A gutsy competitor in matchplay regardless of a quiet, pipe-smoking disposition, Bembridge made his Ryder Cup debut in 1969 after which performed within the subsequent three iterations in 1971, 1973 and 1975.
After winding down within the late Eighties he claimed two tournaments on the European Senior Tour and continued to play competitively into his 70s, coming into his final notable occasion, the Swiss Seniors Open, in 2016. In all he made 283 appearances on the European Tour and 282 on the Senior Tour.
Maurice Bembridge was born on February 21, 1945 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, the place he discovered to play at Worksop golf membership, changing into an assistant professional there after turning skilled in 1960 on the age of 15.
By 1967 he had moved to Little Aston golf membership in Sutton Coldfield, a base from which he notched up his first vital win, on the 1968 Kenya Open, after which, in the identical 12 months, got here fifth within the Open at Carnoustie, the place he was the very best positioned British competitor.
In 1969, after retaining the Kenya Open title and profitable the celebrated Information of the World Matchplay occasion, he was chosen to play within the Ryder Cup in opposition to the USA at Royal Birkdale, profitable two and halving one in every of his 5 matches as Nice Britain and Eire tied total, a uncommon feat in these days of American dominance. Within the 1973 Ryder Cup at Muirfield he and Brian Huggett beat the fabled pairing of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer 3&1.
The appearance of an official European Tour in 1972 had coincided with Bembridge’s peak, and he gained 5 tournaments on the brand new circuit throughout a purple patch between 1973 and 1975, together with the Piccadilly Medal (1974) and the German Open (1975).
A lot slimmer pickings adopted the riches of the early to mid-Seventies, till a remaining tour victory in 1979 on the Benson & Hedges Worldwide Open at Mellion in Cornwall, the place he held off Ken Brown by two photographs with rounds of 67, 67, 69 and 69.
Retiring from the fray in 1987, he later joined the European Senior Tour, with wins in Jersey (1996) and Sweden (1998). He additionally served for 9 years on the tour’s committee, earlier than changing into its chairman from 2007 to 2011. In his remaining years he lived and performed in St Gallen in Switzerland, joking that he was nonetheless looking for the proper spherical of golf.
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