Bembridge turned professional at an early age in 1960 and was an assistant at Worksop Golf Club. In 1966 he won the Llandudno Assistant Professionals' Tournament and was a runner-up in the Gor-Ray Cup, the PGA Assistants’ Championship, behind Vince Hood.[1][2] In 1967 Bembridge moved to Little Aston Golf Club and had more success, winning the Gor-Ray Cup and the Hesketh Assistant Professionals' Tournament.[3][4] Bembridge qualified for the Open Championship in both 1966 and 1967, although he missed the cut on both occasions. In 1967 he led the qualifiers at Delamere Forest Golf Club.
In 1971 Bembridge had his first important British stroke-play victory, taking the Dunlop Masters, two strokes ahead of Peter Oosterhuis.[9]
Bembridge played on the European Tour from its foundation in 1972. In March 1972 he won the Lusaka Open in Zambia, by a stroke from Doug McClelland, having started with a 63, but he only finished 19th in the European Tour Order of Merit that season.[10][11] He finished second in the European Tour Order of Merit was second in 1973. He won the Martini International, was third three times and had a number of other top-10 finishes.[12] Bembridge won three times on the 1974 European Tour, the Piccadilly Medal, the Double Diamond Strokeplay and the Viyella PGA Championship but was less consistent, finishing 12th in the Order of Merit. He won again in 1975, the German Open where he won by 7 strokes. He was also runner-up in the Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf and finished 11th in the Order of Merit.[13]
After 1975 his best year was 1979 when he won his third Kenya Open and had his final European Tour win in the Benson & Hedges International Open, a result that lifted him to 18th in the Order of Merit.[14] He also came close to winning the 1982 Irish Open where he was runner-up, a stroke behind John O'Leary.[15] Bembridge continued playing on the European Tour but with less success, his final season being 1987.
After turning fifty Bembridge played on the European Senior Tour, winning twice at that level, the 1996 Hippo Jersey Seniors and the 1998 Swedish Seniors. He was also runner-up in the 2001 De Vere PGA Seniors Championship and was twice in the top 10 of the Order of Merit, 7th in 1996 and 9th in 1997. He was a member of the European Senior Tour committee for nine years and was its chairman from 2007 to 2011.[16]
Death
Bembridge died from cancer on 2 March 2024, at the age of 79.[17][18][19][20]
^Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN978-0-7864-3360-5.
