Eamonn Christopher Darcy (born 7 August 1952) is an Irish professional golfer. He won four times on the European Tour and played in the Ryder Cup four times.
Professional career Darcy, with a handicap of 12, turned professional at the age of 16, becoming an assistant at Grange Golf Club in Dublin. The following year he moved to Erewash Valley Golf Club in Derbyshire, staying until 1979.
Darcy's tournament career coincided with the start of the European Tour in 1972. He first came to notice in 1974 when he was a joint runner-up in the Nigerian Open. In Europe he was tied for third place in the Portuguese Open and tied sixth in the Dunlop Masters, finishing 36th in the Order of Merit.
Darcy finished third on the Order of Merit in 1975 and made that year's Ryder Cup team, his first of four performances. The following year he was second on the Order of Merit, only behind Ballesteros. Despite a number of great performances, however, Darcy did not win either season. This became something of a trend as Darcy only posted four European Tour wins compared to 13 runner-ups. This was punctuated by his tough-luck playoff record of 0–4.
Darcy's first European Tour win was at the Greater Manchester Open in 1977, handily defeating a trio of British golfers by 8 shots. In the off-season, Darcy would often play on the Australian Tour with much success, winning the 1980 Air New Zealand Shell Open and the 1981 West Lakes Classic. He would also finish runner-up at the 1980 New Zealand Open.
Darcy was a consistent performer on the European Tour in the 1980s, finishing in the top 30 of the Order of Merit eight times. He won the 1983 Benson & Hedges Spanish Open and 1987 Volvo Belgian Open, shooting a final round 64 to defeat Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam down the stretch. However, his greatest moment may have come at the historic 1987 Ryder Cup. In his last Ryder Cup match, he defeated American Ben Crenshaw on the last hole to secure an individual win and the team's 13th point. His performance was indispensable as it ultimately determined an outright win. (Europe would win by the score 15–13.) His victory was especially memorable as he had an extremely poor Ryder Cup record (0–8–2) entering the match. It was his only Ryder Cup win as an individual (or member of a team).
Darcy's career began to wind down in the 1990s. He recorded his final official victory at the 1990 Emirates Airlines Desert Classic. The following year, he contended for a major championship for the first time at the 1991 Open Championship. He entered the final round just one shot out of the lead. He could not keep up with the rest of the leaders but his even-par 70 was good enough for T-5, his best finish ever in a major. Though he still kept his card through the decade, 1991 was the last season he was in the top 50 of the Order of Merit. In 2002 he joined the European Seniors Tour.
Darcy was noted for having one of golf's strangest swings.
Professional wins (16) European Tour wins (4) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up119 Jun 1977Greater Manchester Open−11 (69-67-66-67=269)8 strokes Brian Barnes, Ken Brown, John Morgan223 Oct 1983Benson & Hedges Spanish Open−11 (67-71-67-72=277)1 stroke Manuel Piñero320 Jun 1987Volvo Belgian Open−13 (69-67-64=200)1 stroke Nick Faldo, Ronan Rafferty, Ian Woosnam425 Feb 1990Emirates Airlines Desert Classic−12 (64-68-75-69=276)4 strokes David Feherty
European Tour playoff record (0–4) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11976Penfold PGA Championship Neil Coles, Gary PlayerColes won with par on third extra holePlayer eliminated by par on first hole21982Jersey Open Bernard Gallacher, Des SmythGallacher won with par on fifth extra holeDarcy eliminated by birdie on second hole31983State Express Classic Hugh Baiocchi, Mike SullivanBaiocchi won with birdie on first extra hole41991Murphy's Cup Tony JohnstoneLost to eagle on second extra hole
PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up130 Nov 1980Air New Zealand Shell Open−12 (68-62-70-68=268)2 strokes Lanny Wadkins225 Oct 1981CBA West Lakes Classic−7 (68-71-72-74=285)Playoff Sam Torrance
PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11981CBA West Lakes Classic Sam TorranceWon with birdie on first extra hole
Safari Circuit wins (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up122 Mar 1981Cock of the North−11 (72-68-73-68=281)1 stroke Carl Mason214 Mar 1982Benson & Hedges Kenya Open−10 (72-65-67-70=274)1 stroke David Jagger318 Mar 1984Mufulira Open−13 (68-69-70-72=279)1 stroke Roger Chapman, Tommy Horton
Other wins (7) 1976 Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball (with Christy O'Connor Jnr), Cacharel World Under-25 Championship, Irish Dunlop Tournament 1978 Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball (with Christy O'Connor Jnr) 1981 Carroll's Irish Match Play Championship 1988 Irish National PGA Championship 1992 Irish National PGA Championship
Playoff record Champions Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12003 Farmers Charity Classic Doug TewellLost to birdie on third extra hole
European Senior Tour playoff record (0–3) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12002Estoril Seniors Tour Championship Denis DurnianLost after concession on first extra hole22005Nokia 9300 Italian Seniors Open Géry WatineLost to birdie on first extra hole32009Son Gual Mallorca Senior Open Mark JamesLost to birdie on third extra hole
Results in major championships Tournament19751976197719781979The Open ChampionshipCUTT15T34CUTCUT Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989The Open ChampionshipT45T14T35T26CUTT11T59T17CUTCUT Tournament1990199119921993199419951996The Open ChampionshipT22T5T33 Note: Darcy only played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1975 and 1984 Open Championships) "T" indicates a tie for a place
Team appearances Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland/Europe): 1975, 1977, 1981, 1987 (winners) Double Diamond International (representing Ireland): 1975, 1976, 1977 Datsun International (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1976 Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1976 (winners), (representing Ireland) 1984 (captain) Philip Morris International (representing Ireland): 1976 World Cup (representing Ireland): 1976, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991 Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Ireland): 1987, 1988 (winners), 1991
See also List of people on the postage stamps of Ireland
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