Ryder Cup star Christy O’Connor Sr has died at the age of 91.
O’Connor Sr, whose nephew and fellow professional golfer Christy O’Connor Jr died suddenly in January, played in 10 consecutive Ryder Cups between 1955 and 1973.
The Galway golfer, who was known in Ireland as ‘Himself’, won 24 titles on the British and Irish Tour – the precursor to the European Tour – as well as winning a host of unsanctioned events. He recorded 10 top-10 finishes in The Open Championship, finishing as the runner-up to Peter Thomson at Royal Birkdale in 1965.
In 2009, O’Connor Sr became only the second Irishman to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, following Joe Carr two years earlier.
Ryder Cup director Richard Hills said: “We have lost not only one of the greatest Ryder Cup players the game has even seen, but an incredible man. My abiding memory of Christy is phoning him with George O’Grady to break the news he’d been elected into the Hall of Fame in 2009 and he wouldn’t believe us. He said he’d only believe it if he saw it in writing, so I was dispatched to Royal Dublin to present him with a letter. As he read it, his face broke into a huge grin and he gave me a massive bear hug.”
Ireland’s Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, said: “O’Connor was a wonderful man who left an indelible mark on professional golf and the sporting world. He was a larger than life character and the owner of the best pair of wrists in the game. He was a master of touch and feel on the greens and his brilliant golf was iconic for so many people, ever before television brought golf tournaments into every home.
“As you might expect from a son of Ireland, rain or wind never mattered to him, he was always simply outstanding. His record of achievement stands apart.”