Who's who: Max Faulkner

  • Torrey Pines - South course, host of the Farmers Insurance Open
  • Prince's GC, England
  • Torrey Pines - South course, host of the Farmers Insurance Open
  • Terras da Comporta, Dunas
  • Monte Rei G&CC
  • Marco Simone GC (Italy); host of the Ryder Cup 2023
  • Pebble Beach host of the US Open; US Women's Open; Pebble Beach Pro-Am
  • Marco Simone GC

Who's who: Max Faulkner

  • Name:

    Herbert Gustavus Max Faulkner
  • Country:

    England
  • Lived:

    [1916-2005]. Born on July 29, 1916 in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex. Died on Feb 26, 2005 in Chichester, West Sussex (aged 88).
  • Original/Home Club:

    Bramley GC, nr Guildford.
  • Occupation:

    Golf professional and professional golfer; RAF fitness instructor; boxer.
  • Turned Pro:

    1933

Roll of Honour

MAJORS (1): Open Championship (1951). Ryder Cup player (1947, '49, '51, '53, '57). At least 20 professional wins including many on the European circuit. Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (2001).

Did you know?

Faulkner was the son of Gustavus "Gus" Faulkner, a professional golfer who was at one time an assistant to James Braid at Walton Heath GC. Max Faulkner excelled at many sports, but developed golf as his main interest when his father served as the golf professional at Bramley GC, just south of Guildford.

Faulkner's very successful professional tournament career spanned either side of World War II (during which time he served in the RAF as a physical training (PT) instructor). In addition to his many notable wins in the UK and Ireland, he also won the Spanish Open three times during the 1950s, and the Portuguese Open in 1968.

Faulkner's greatest golfing achievement came in the 1951 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, where he prevailed by two shots over the Argentinian Antonio Cerdá. He said of lifting the Claret Jug, "It was all I ever wanted. The Open meant everything to me."

Top tournaments won by Max Faulkner

1970
Europe
288 (+12)
£500
Pringle

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Score

288 (+12)

Prize money

£500

Title sponsor

Pringle

Played as the Pringle PGA Seniors Championship (June 24-26). Second-placed Dai Rees (Wales) finished 1 shot behind Max Faulkner (Eng), who won this event for the second time in three years. [Longniddry GC, East Lothian].

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Venue

Estoril

Score

273 (-3)

Prize money

Title sponsor

x

Played as the Portuguese Open (Nov 21-24). Second-placed and defending champion Ángel Gallardo (Esp) finished 2 shots behind Max Faulkner (Eng), who recorded the last of his many European circuit wins. [Estoril GC, Estoril, Portugal].

1968
Europe
283 (+11)
£500
Teacher's

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Score

283 (+11)

Prize money

£500

Title sponsor

Teacher's

Played as the Teacher's Senior Professional Tournament (May 21-23; aka British Senior Championship). Second-placed and defending champion John Panton (Scot) finished 3 shots behind Max Faulkner (Eng). [Aldeburgh GC, Suffolk].

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Score

283

Prize money

Title sponsor

x

Played as the Spanish Open. Second-placed Henry Cotton (Eng) finished 6 shots behind Faulkner (Eng). [Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid, Spain].

1953
Europe
1 hole
£750
News of the World

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Venue

Ganton

Score

1 hole

Prize money

£750

Title sponsor

News of the World

Played as the News of the World Match Play (Sept 16-19). Faulkner (Eng) beat Dai Rees (Wales) by 1 hole in the 36-hole final. [Ganton GC, nr Scarborough, North Yorkshire].

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Score

271

Prize money

Title sponsor

x

Played as the Spanish Open. Won by defending champion Faulkner (Eng). [Arriba course, Real (Royal) Club de la Puerta de Hierro, Madrid].

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Score

275

Prize money

Title sponsor

x

Played as the Spanish Open. Won by Faulkner (Eng). [Arriba course, Real (Royal) Club de la Puerta de Hierro, Madrid].

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Score

345

Prize money

£350

Title sponsor

Dunlop

Played as the Dunlop 2000 Guineas Tournament (played over 90 holes). Second-placed Tom Haliburton (Scot) finished 7 shots behind Faulkner (Eng). [Sunningdale GC, Sunningdale, Berks].

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Score

281

Prize money

£500

Title sponsor

Dunlop

Played as the Dunlop Masters (Oct 9-11). Second-placed Reg Horne (Eng) finished 4 shots behind Faulkner (Eng). [West course, Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey].

Category

Majors

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Score

285 (-3)

Prize money

£300

Title sponsor

R&A

The Open Championship (80th) (July 4-6). Second-placed Antonio Cerda (Arg) finished 2 shots behind Faulkner (Eng). [Dunluce Links, Royal Portrush GC, Co. Antrim, N. Ireland].

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Score

277

Prize money

£350

Title sponsor

Lotus

Played as the Lotus £1,500 Tournament (Aug 31-Sept 2). Second-placed Charlie Ward (Eng), the host club's professional, finished 1 shot behind Faulkner (Eng). [Little Aston GC, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield, Warwicks].

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Score

287

Prize money

£350

Title sponsor

Dunlop

Played as the inaugural Dunlop 2000 Guineas Tournament. Second-placed Sam King (Eng) finished 2 shots behind Faulkner (Eng). [West course, Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey].

1949
Europe
South Herts GC
1 hole
£200
Penfold

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Venue

South Herts GC

Score

1 hole

Prize money

£200

Title sponsor

Penfold

Played as the Penfold Tournament (for the only time as a foursome match play event). Max Faulkner (Eng) & John Burton (Eng) beat Flory van Donck (Belg) & Dick Burton (Eng) by 1 hole in the final. John and Dick Burton were brothers, originally from Darwen, Lancashire. [South Herts GC, Totteridge, North London].

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Faulkner, Max

Score

296

Prize money

£350

Title sponsor

Dunlop

Played as the Dunlop-Southport £2000 Tournament (for the first time since 1938 due to WW2). Second-placed Norman Von Nida (Aus) finished 1 shot behind Faulkner (Eng). [Southport & Ainsdale GC, Southport, Merseyside].

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Tournaments

Ryder Cup: Rome plays host to the first ever Ryder Cup to be staged in Italy, with the USA defending golf’s greatest team trophy at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club (Sept 29-Oct 1).

Solheim Cup: also in September, also in southern Europe, the 18th Solheim Cup will be contested at Finca Cortesin on the Costa del Sol, with Europe defending after their surprise win in Toledo, Inverness Club (Ohio) in 2021 (Sept 22-24). 

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Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

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