Brian Waites, who was the last traditional PGA Club Professional to play in the Ryder Cup and won twice on what has become the DP World Tour, has passed away at the age of 85.
Although several PGA Members, including Ian Poulter and Paul Lawrie, have played in the Ryder Cup after completing the Association’s training programme, Brian was the last who was working as a club professional when he earned selection to represent Europe in 1983.
Brian, who was 43 years old when he lined up in Tony Jacklin’s team in Florida, had been elected to PGA Membership in 1958 after working as an assistant at Hesketh Golf Club, Southport.
Positions at Saltburn-by-the-Sea Golf Club and Brough Golf Club in North and East Yorkshire respectively followed before Brian succeeded former PGA Captain David Talbot at Notts Golf Club (Hollinwell) in 1969.
He qualified for the Open Championship in the same year, finishing tied-34th at Royal Lytham and St Annes in what was a vast improvement on his previous appearance in the tournament when he missed the cut at St Andrews in 1964.
At this stage of his career, Brian’s appearances in elite events were few and far between, although he competed regularly in local and domestic tournaments.
He won the Yorkshire Open Championship while at Brough in 1996 and was also victorious in the Midland Open Championship in 1971 and, in the following year, the first of three triumphs in the PGA Midland Professional Championship. He also played in the inaugural PGA Professional Championship at Calcot Park in 1973 and finished fourth and runner up in 1975 and 76 respectively.
Those performances in what has become the PGA’s flagship event, earned Brian selection for the Great Britain and Ireland team that contested the inaugural PGA Cup in 1973; Brian then went on to make another six appearances in the match, the last in 1990, by which time he had earned a reputation as one of the most accomplished players on the fledgling European Tour.
He scored his first top 10 finish in 1977, when, at the age of 37, he claimed sixth place in the Benson and Hedges International Open and followed up by improving on that in the Callers of Newcastle tournament by missing out on a play-off by a stroke.
The next seven years from 1978 to 1984 saw Brian finish in the top 25 of the European Tour’s Order of Merit and claim his two Tour titles. The first was achieved in 1978 when he finished a shot clear of Neil Coles in the Tournament Players Championship; the second came in 1982 at the Car Care Plan International. In between times Brian was runner up in the 1978 Dunlop Masters, and the Tournament Players Championship in 1979 and 1981.
The highlight of his career, however, followed two years later when, having delivered his best performance in the Open Championship by sharing 19th place with, among others, Greg Norman and Bernard Gallacher at Royal Birkdale, Brian made his solitary Ryder Cup appearance.
“Calvin Peete was the Brian Waites of the USA team,” recalled Ken Brown, “and it was a desperately close match.
“Looking back, he was a well-seasoned club pro who was a late-comer to the game at the top level. The secret of his success was his accuracy – he was not a big hitter and if he played with someone who was a good putter it made for the perfect foursomes partnership.
“He was a feisty competitor on the course who loved the cut and thrust of competition, but he was always the perfect gentleman off it and a very kind man. That was brought home to me when we played together in 1983. Although he was making his debut and it was my third appearance, I was very much the junior partner in terms of age – he was 43 and I was 26 but he looked after me.
“He was also a good team player and there’s no doubt he will be the last club pro to play for Europe in the Ryder Cup. It’s a sad loss.”
Keith Waters, the DP World Tour’s chief regulatory officer who played with Brian on the European Tour for many years also paid tribute.
“As Brian and I lived in close proximity we would arrange to travel to Tour events together, so we spent many an hour discussing golf and life in general,” he recalled.
“I always admired Brian’s focus and his ability to compete at the highest level while managing a club professional role at Notts Golf Club. He was an excellent professional golfer in every aspect of the profession and will be sadly missed. The thoughts of everyone at the Tour are with his family and friends at this time.”
Brian also represented England three times in the World Cup and, having recovered from the effects of a serious car accident which hospitalised him for three months in 1991, he joined the European Seniors Tour for its debut season the following year.
More success followed with four tournament victories and as many top 10 finishes in the Order of Merit before, having relinquished his role at Notts in 1998, he retired from competitive golf a year later having become the first player to make a century of appearances on the Seniors Tour.
In addition to his successes on the European and its Senior offshoot, Brian won five events, including the Kenyan Open, on the Safari Circuit and the Nottinghamshire Open Championship and the Notts Professional Strokeplay Championship seven times.
Commenting on Brian’s career, PGA chief executive Robert Maxfield said: “Brian’s passing really marks the end of an era. The role of a PGA Professional has changed so much since the time Brian turned pro when it was possible to serve a club and excel at the highest level. What’s more Brian achieved his success at an elite level in his later years, which is unlikely to happen now. Throughout those years as a club pro and then on tour, Brian never forgot his calling as a PGA Member – not only have we lost a throwback to a different time but also a very good friend of the Association. Our thoughts go out to Brian’s wife Veronica, his daughter Alison, and all his family members and friends."
