David Charles Thomas is a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 professional golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

er and renowned golf course architect.

Thomas was one of Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's leading golfers during the 1950s and 1960s with many tournament victories around Europe, including the News of the World Match Play and the Belgian, Dutch and French Open championships. He also finished second in The Open Championship

The Open Championship

The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...

 on two occasions.

Career

Thomas was born in Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He turned professional in 1949, taking up a position as an assistant. He later began to play tournament golf, and went on to win more than a dozen titles in Britain and around Europe. He also tried his hand in the United States with less success, although he did win a qualifying tournament for the U.S. Open

U.S. Open (golf)

The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...

 in 1964 and finished second in the St. Paul Open.

In 1958, Thomas finished tied with Peter Thomson after 72 holes in the Open at Royal Lytham

Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club

Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, is one of the courses in the Open Championship rotation. The Women's British Open has also been played on the course four times: once prior to being designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour, and three times since.The...

 before losing the play-off. At Muirfield in 1966 he again finished as runner-up, this time to Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus

Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...

. Throughout his career, Thomas was renowned for his long, straight, driving, and once hit a drive during a practice round for the 1967 Open at Hoylake

Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake

The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a leading golf club in Merseyside in North West England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club, and received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of the Duke of Connaught of the day, who was one of Queen...

 onto the green at the 420-yard second hole.

Thomas represented Great Britain in the Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...

 on four occasions, in 1959, 1963, 1965 and 1967, only being defeated once in his five singles matches. He also represented Wales in the Canada Cup, which later became the World Cup of Golf, on eleven occasions, and again at the Double Diamond Internationals in 1972.

Thomas was elected Captain of the Professional Golfers' Association

Professional Golfers' Association (Great Britain & Ireland)

The Professional Golfers' Association is the professional body which represents the interests of teaching and club golf professionals in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland...

 during their centenary year in 2001, and in 2006 was recognized for his contribution to golf by being made an honorary life member of the PGA.

After retiring from tournament golf due to back and eye problems, Thomas set up a golf course design business. He has designed over 100 courses around the world, and his work includes the Brabazon, Derby and PGA National courses at Ryder Cup venue The Belfry

The Belfry

The Belfry is a golf resort in Wishaw, Warwickshire, England, very near the Sutton Coldfield district of Birmingham, and owned since 2005 by Irish businessman Sean Quinn....

.

Professional wins

This list may be incomplete.

• 1955 Belgian Open
• 1958 Dutch Open, Caltex Tournament (New Zealand)
• 1959 French Open
• 1961 Esso Golden Tournament
  Esso Golden Tournament
  The Esso Golden Tournament was a golf tournament on the British PGA circuit from 1961 to 1967. It was played in a round-robin format at the Moor Park Golf Club in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England...
  
   (tie with Peter Thomson)
• 1962 Esso Golden Tournament
  Esso Golden Tournament
  The Esso Golden Tournament was a golf tournament on the British PGA circuit from 1961 to 1967. It was played in a round-robin format at the Moor Park Golf Club in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England...
  
  
• 1963 News of the World Match Play, Olgiata Trophy (Rome)
• 1965 Silentnight Tournament
• 1966 Esso Golden Tournament
  Esso Golden Tournament
  The Esso Golden Tournament was a golf tournament on the British PGA circuit from 1961 to 1967. It was played in a round-robin format at the Moor Park Golf Club in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England...
  
  , Swallow-Penfold Tournament, Jeyes Pro-Am Tournament
• 1968 Penfold Tournament
  Penfold Tournament
  The Penfold Tournament was a golf tournament on the European circuit/European Tour. It was played from 1932 to 1974 at a variety of courses. The purse for the 1974 event was £11,388....
  
  
• 1969 Graham Textiles Champion, Pains Wessex Champion

Results in major championships

Tournament	1956	1957	1958	1959
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	T30
U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	T17	T5	2	DNP
PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	CUT	T46	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	DNP	T23	T8	T26	T14	39	T2	CUT	T27	CUT
PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1970	1971	1972
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	T32	DNP	CUT
PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Yellow background for top-10

External links

• Dave Thomas Limited Golf Course Design Consultants