Guy Hunt (golfer)

Guy Hunt
Personal information
Full nameGuy Lewis Hunt
Born (1947-01-17) 17 January 1947 (age 77)
Bishop's Stortford, Herts.
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Sporting nationality England
ResidenceBournemouth, Dorset
Career
Turned professional1963
Former tour(s)European Tour
European Seniors Tour
Professional wins3
Number of wins by tour
European Tour1
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 1973
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT7: 1972

Guy Lewis Hunt (born 17 January 1947) is an English professional golfer. He won the 1977 Dunlop Masters and played in the 1975 Ryder Cup.

Professional career

Hunt turned professional as a sixteen-year-old in 1963 becoming an assistant at Bishop's Stortford Golf Club. He had some success in 1968, winning the Southern Professional Championship and then Lord Derby’s Under-23 Professional Tournament by 8 strokes.[1] In 1969 he was runner-up in the Energen Junior Match Play, losing 2&1 to Craig Defoy in the final, while in 1971 he was runner-up to John Garner in the Coca-Cola Young Professionals' Championship.[2][3]

Hunt played regularly on the European Tour from its foundation in 1972 until 1979. He had an exceptionally consistent season in 1972. He didn't win but was runner-up to Tommy Horton in the Piccadilly Medal, was third three times and had a total of eleven top-ten finishes including being tied for 7th place in the Open Championship.[4] Hunt finished second in the Order of Merit behind Peter Oosterhuis, who won the title with 1751 points, just ahead of Hunt on 1710, although his performances in the big money events put Oosterhuis well ahead as the leading money winner.[5] In 1972 Hunt also made his first appearance in the World Cup, partnering Tony Jacklin in Melbourne in November.

Following his good 1972 season, Hunt received an invitation to play in the 1973 Masters Tournament where he missed the cut. On the 1973 European Tour he only had two top-10 finishes and dropped to 43rd in the Order of Merit. In 1974 Hunt finished 16th in the Order of Merit with a best finish of third in the Martini International.[6]

In 1975 Hunt finished a 17th on the Order of Merit and played in the Ryder Cup. He had a good start to the season, finishing joint third in the Spanish Open and the Martini International.[7] These results at the start of the season put Hunt in the top eight of the Ryder Cup points to gain an automatic place in team.[8] The 1975 Ryder Cup was held at Laurel Valley Golf Club in September. Hunt played two pairs matches with Eamonn Darcy, halving one and losing the other, and lost to Tom Weiskopf in the singles. Hunt was selected for England in the World Cup that year, playing with Maurice Bembridge.

Hunt's sole European Tour win came at the 1977 Dunlop Masters, the final event of the season, where he beat Brian Barnes in a playoff, winning the first prize of £8,000.[9][10] This prize money lifted Hunt to 12th in the Order of Merit.

Hunt later worked as a tournament administrator and he also played on the European Seniors Tour from 1997 to 1999. His best result was to finish in a tie for fifth place in the 1997 Shell Wentworth Senior Masters.

Professional wins (3)

European Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 1 Oct 1977 Dunlop Masters +7 (74-70-76-71=291) Playoff Scotland Brian Barnes

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1977 Dunlop Masters Scotland Brian Barnes Won with par on third extra hole

Other wins (2)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT T48 CUT T7 CUT T39 T28 T32 T15 T17 CUT

Note: Hunt only played in the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1979 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

References

  1. ^ "Hunt wins by eight strokes". The Glasgow Herald. 27 September 1968. p. 6.
  2. ^ "Energen victory for Defoy". The Glasgow Herald. 15 October 1969. p. 6.
  3. ^ "Garner's Ryder Cup boost". The Glasgow Herald. 6 September 1971. p. 5.
  4. ^ "Horton beats Hunt in undistinguished final of Piccadilly". The Glasgow Herald. 1 May 1972. p. 6.
  5. ^ "A man of supreme merit". The Times. 11 November 1972. p. 6.
  6. ^ "Ginn and Martini". The Glasgow Herald. 10 June 1974. p. 4.
  7. ^ "Two stroke it rich in Martini". The Glasgow Herald. 16 June 1975. p. 17.
  8. ^ "Norman Wood gains Ryder Cup place". The Glasgow Herald. 18 August 1974. p. 15.
  9. ^ "Success at last for Hunt". The Glasgow Herald. 3 October 1977. p. 15.
  10. ^ "Hunt wins first pro golf tourney". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. 2 October 1977.