Norman Drew

Norman Vico Drew (born 25 May 1932) is a Northern Irish professional golfer.[1] He was the first golfer to play in the Walker Cup, Ryder Cup and Canada Cup. He was renowned for his short game.[2]

Norman Drew
Personal information
Full nameNorman Vico Drew
Born (1932-05-25) 25 May 1932
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight189 lb (86 kg; 13.5 st)
Nationality Northern Ireland
Career
Turned professional1953
Former tour(s)European Seniors Tour
Professional wins4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT15: 1957

Amateur career

Drew was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and started his golfing career at Balmoral Golf Club in Belfast. In 1949 he reached the final of the Boys Amateur Championship at St Andrews, losing to Harry MacAnespie 3&2 in the 36-hole final.[3] He qualified for the 1951 Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club. A first round 75 put him well up the field but a second round 88 meant he missed the cut by 9 strokes. Over the next few years he had a number of senior successes in Ireland, including the Irish Amateur Open Championship and 1952 and 1953. His second success came immediately before the selection of the final five players for the 1953 Walker Cup team. Drew was selected, at 21 he was the youngest member of the side.[4] The match was played at the Kittansett Club in Massachusetts, the United States winning 9–3. Drew was not selected for the singles and lost his singles match 9&7 against Don Cherry, having been 7 down after the first 18 holes.[5] He turned professional in November 1953, becoming an assistant at County Armagh Golf Club.[6]

Professional career

Drew's best season was 1959 culminating with the Ryder Cup at Eldorado Golf Club, California in November. Seven members of the 10-man British team were chosen using a Ryder Cup points system based on performances during the 1959 season. The first event was the PGA Close Championship starting on 8 April with the final event being the Irish Hospitals Tournament finishing on 12 July. The remaining three members of the team were selected by the P.G.A. tournament committee in late September, after the Dunlop Masters.[7][8] Drew started with top-10 finishes in the PGA Close Championship, the Spalding Tournament and the Dunlop Tournament and then finished fourth in the Swallow-Penfold Tournament.[9][10][11][12] After winning the Irish Dunlop Tournament, he missed the cut at the Daks Tournament but then has his first important British success, winning the Yorkshire Evening News Tournament, four strokes ahead of Peter Alliss, Harold Henning and Peter Thomson.[13][14] Drew was then 35th in the Open Championship and 14th in the Irish Hospitals Tournament to finish in sixth place in the rankings and gain his place in the team.[15][16] The season continued with Drew playing in the Amateurs–Professionals Match, winning the Irish Professional Championship and finishing joint runner-up in the Dunlop Masters behind Christy O'Connor Snr and level with Joe Carr.[17][18] The 1959 Ryder Cup was the last in which 36-hole matches were played. Drew became the first British ex-Walker Cup golfer to play in the Ryder Cup. He did not play in the foursomes on the first day but halved his singles match against Doug Ford. Drew was four down after nine holes but recovered and was only one down at lunch. In the afternoon he was one down playing the last. At the 470-yard par-4 he hit a wood to 15 feet and holed the putt.[19]

Drew represented Ireland in the Canada Cup in 1960 and 1961, becoming the first golfer to play in the Walker Cup, Ryder Cup and Canada Cup.

Later Drew competed on the European Seniors Tour for a number of years from the start of the tour in 1992. His best finish was a tie for 4th place in the 1992 Collingtree Homes Seniors Classic. He tied for 9th place in the 1993 Senior British Open despite a last round 80.

Personal life

Drew married his wife Valerie in 1958. They have two children, Heather and Gordon. Gordon Drew is also a professional golfer, currently at Donaghadee Golf Club, County Down, Northern Ireland.[20]

Amateur wins

Professional wins (4)

Results in major championships
Tournament 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
The Open Championship CUT T20 T15 T20 T35
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T40 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT

Note: Drew only played in The Open Championship.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1970 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

References
  1. Alliss, Peter (1983). The Who's Who of Golf. Orbis Publishing. p. 235. ISBN 0-85613-520-8.
  2. "Norman Drew, a quick sketch of an Irish golfing legend". Irish Golf Desk. 27 November 2016.
  3. "M'Anespie consistency wins boys' title". The Glasgow Herald. 29 August 1949. p. 2.
  4. "Two Scots in Walker Cup team". The Glasgow Herald. 23 June 1953. p. 4.
  5. "R. J. White's performance in Walker Cup". The Glasgow Herald. 7 September 1953. p. 9.
  6. "N. V. Drew professional". The Glasgow Herald. 25 November 1953. p. 4.
  7. "Professional golf gets underway – Playing for Ryder Cup places". The Times. 8 April 1959. p. 16.
  8. "Ryder Cup side completed – Thomas and Brown dispel doubts". The Times. 23 September 1959. p. 4.
  9. "P.G.A. Title for Rees". The Glasgow Herald. 11 April 1959. p. 8.
  10. "Lester and Henning tie for Spalding". The Glasgow Herald. 25 April 1959. p. 9.
  11. "Dunlop tournament's exciting finish". The Glasgow Herald. 9 May 1959. p. 9.
  12. "Narrow win by Butler". The Glasgow Herald. 25 May 1959. p. 4.
  13. "Drew first in Dunlop tourney". Belfast Telegraph. 8 June 1959. Retrieved 30 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Drew's First Victory In Major Event". The Glasgow Herald. 20 June 1959. p. 9.
  15. "Irish hospitals event won by Faulkner – Success by 4 strokes". The Glasgow Herald. 13 July 1959. p. 8.
  16. "Faulkner four up at finish – Alliss and Thomas in second place". The Times. 13 July 1959. p. 3.
  17. "Drew wins Irish title". The Glasgow Herald. 17 August 1959. p. 6.
  18. Horne, Cyril (19 September 1960). "Second Masters' title for O'Connor". Glasgow Herald. p. 9. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  19. "British Isles golfers crushed in singles - U.S. Ryder Cup putting much superior". The Times. 9 November 1959. p. 15.
  20. "Donaghadee Golf Club Pro Shop". Donaghadee Golf Club. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
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