Former European Tour Senior professional Bob Cameron, who died on March 17, aged 73, was a prime example that golfing excellence is neither the domain of the young nor advancing years are a hindrance to tournament success.
Bob, who was born in Plymouth, but spent much of his professional career working in golf clubs across the south east of England, won the 2000 Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship on the Duke’s Course at St Andrews at the age of 47.
Then, when he was on the cusp of becoming eligible to play on the European Senior Tour, he reprised the achievement in his home county at Saunton Golf Club two years later. In doing so, he is one of just seven players to have won the PGA’s premier tournament more than once. Furthermore, those victories were instrumental in him making two of his five appearances representing Great Britain & Ireland in the PGA Cup.
He had made his debut in the match at Turnberry Isle, Florida, in 1981, and was a member of the teams that claimed two of GB&I’s seven victories in the series when they prevailed at Muirfield in 1983 and Turnberry a year later. His fourth match followed at Celtic Manor in 2000 when the PGA’s current Captain David Llewellyn led the team.
“Bob was a great team member and very professional in everything he did,” reflected Llewellyn. “He was a very steady player who did everything well. He was also a super guy and perfect gentlemen. As well as being his captain he became a friend – and in that respect I am honoured to have called him one.”
Bob played in his final PGA Cup match at Port St Lucie, Florida, in 2003, by which time he had relinquished his role as head professional at Sundridge Park Golf Club in Kent and qualified to compete on the European Senior Tour.
His most successful season followed 12 months later when he won the Open de France Senior and the Sanremo Masters, where he signed off with an eight under par round of 61. That remains a record for the lowest 18-hole score on the Tour and has since been emulated by Carl Mason, Angel Fernandez and Andrew Oldcorn. Furthermore, his winning total of 193 was the lowest 54-hole score recorded on the Tour.
Bob was also runner up in five Senior Tour events, registered 50-plus top 10 finishes, and earned more than €1.3m in prize money by the time he retired in 2016, the year he won the PGA Super 60s Championship on the Queen’s Course at Gleneagles in tandem with his amateur partner Gordon Hedley.
Bob continued to compete in the tournament, most recently in 2021 at Tewkesbury Park when he played in a fourball with David Edwards, a fellow PGA Professional and owner of the David Edwards Golf Show.
The pair had known each other since they were training to become professionals and Edwards recalled: “We used to play in qualifying events when we were young pros, and we played in the same fourball in the Super 60s at Tewkesbury.
“He had a wealth of talent, and he always had time for all his fellow professionals – there was always a warm welcome from him. He was also a real gentleman as well as being a great ambassador for the PGA.”
In addition to his victories in national PGA and Senior European Tour events, Bob won the Kent PGA Championship three times, likewise the Kent Open Championship. And, as well as his success as a player, Bob was highly regarded as a club professional, especially at Sundridge Park.
Having turned professional in 1973, he worked as an assistant at Barnehurst Golf Club in Kent until he was elected to PGA Membership three years later. Roles at other clubs in the county followed, including Lullingstone Park, Cray Valley and a return to Barnehurst, before he succeeded George Will to become Sundridge Park’s head professional.
Bob was only the fourth professional in Sundridge Park’s history and, reacting to his passing, the club posted on Facebook: “Bob maintained a superb standard of golf whilst providing retail services and tuition to the members. Beyond golf, members will remember Bob for his warm personality, wry smile and friendship over many years. As fitting recognition on his retirement, he was elected as an Honorary Life Member.”
Bob, who was made a PGA Honorary Member in 2020, is survived by his wife, Karen, son James and daughter Jenny.