moving to Christchurch in mid-1956.
Amateur career Charles came to prominence when he won the New Zealand Open at Wellington Golf Club in November 1954, as an 18-year-old amateur, finishing two strokes ahead of Bruce Crampton and four ahead of Peter Thomson. The event acted as qualification for the New Zealand Amateur which followed immediately after the Open. Charles reached the final but lost 3&2 to Tim Woon, the defending champion, in the 36 hole match. Charles also reached the final of the New Zealand Amateur in October 1956 at Christchurch Golf Club, but lost again, 3&2 to the Tasmanian Peter Toogood. In September 1956 Charles had been a member of the 4-man New Zealand team in the Sloan Morpeth Trophy match against Australia at Wanganui. Australia won the contest but Charles won his singles match.
Charles left New Zealand in January 1958 for a tour of the United States and Britain, travelling with Ian Cromb, and returning in August. They spent the early part of year in America, playing in a number of professional events, ending with the Masters for which Charles had received an invitation. He missed the cut by 8 strokes after rounds of 77 and 80. In Britain, he also played in some professional tournaments. Charles reached the quarter-finals of the Amateur Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews, before losing to Alan Thirlwell, and later finished tied for 9th place in the Brabazon Trophy at Royal Birkdale. He also played in the 1958 Open Championship at Royal Lytham where he qualified after rounds of 74 and 73. He started well in the Championship with a 71 but missed the cut after a second round 79.
Charles was selected for the 4-man New Zealand team for the inaugural Eisenhower Trophy competition on the Old Course at St Andrews in October 1958. New Zealand led by three strokes after 3 of the 4 rounds. However a poor last day left then in fourth place. John Durry took 83, including a 10 at the 14th hole. Charles took 81 and with three of the four scores counting, New Zealand finished three strokes behind the leaders. Despite his poor last round Charles had the best four-round aggregate among the New Zealand team.
Charles played in the 1959 Commonwealth Tournament in Johannesburg. New Zealand finished third of the five teams. Charles was the best of the team with three wins in foursomes matches and three wins in the singles, losing only in the match against South Africa. Charles also played in the 1960 Eisenhower Trophy in the United States. The contest was dominated by the Americans who won by 42 strokes. New Zealand finished fifth, with Charles again the best of the team.
Professional career In October 1960, Charles turned professional. Soon after turning professional, Charles won a 36-hole event at Queens Park, Invercargill, eight strokes ahead of Kel Nagle. Although he disappointed in the New Zealand Open, he reached the final of the New Zealand PGA Championship losing 5&4 to Nagle. In early 1961, Charles played on the South African circuit. Had a number of good finishes and was runner-up in the Dunlop South African Masters behind Denis Hutchinson. Charles then travelled to Europe. He won the 36-hole Bowmaker Tournament, two strokes ahead of Hutchinson and Nagle, and had a number of top finishes including a tied for 4th place in the Martini International. He led the qualifiers for the 1961 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale after rounds of 66 and 70. He started with a 72 but missed the cut after a second round 84, played in difficult conditions. Returning to New Zealand, in October he won the Caltex Tournament, by 4 strokes from Nagle, and then the New Zealand PGA Championship.
Charles played on the 1962 Far East Circuit in February and March. His best performance with joint runner-up in the Malayan Open behind Frank Phillips. He received an invitation for the 1962 Masters Tournament in April. He made the cut and tied for 25th place. Charles then travelled to Europe to play in the British/Irish and Continental circuits, where he had considerable success. He finished third in the Martini International at St Andrews and tied for the win, with Dai Rees, in the Daks Tournament. In the 1962 Open Championship he finished in 5th place, although a distant 14 strokes behind the winner, Arnold Palmer. He was then joint runner-up in the French Open, runner-up in the Irish Hospitals Tournament and joint runner-up in the Royal Gold Tournament, a 12-man round-robin tournament. Returning to the continent he won the Engadine Open in Switzerland, lost a playoff to Max Faulkner in the Woodlawn International Invitational in West Germany, and won the Swiss Open in successive weeks. Returning to New Zealand, he again won the Caltex Tournament ahead of Kel Nagle. Towards the end of the year he played in the Australian Open, finishing tied for third, and then played in the 1962 Canada Cup in Argentina.
From 1963, Charles played mostly on the American PGA Tour. He won his first PGA Tour event in April 1963, the Houston Classic, the first PGA Tour event won by a left-handed golfer. He had three other top-5 finishes and finished the year 27th in the money list with $23,636. In late June he travelled to Britain and was third in the Dunlop Masters. Two weeks later, he won The Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St. Annes. After four rounds (68-72-66-71) his 277 was level with American Phil Rodgers. Charles won the 36-hole playoff by eight shots. Later in the year he played on the New Zealand Golf Circuit, winning the Wattie's Tournament, and competing in the 1963 Canada Cup in Paris.
Charles didn't win on the 1964 PGA Tour but had five top-5 finishes, including a third place finish at the U.S. Open. He finished 17th in the official money list with $28,451. He played relatively few other event but did defend his Open Championship title, finishing tied for 17th, and he played in the Canada Cup in Hawaii. Charles made a good start to the 1965 season. He lost in a playoff for the Lucky International Open, won the Tucson Open and was a runner-up in the Jacksonville Open. Later in the season he had less success and finished 34th in the money list with $28,360. Later in the year he played in some events in Europe, including the Canada Cup in Madrid, and in New Zealand, where he was a runner-up in the New Zealand Open. Charles had a very poor season on the 1966 PGA Tour. His only top-10 finish came towards the end of the season and he only won $8,472, to finish 87th in the official money list. He showed a return to form late in the year, playing well at the 1966 Canada Cup in Japan, and winning four events out of seven on the New Zealand Golf Circuit, including the New Zealand Open which he won by 13 strokes.
Charles showed a return to form in 1967, with eight top-10 finishes on the 1967 PGA Tour, including winning the Atlanta Classic. He finished 11th in the money list with $72,468. He played in the 1967 World Cup in Mexico, the New Zealand pair finishing second behind the United States with Charles finishing joint runner-up in the individual standings, level with Jack Nicklaus and behind Arnold Palmer. He again played on the New Zealand circuit towards the end of year, winning three events, and again being the leading money winner. Charles had another successful season on the 1968 PGA Tour, with a win in the Canadian Open, and six other top-10s in official events. He finished 18th in the money list with $70,926. Two of his top-10 finishes came in the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship, and he also finished a joint runner-up in the Open Championship. He made his debut in the Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, losing in the final to Gary Player."Player wins close but quiet final at 36th hole". The Times, Monday, 14 October 1968; pg. 12; Issue 57381. He played in the 1968 World Cup in Italy, where the New Zealand pair finished seventh. He had three more tournament wins on the 1968–69 New Zealand circuit, including the Spalding Masters which he won by 10 strokes with a score of 260.
Charles didn't win on the PGA in 1969, 1970 or 1971 but continued to have a number of high finishes including 11 top-10 finishes in 1969, 9 in 1970 and 8 in 1971. He finished 30th in money list in 1969 with $59,734, 25th in 1970 with $70,854 and 41st in 1971 with $58,016. Charles won the 1969 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship beating Gene Littler with an eagle at the 37th hole in the final. He lost in playoff for the 1970 Greater New Orleans Open. He had more tournament wins on the New Zealand Golf Circuit, the New Zealand Open in late 1970 and three in the 1971–72 season.
1972 and 1973 were relatively poor years on the PGA Tour with just one top-10 finish each season. He finished 97th in the money list in 1972 with $21,809, and 108th in 1973 with $19,499. Despite his lack of success in America, he won a number of tournaments around the world. He won the John Player Classic and the Dunlop Masters on the 1972 European Tour and the Scandinavian Enterprise Open on the tour in 1973. He won the South African Open in early 1973 and the City of Auckland Classic and the New Zealand Open at the end of the year. In 1972 he made his final appearance in the World Cup in Australia. Charles had a better year on the 1974 PGA Tour, winning the Greater Greensboro Open and having three other top-10 finishes. He finished 36th in the money list with $65,226, although $44,000 of that came from his win. He also won the 1974 Swiss Open.