Thomas Alfred Horton, (16 June 1941 – 7 December 2017) was an English professional golfer. He finished in the top ten of the Open Championship four times, won a number of important tournaments both before and after the founding of the European Tour in 1972 and played in the Ryder Cup in 1975 and 1977. He reached 50 just before the founding of the European Seniors Tour and won 23 times on the tour between 1992 and 2000.
Career In 1941, Horton was born in St Helens, Merseyside; he moved to Jersey in 1945 and was brought up and educated on the island.
Horton was an assistant at Ham Manor Golf Club near Worthing, Sussex from 1959, later becoming the professional there. In 1974, he moved to Royal Jersey Golf Club. He celebrated 25 years there as professional before his retirement in 1999.
Horton was one of the "Butten boys", a group of British professional golfers who were part of a training programme, funded by Ernest Butten, an entrepreneur and joint founder of PA Consulting Group. Starting in 1963, Butten funded a residential golf school at Sundridge Park in Bromley, Kent. Max Faulkner was employed as the teaching professional.
Horton was runner-up a number of times before his first important win, the R.T.V. International Trophy at Cork Golf Club in August 1968. He had been runner-up in the Carroll's International in 1965 and 1967 and the Martini International earlier in 1968. He was also close to winning the Silentnight Tournament in 1965. Dave Thomas had taken the clubhouse lead. Playing with Jimmy Martin, they reached the final hole with Horton needed a par 4 to beat Thomas while Martin needed a par to tie with Thomas. Martin missed a birdie putt from 10 feet and finished level with Thomas. Horton, however, drove into a bunker, missed a 5-foot putt and took a double-bogey 6 to finish one behind in third place.
Horton won two important tournaments in 1970, the South African Open in February and the Long John Scotch Whisky Match Play Championship in August. He became the first non-South African resident to win the South African Open since it had been first played in 1903, with a three stroke win over Terry Westbrook. In the match play championship he beat Bobby Walker 5&4 in the semi-final before beating another Scot, Ronnie Shade, 3&2 in the final, winning the first prize of £2,000. Horton had been four down against Neil Coles after 10 holes in their quarter-final match but came back to win on the 18th.
Horton played on the European Tour for many years with moderate success, winning four titles and finishing fifth on the Order of Merit in 1976 and tenth in both 1974 and 1978. His biggest win on the tour came in the 1978 Dunlop Masters. Needing a par-3 on the 245-yard final hole at St Pierre, Horton missed the green but holed a 10-foot putt for a one stroke win over Dale Hayes, Graham Marsh and Brian Waites, taking the first prize of £8,000.
Horton had been in contention for a Ryder Cup place as early as 1965. That year he was 11th in the Ryder Cup points list before the final qualifying event, the Esso Golden Tournament, with the leading 10 making the team. However he finished last in the tournament and dropped to 14th place. From 1969 the Ryder Cup team was partly chosen by a selection committee. Horton was a strong candidate in 1969 and 1971 but was not selected until 1975 at Laurel Valley Golf Club. Four members of the 12-man team were selected by committee and with two US-based players chosen, Tony Jacklin and Peter Oosterhuis, there were only two places for the remaining players. Despite finishing 15th in the points list, Horton was selected, making his debut at the age of 34. Horton lost his three pairs matches but on the final day he halved his match against Hale Irwin in the morning singles and beat Lou Graham in the afternoon. Horton played again in 1977 at Royal Lytham. He was 5th in the Ryder Cup points list and gained an automatic spot for the first time. He lost the three matches he played, all by the same score, 5&4.
The European Seniors Tour was founded shortly after he reached its minimum age of fifty, and Horton was the dominant player in its early seasons, topping the money list in 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. He was top of the tour's career money list for many years, before being overtaken by Carl Mason in 2007. Mason equalled Horton total of 23 victories in 2010 and had his 24th win the following year. Horton's career winnings on the senior tour exceeded £1,000,000 and he remains second on the list of most wins of the tour.
Horton was captain of the PGA in 1978, captaining the PGA Cup team the same year at St Mellion.
Awards and honours
Horton won the Order of Merit on the European Senior Tour five times: in 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 At the 2000 New Year Honours, Horton was awarded an MBE for services to golf, In 2012, Horton was made an honorary life member of the European Tour.
Death Horton was taken ill at the Annual General Meeting of the Royal Jersey Golf Club on 7 December 2017 and died later that evening in hospital.
Photo gallery
Professional wins (41) European Tour wins (4) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up127 Apr 1972Piccadilly Medal +13 (80-77=157)1 stroke Guy Hunt211 May 1974Penfold Tournament−8 (70-68-67-67=272)1 stroke Peter Tupling326 Jun 1976Uniroyal International−11 (69-72-67-69=277)1 stroke Martin Foster47 Oct 1978Dunlop Masters−5 (71-70-67-71=279)1 stroke Dale Hayes, Graham Marsh, Brian Waites
European Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult11977Callers of Newcastle Peter Butler, John Fourie, Ángel GallardoFourie won with par on second extra holeButler and Horton eliminated by par on first hole
Safari Circuit wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up127 Mar 1977Zambia Open−8 (70-74-70-70=284)2 strokes Brian Barnes, Ken Brown, Gary Cullen, Christy O'Connor Snr, Brian Waites
Other African wins (4) 1970 South African Open 1973 Nigerian Open 1975 Gambian Open 1985 Togo Open
Swedish Golf Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up130 Jun 1984PLM OpenE (73-72-69-74=288)4 strokes Denis Durnian, Anders Starkman
Other Great Britain and Ireland wins (4) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up127 Aug 1968R.T.V. International Trophy66-68-68-69=2713 strokes Peter Townsend224 Aug 1969Tyneside Festival of Golf70-73-73=2161 stroke Dave Thomas, Peter Thomson329 Aug 1970Long John Scotch WhiskyMatch Play Championship3 & 2 in final Ronnie Shade426 Jun 1971Gallaher Ulster Open67-70-70-67=2741 stroke Neil Coles
European Seniors Tour wins (23) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up19 Aug 1992Forte PGA Seniors Championship +2 (74-68-74-74=290)Playoff Tony Grubb, Christy O'Connor Snr24 Jul 1993Shell Scottish Seniors Open−2 (69-71-68=208)5 strokes Neil Coles, Brian Huggett35 Sep 1993Collingtree Seniors−4 (69-72-71=212)3 strokes Roger Fidler, Brian Huggett49 Oct 1993Senior Zurich Lexus TrophyE (74-67-75=216)Playoff John Fourie, David Jimenez515 May 1994St Pierre Seniors Classic−4 (71-71-70=212)3 strokes Brian Huggett613 Aug 1994Belfast Telegraph Irish Senior Masters−5 (68-71-69=208)Playoff Renato Campagnoli710 Sep 1995De Vere Hotels Seniors Classic−3 (71-69-73=213)1 stroke Antonio Garrido816 Jun 1996Castle Royle European Seniors Classic−11 (68-69-69=205)Playoff Brian Huggett914 Jul 1996Stella Senior Open−15 (66-67-68=201)2 strokes Noel Ratcliffe1018 Aug 1996Northern Electric Seniors−7 (67-67-75=209)4 strokes Antonio Garrido, Noel Ratcliffe1120 Oct 1996The Players Championship−10 (68-69-69=206)2 strokes Malcolm Gregson, Gary Player1210 May 1997Beko Turkish Seniors Open−8 (69-70-69=208)2 strokes Maurice Bembridge1318 May 1997AIB Irish Seniors Open−8 (71-69-68=208)2 strokes Noel Ratcliffe148 Jun 1997Jersey Seniors Open−12 (69-67-68=204)6 strokes Craig Defoy157 Sep 1997Scottish Seniors Open (2)−12 (70-62=132)9 strokes Jim Delich1614 Sep 1997Clubhaus Seniors Classic−13 (68-71-64=203)2 strokes David Jones1719 Oct 1997Senior Tournament of Champions (2)−12 (69-67-68=204)3 strokes José María Cañizares183 May 1998El Bosque Seniors Open−15 (66-67-68=201)9 strokes Noel Ratcliffe1914 Jun 1998De Vere Hotels Seniors Classic (2)−5 (68-76-67=211)1 stroke Ian Richardson2031 Aug 1998The Belfry PGA Seniors Championship−11 (69-71-66-71=277)2 strokes Renato Campagnoli, Jim Rhodes219 May 1999Beko Classic−5 (72-70-69=211)1 stroke Alan Tapie2211 Sep 1999Monte Carlo InvitationalE (69-70-68=207)1 stroke Bill Brask, Jerry Bruner, Ray Carrasco231 Apr 2000Royal Westmoreland Barbados Open−8 (70-70-68=208)2 strokes Jerry Bruner
European Seniors Tour playoff record (4–1) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11992Forte PGA Seniors Championship Tony Grubb, Christy O'Connor SnrWon with birdie on first extra hole21992Gary Player Anvil Senior Classic Brian HuggettLost to par on fourth extra hole31993Senior Zurich Lexus Trophy John Fourie, David JimenezWon with birdie on first extra hole41994Belfast Telegraph Irish Senior Masters Renato CampagnoliWon with par on second extra hole51996Castle Royle European Seniors Classic Brian HuggettWon with birdie on first extra hole
Other senior wins (4) 1995 British Senior Club Professional Championship 1996 British Senior Club Professional Championship 1997 British Senior Club Professional Championship 1998 British Senior Club Professional Championship
Results in major championships Tournament19651966196719681969Masters TournamentCUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipT17CUTT8T13T11 Tournament1970197119721973197419751976197719781979Masters TournamentCUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipT9T37T40T31T31T19T5T9CUTCUT Tournament1980198119821983198419851986Masters TournamentThe Open ChampionshipT32T35CUTCUT74 Note: Horton only played in the Masters Tournament and the Open Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1979 and 1982 Open Championships) "T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0The Open Championship 0 0 0 1 4 8 20 15PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Totals 0 0 0 1 4 8 24 15 Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (1971 Open Championship – 1976 Open Championship) Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (four times)
Team appearances Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1975, 1977 World Cup (representing England): 1976 Double Diamond International (representing England): 1971 (winners), 1974 (winners), 1975, 1976 (winners), 1977 Sotogrande Match/Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1974 (winners), 1976 (winners) PGA Cup: 1978 (winners, non-playing captain) Praia d'El Rey European Cup: 1997 (winners, captain), 1998 (tie, captain), 1999 (captain)
See also List of golfers with most European Senior Tour wins European Tour tribute video
Notes
References
External links