| Sir Bob Charles ONZ KNZM CBE | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Bob_Charles_(cropped).jpg) Charles in 2011 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Robert James Charles |
| Born | 14 March 1936 Carterton, New Zealand |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Weight | 79 kg (174 lb; 12.4 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  New Zealand |
| Residence | Florida, U.S. Canterbury, New Zealand |
| Spouse |
Verity Aldridge (m. 1962) |
| Children | 2 |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1960 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour PGA Tour of Australia New Zealand Golf Circuit Champions Tour European Seniors Tour |
| Professional wins | 80 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 6 |
| European Tour | 4 |
| PGA Tour Champions | 25 (Tied-4th all-time) |
| European Senior Tour | 1 |
| Other | 32 (regular) 13 (senior) |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |
| Masters Tournament | T15: 1963 |
| PGA Championship | T2: 1968 |
| U.S. Open | 3rd/T3: 1964, 1970 |
| The Open Championship | Won: 1963 |
| Achievements and awards | |
Sir Robert James Charles ONZ KNZM CBE (born 14 March 1936) is a New Zealand professional golfer who won the 1963 Open Championship, the first left-handed player to win a major championship. He won the 1954 New Zealand Open as an 18-year-old amateur and made the cut in the same event in 2007, at the age of 71. His achievements over that period, in which he won 80 tournaments, rank him as one of the most successful New Zealand golfers of all time. He is, along with Michael Campbell, one of only two New Zealanders to win a men's major golf championship.
Charles turned professional in late 1960 and for the next two years had some success in tournaments around the world. From 1963 until the mid-1970s he played mostly on the PGA Tour. He won 5 times on the tour and finished in the top-60 on the money list each year from 1963 to 1971, except 1966, and again in 1974. Later he played more on the European Tour before joining the Senior PGA Tour when he reached 50. He was very successful on the Senior PGA Tour with 23 titles between 1987 and 1996, and winning over $9 million between 1986 and 2008. In Britain, Charles won the 1963 Open Championship and the Senior British Open twice, in 1989 and 1993. These were later added as official wins on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. In addition to his PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour wins, Charles won 9 times in Europe, including the 1969 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, and 25 times in domestic New Zealand tournaments. He also won a number of other seniors events around the world, including in South Africa, Japan and Australia.