23rd April 2025
Peter McEvoy, one of the most significant members of the Walker Cup family, died on 6th April 2025 at the age of 72.
He won The Amateur Championship in both 1977 (Ganton) and 1978 (Royal Troon); the last player to successfully defend the title. In total he competed in 18 Amateur Championships playing 70 matches. He won 54 and lost 16 of these giving him an impressive win rate of 77%.
He was a member of the Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) Walker Cup team on five occasions – in 1977-79-81-85-89. His first four Walker Cup matches were lost but the last one, at Peachtree, Atlanta, ended in victory; the first time GB&I had won this historically one-sided contest on US soil. McEvoy contributed 2.5 points in that final game but his overall record was disappointing given his wider playing record. He played 18 games in total, winning 5, losing 11 and halving 2. Only Sir Michael Bonallack (25), Joe Carr (20) and Gary Wolstenholme (19) have played more Walker Cup games for GB&I.
McEvoy played on five Eisenhower Trophy teams – in 1978-80-84-86-88. In 1988, aged 35, and a year after he hadn’t been selected for The Walker Cup he won the World Amateur Individual event and GB&I won the team event for the third time at Ullva, Sweden.
He also played in the St. Andrews Trophy for GB&I against the Continent of Europe in 1978-80-86-88. GB&I won on each occasion in what was then an event as one-sided as The Walker Cup.
He is England’s second most capped amateur golfer, competing in 153 matches between 1976 and 1992. Gary Wolstenholme achieved an astonishing 218 caps whilst Sir Michael Bonallack made 131 appearances for their shared country. He played in the Home Internationals of 1976-77-78-(79 not held)-80-81-83-84-85-86-87-88-89-91. England won in 1977-78-80-84-85-88-89. He went on to captain the team between 1994 and 1997, winning on each occasion. He holds the record for the highest win ratio (67.3%) of any British amateur golfer, playing 153 matches and winning 103 of them – he halved 16 and lost just 34 of the remaining ones. He amazingly lost just once in his first 30 singles matches.
Despite never winning the English Amateur – he lost in the 1980 final to Peter Deeble – his name adorns virtually every other major British amateur trophy. His wins included the Duncan Putter, Scrutton Jug, Lytham Trophy, Selborne Salver, Brabazon Trophy, Lagonda Trophy, West of England Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship, English County Champions’ Tournament, Berkshire Trophy, Berkhamsted Trophy, Logan Trophy and Hampshire Hog.
He played in four Open Championships. After something of an apprenticeship in 1976 (Royal Birkdale) and 1977 (Turnberry, where he was paired with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player) he achieved low amateur status at The Open Championship in both 1978 (St. Andrews, 39th) and 1979 (Royal Lytham St. Annes, T17th with Lee Trevino). He also qualified for the 1984 Open at St. Andrews, making the cut for the third time but having to withdrawal due to ill health at the start of round 3.
McEvoy also played in three Masters. In 1978, paired with Tom Watson to start with, he became just the second GB&I amateur to make the cut at The Masters (after Joe Carr in 1967). He finished 53rd after rounds of 73, 75, 77 and 77, last of those that made the cut. He perhaps surprisingly remains the last GB&I amateur to make the cut at The Masters. In his other two appearances he missed the cut; in 1979 paired with Jack Nicklaus he shot 79, 79 missing out by 13-shots and in 1980 paired with Sam Snead he scored 79, 76 missing out by 9-shots.
Jack Swift Receives The McEvoy Trophy From Peter McEvoy In April 2024 (Photo: Golf Bible)
McEvoy subsequently enjoyed huge success as a Team Captain, leading GB&I to famous Walker Cup wins at Nairn (1999) and Sea Island, Georgia (2001). Both victories came by a score of 15-9 and were the first time GB&I had recorded consecutive wins in the event. He also captained GB&I to victory in the 1998 Eisenhower Trophy in Santiago, Chile. He is the only person to win the individual event as a player, the team event as a player, and the team event as a captain. He also captained again in 2000, and GB&I finished in second place. In 2002, when the home nations started to compete individually he captained the first England team.
In 2002, McEvoy was named Chairman of the R&A Selection Committee, responsible for the selection of the GB&I teams competing in various international events. Between 2008 and 2015 he was responsible for the GB&I Boys Team and manager of the Jacques Léglise Trophy team.
He was appointed Captain of the Europe Team for the 2020 Bonallack Trophy men’s match against Asia-Pacific.
Once his own playing career was over he moved into player management, consultancy and golf course design which he continued to successfully pursue right up until his death.
He was honoured by the The Association of Golf Writers on two occasions. In 1978 he won The Golf Writers’ Trophy, “awarded each year to the individual, born or resident in Europe, or the European team, who have made the most outstanding contribution to golf in the preceding 12 months”. In 2001 the same award was given to the victorious 2001 Walker Cup team which he captained. More recently in 2009 he received the prestigious Association of Golf Writers’ Award for his outstanding services to the game.
The English Golf Union (now England Golf) named Peter McEvoy the winner of their 1999 Gerald Micklem Award. This honour is given to those who have “made an outstanding contribution to further the interests of amateur golf in England”. In February 2024 McEvoy was included amongst an initial group of 12 inductees into the new England Golf Hall of Fame.
Peter McEvoy received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2003 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List, for “services to golf”.
In 2006 Peter McEvoy published his excellent autobiography ‘For Love or Money’ (HarperSport). The book was written with the assistance of Sunday Telegraph journalist Mark Reason and is well worth a read.
The Peter McEvoy Trophy for U18’s continues to be played at Copt Heath G.C., the Solihull-based club he was associated with throughout his career. Past winners include Lee Westwood (1991) and Justin Rose (1998).
Peter McEvoy clearly loved the game of golf and the amateur game in GB&I was fortunate to have him as a leading figure for many years. His contribution as an elite player, captain, administrator, coach, course designer and journalist / writer is almost without parallel.
He is survived by his first wife Dorothy “Dee”, their sons Cameron and Richard, his second wife Helen, her daughter Mary and their son Douglas.
ME.
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