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Philip Walton comes of age on Wednesday becoming eligible to play on the European Senior Tour as he celebrates his fiftieth birthday, having been a three time winner on the main Tour.
At the 1995 Ryder Cup in Oak Hill, New York, playing Jay Haas of the USA in the penultimate singles, Walton held his nerve to two putt the final green and secure a historic win for Europe - much to the delight of his team Captain Bernard Gallacher, who nearly squeezed the life out of the Dubliner during the celebration on that final green.
All that week Walton played a Rookie's role alongside Ryder Cup greats such as Seve Ballesteros, Howard Clark, Mark James, Ian Woosnam, Constantino Rocca, David Gilford, Colin Montgomerie, Sir Nick Faldo and Per Ulrik Johansson - only to find himself battling for that vital point on Sunday afternoon to win the trophy.
Over the years Walton come to share the distinction of winning a Ryder Cup with fellow Irishmen Paul McGinley, Eamon Darcy, Christy O’Connor Jnr and Graeme McDowell. Although for many Philip will always be remembered for securing that all important point in Rochester back in 1995.
But his career was more than that having spent three years at Oklahoma University on a scholarship, where for a period he was the number one ranking amateur in the world. It was a time that he also played Walker Cup on two occasions, winning three points out of four in 1981 and 1983.
After turning professional in 1983 Walton went on to win the Irish PGA Championship four times winner and joined an illustrious cast of previous winners that include Padraig Harrington [6]; Paul McGinley [4], Darren Clarke and Christy O’Connor Snr [10].
In 1995 Philip Walton, Ronan Rafferty and David Feherty won the Alfred Dunhill Cup, a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000 with three man teams representing each country and promoted as the "World Team Championship" - hosted at St Andrews in Scotland.
On the European Tour Walton was a winner three times with victories at the Open de Catalonia, Peugeot Open de France and Murphy's English Open.
In 2004 he returned to The European Tour after losing his card in 1999, after enduring five unsuccessful visits to the Qualifying School Finals in the preceding years. In 2008 Walton qualified for The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
In 2010 Walton played the 3 Irish Open in Killarney and finished 12th in the Irish PGA Lexus Race to Mount Juliet in association with PING and Failte Ireland. During 2011 he continued playing the Irish PGA circuit, also making a trip to the Champions Tour Q School in September, seeking playing rights in the USA
Away from competition Walton has also been involved golf club design and counts The County Tipperary Golf Club at Dundrum House amongst those projects, a 150 acre golf course specifically designed to use the natural features of woodland, parkland and Multeen River. It is a course where Walton combined the natural elements to create a very challenging par 72 course.
At St. Helen’s Bay Golf Cub in Rosslare, Walton designed a championship course that overlooks a beautiful beaches and forges a stern golfing test with a mixture of parkland and links. The 17th and 18th holes in particularly enjoy a spectacular view of beach.
As of March 28th 2012, Walton embarks on the next stage of a lengthy golfing career - full of its bumps and runs - and officially joins the European Senior Tour circuit. But he do so with ambition to make an impact and also try his luck on the Champions Tour when later this year he will return to Q-School.
In the short term though he follows in the footsteps of Des Smyth, Eamonn Darcy, Christy O'Connor Jnr, Jimmy Heggarty, Liam Higgins, Denis O'Sullivan and other Irish players who have forged success in the Senior Ranks.
In the mix on the Senior Tour will also be some of his old adversaries, including Ian Woosnam, to whom he lost that infamous Carroll's Irish Open play-off at Portmarnock in 1988.
Walton was born in Malahide and still lives near the golf club fifty years on.
Happy Birthday Waltz!
Victories
Peugeot Open de France (1990)
Murphy’s English Open (1995)
Catalonia Open (1995)
Team Events
Ryder Cup (1995)
World Cup (1995)
Alfred Dunhill Cup (1990)
Irish PGA
PGA Championship (1987)
PGA Championship (1989)
PGA Championship (1993)
PGA Championship (1995)
Amateur Career
Scottish Amateur Stroke Play Championship, (1981)
Spanish Open Amateur Championship (1981)
Amateur Team Events
Walker Cup (1981, 1983)
Eisenhower Trophy (1982)
Personal
Date of Birth 28/03/1962
Residence: Co. Meath, Ireland
Attachment:
Turned Pro: 1983 (plus 1)