Ross Drummond

For the footballer, see Ross Drummond (footballer).

Ross Drummond
Personal information
Full nameRoss Drummond
Born (1956-11-29) 29 November 1956 (age 68)
Paisley, Scotland
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Sporting nationality Scotland
ResidencePrestwick, Ayrshire, Scotland
SpouseClaire (married 1981)
ChildrenLauren (1999)
Career
Turned professional1975
Current tour(s)European Senior Tour
Champions Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
Professional wins9
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT31: 1984, 1995

Ross Drummond (born 29 November 1956) is a Scottish professional golfer from Paisley whose most successful year on the PGA European Tour was chronicled by The Guardian's golf correspondent, Lawrence Donegan, in the book Four Iron in the Soul. Drummond did not win a tournament on the European Tour despite a long career, although he did finish as a runner-up at the 1996 Slaley Hall Northumberland Challenge. Having retired from the European Tour at the end of 2004, Drummond now plays regularly on the European Senior Tour.

Career

Drummond played for 24 years on the PGA European Tour[1] and has frequently been described as a "journeyman" professional.[2][3][4] Since 2007, he has been playing on the European Senior Tour.

European Tour

Drummond turned pro in 1975.[5] He won the Tooting Bec Cup for the lowest single-round score posted by a British or Irish player at the 1987 Open Championship at Muirfield, carding a 66 in his second round.[6][7] In 1996, he finished runner-up to Retief Goosen in the inaugural Slaley Hall Northumberland Challenge[8] and third behind Jesper Parnevik and Colin Montgomerie at the Trophée Lancôme,[9] and finished in 42nd place on that year's European Tour Order of Merit.[10] Drummond's 1996 season, which proved to be his most successful on the European Tour, was the subject of the book Four Iron in the Soul, written by The Guardian's golf correspondent, Lawrence Donegan, who caddied for him that year.[3] According to Donegan, Drummond was the first player on the tour to employ the services of sports psychologist Jos Vanstiphout.[11] Donegan had first met Drummond while researching an article on journeymen professionals, and writes in his book that this is "a description that might have been invented for him", noting that "I don't mean that derisively".[12]

Despite his success in 1996, Drummond subsequently lost his card in 1997, ending a 20-year run on the tour.[5][13] After failing to regain his tour card at the 1997 European Tour Qualifying School,[5] he was medalist at the Qualifying School in 1998 but never managed to re-establish himself on the European Tour,[14] having unsuccessfully participated in the Qualifying School in 1999 and 2000.[5]

Reflecting on his career at the Senior PGA Championship in May 2009, he stated: "I would say that I've just squeaked by. I've never been supported by sponsors. In the mid-1980s I had a sponsorship for a couple of years but it really wasn't a lot of money. I've never had any endorsements that paid big money. And, I basically funded [my career] myself".[15] By 2000, he was describing himself as "semi-retired" because he only had a small number of invitations to play in European PGA events, though he won the Tartan Tour Order of Merit that season and came tied second in the Madeira Island Open.[13][16] He played his last tournaments on the European Tour in 2004.[10]

European Senior Tour

In February 2007, Drummond played his first tournament on the European Senior Tour at the DGM Barbados Open at Royal Westmoreland, finishing joint 6th.[5] He finished as runner-up in two events in 2007, at the Ryder Cup Wales Seniors Open and the Charles Church Scottish Seniors Open, coming 6th in the overall rankings for the year and winning total prize money of €172,002.[10][17]

Drummond subsequently stated that he felt he had the ability to win a tournament on the 2008 circuit.[18] His best result of the season was tied second place at the Jersey Seniors Classic in June.[19] In 2008, he won prize money amounting to €106,343 and was ranked 17th.[10] In 2009, Drummond's best finishes were tied third at the Ryder Cup Wales Seniors Open[20] and third outright at the Benahavis Senior Masters.[21][22] He won a total of €97,920, finishing 11th on the tour.[10] He had led the Senior PGA Championship by two strokes after two rounds, but ended up finishing tied 37th.[22][23] In 2010, he finished 16th on the tour, with winnings of €122,013; his best result of the year was second in the Handa Irish Senior Open.[10][24]

Professional wins (9)

Playoff record

European Senior Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2015 Travis Perkins Masters Scotland Colin Montgomerie Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T31 T72 T35
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
The Open Championship CUT T63 T31 CUT CUT

Note: Drummond only played in The Open Championship.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1981 Open Championship)
"T" = tied

Team appearances

References

  1. ^ Lowe, Douglas (1 October 2007). "Drummond still chasing that elusive first victory". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  2. ^ Glover, Tim (15 July 1996). "Golf: Last chance for Lytham hopefuls". The Independent. London. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  3. ^ a b Graham Otway (12 July 1998). "Ross Drummond – the nearly man who struggles on". Golf Today. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  4. ^ "Drummond is shock leader". Sky Sports. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Ross Drummond: Biography". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  6. ^ "PGA Honour Rolls: Tooting Bec Cup". Professional Golfers' Association. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  7. ^ "Previous Opens: Muirfield — 1987 Results". The Royal and Ancient Golf Club. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  8. ^ "Golf". The Independent. London. 17 June 1996. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  9. ^ "Impressive Swede in repeat victory after Montgomerie wilts Parnevik weathers early birdie storm". The Herald. Glasgow. 16 September 1996. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Ross Drummond: Career record details". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  11. ^ Donegan, Lawrence (27 July 2002). "I was the first to jump on guru Jos's magic bus". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  12. ^ Donegan, Lawrence (1997). Four Iron in the Soul. London: Viking. p. 5. ISBN 0-670-87114-1.
  13. ^ a b Kane, Desmond (4 February 2001). "Drummond yet to lose his drive". Scotland on Sunday. Edinburgh. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  14. ^ Farquharson, Colin (26 February 2007). "Ross Drummond makes Seniors Tour debut in Barbados Open". Scottish Golf View. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  15. ^ Rogers, Tim (22 May 2009). "Senior surprise: Scotland's little-known Drummond grabs two-shot lead at Senior PGA". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  16. ^ "'Semi-retired' Drummond has surprised even himself". The Herald. Glasgow. 20 March 2000.
  17. ^ "Ross Drummond: Results – 2007". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  18. ^ "Ross sure he'll top it all in 2008". Daily Record. Glasgow. 27 December 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  19. ^ "Ross Drummond: Results – 2008". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  20. ^ "Smit beats Woosnam to Seniors win". BBC Sport. 21 June 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  21. ^ "Gordon Brand Jnr loses in play-off at Benahavis Senior Masters". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 19 October 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  22. ^ a b "Ross Drummond: Results – 2009". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  23. ^ a b "Drummond leads by 2 strokes at Senior PGA". Golf.com. 22 May 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  24. ^ "Ross Drummond: Results – 2010". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  25. ^ Gardner, John (10 October 2005). "Agony and ecstacy for Sam". Daily Record. Glasgow. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2011.