Graham Marsh

Graham Vivian Marsh MBE (born 14 January 1944) is a retired professional golfer who was one of the leading Australian players of his generation. During his career he won more than 70 tournaments around the world, including 10 on the European Tour and 20 on the Japan Golf Tour, plus two senior major championships.

Early life

Marsh was born in Kalgoorlie, Australia. He attended the University of Western Australia and Claremont Teachers College before turning professional in 1969. Marsh is a former mathematics teacher.

Professional career

Marsh's first professional tournament was in May 1968 at South Australian Open. He finished in solo third place. Peter Thomson, writing about the event for The Age, stated that "this talented player seems sure to finish higher before long."In 1970 he played well at New Zealand's Caltex Tournament. Entering the par-5 18th hole he was tied for the lead with Maurice Bembridge and Terry Kendall. However, he could only make par. His competitors played the hole under par to defeat him. Marsh finished in solo third at 287, one behind.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Marsh was a regular winner on the European Tour, the Japan Golf Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia. He also won several events in Asia outside Japan, winning the Asia Golf Circuit overall title in 1972 and 1973, and one on the U.S.-based PGA Tour, the 1977 Heritage Classic. Marsh had an outstanding win rate on the European Tour, where he accumulated eleven titles even though he never played more than seven events in Europe in a season. He also won the Colgate World Match Play Championship, which was not an official money European Tour event at the time, in England in 1977. He had 56 wins in all in his regular career, making him one of the most successful players of his era not to win a major championship. He was voted Australian Sportsman of the year in 1977 and awarded Golf Digest Rookie of the Year the same year, 13 years before the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award was instituted by the PGA Tour.

As a senior, Marsh has played extensively in the United States on the Champions Tour winning six events including two senior majors: the 1997 U.S. Senior Open and the 1999 Tradition. He has also won the Japan Senior Open twice.

Marsh is also active in golf course design through Graham Marsh Golf Design which he established in 1986. The company's early projects were in Australia and Japan, but it later branched out to other parts of Asia, Europe and the United States. His work has included courses such as The Vines Resort (Perth), Palm Meadows Resort(Gold Coast) Old Silo (Kentucky), Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club (New South Wales) and Terrey Hills Golf & Country Club just to name a few.

In 1984, Marsh was made an MBE for services to golf. He is a past chairman of the PGA Tour of Australasia.

His younger brother Rod Marsh was a distinguished Australian cricketer and coach.

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