Who's who: Ronan Rafferty

  • 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: Ronan Rafferty

  • Name:

    Ronan Rafferty
  • Country:

    N. Ireland
  • Born:

    Jan 13, 1964 in Newry, N. Ireland.
  • Original/Home Club:

    Warrenpoint GC and Ardglass GC.
  • Occupation:

    Professional golfer, TV & radio commentator; golf writer.
  • Turned Pro:

    1981
  • Website:

    https://www.ronanraffertygolf.com

Roll of Honour

Walker Cup player (1981). Ryder Cup player (1989). Total professional wins (13), including European Tour (7) and Australasian Tour (5).

Did you know?

Rafferty is a former European Tour player who now devotes more time to TV commentary, as well as other golf pursuits, which include arranging luxury golf days and course design work. His crowning achievements on the European Tour came in 1989 when he won the European Tour's Order of Merit and also made his only Ryder Cup appearance. Rafferty is a connoisseur of wine and a "collector" of links golf courses; he intends playing everyone of the links courses in the British Isles.

Top tournaments won by Ronan Rafferty

1993
Europe
Colony Club Gutenhof
274 (-14)
£41,660
Hohe Brucke

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Venue

Colony Club Gutenhof

Score

274 (-14)

Prize money

£41,660

Title sponsor

Hohe Brucke

Played as the Hohe Brucke Austrian Open (Aug 12-15; Eurpn Tr event). Rafferty (N.Ire) beat Anders Sorensen (Den) in a playoff. [West course, Colony Club Gutendorf, Himberg, nr Vienna].

1992
Europe
273 (-15)
£37,500
x

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Score

273 (-15)

Prize money

£37,500

Title sponsor

x

Played as the Portuguese Open (March 19-22). Second-placed Anders Forsbrand (Swe) finished 1 shot behind Ronan Rafferty (N.Ire). [Vila Sol Resort, nr Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal].

1990
Europe
270 (-18)
£58,330
PLM

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Score

270 (-18)

Prize money

£58,330

Title sponsor

PLM

Played as the PLM Open (Aug 2-5; in 1991 the PLM Open was merged into the Scandinavian Enterprise Open to create the Scandinavian Masters tournament). Second-placed Vijay Singh (Fiji) finished 4 shots behind Rafferty (N.Ire). [Bokskogens GC, Bara, nr Malmo, Sweden].

1990
Europe
267 (-21)
£76,336
Ebel

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Score

267 (-21)

Prize money

£76,336

Title sponsor

Ebel

Played as the Ebel European Masters Swiss Open. Second-placed John Bland (RSA) finished 2 shots behind Rafferty (N.Ire). [GC Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans-Montana, Switzerland].

1989
Awards
£400,311
see Score
Volvo

Category

Awards

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Venue

Score

£400,311

Prize money

see Score

Title sponsor

Volvo

Rafferty (N.Ire) won the Harry Vardon Trophy as the European Tour 1989 Volvo Order of Merit winner, with earnings of £400,311 on the Tour. Jose Maria Olazabal (Esp) was second with £336,239; Craig Parry (Aus) was third with £277,321.

1989
Europe
273 (-15)
£42,589
Lancia

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Score

273 (-15)

Prize money

£42,589

Title sponsor

Lancia

Played as the Lancia Italian Open. Second-placed Sam Torrance (Scot) finished 1 shot behind Rafferty (N.Ire). [Red course, GC Monticello, Cassina Rizzardi, nr Como].

1989
Europe
268 (-20)
£55,810
Scandinavian Enterprise

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Score

268 (-20)

Prize money

£55,810

Title sponsor

Scandinavian Enterprise

Played as the Scandinavian Enterprise Open (Aug 3-6). Second-placed Michael Allen (USA) finished 2 shots behind Rafferty (N.Ire), who recorded his second European Tour win. [Royal Drottningholm GC, nr Stockholm; at the time known as Drottningholm GC].

1989
Europe
282 (-6)
£66,660
Volvo

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Score

282 (-6)

Prize money

£66,660

Title sponsor

Volvo

Played as the Volvo Masters (Oct 26-29; Eurpn Tr season-ending event). Second-placed and defending champion Nick Faldo (Eng) finished 1 shot behind Rafferty (N.Ire). [Valderrama GC, San Roque, Spain].

1988
Europe
21 pts
£21,000
Equity & Law

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Score

21 pts

Prize money

£21,000

Title sponsor

Equity & Law

Played as the Equity & Law Challenge (Oct 17/18; unofficial Eurpn Tr money event over 54 holes; pts accumulated based on eagles and birdies). Second-placed and defending champion Barry Lane (Eng) finished 1 point behind Rafferty (N.Ire). [Composite course, Royal Mid-Surrey GC, Richmond, Surrey].

1987
Aus/NZ
279 (-9)
Nissan-Mobil

Category

Aus/NZ

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Score

279 (-9)

Prize money

Title sponsor

Nissan-Mobil

Played as the Nissan-Mobil New Zealand Open (Dec 10-13). Ronan Rafferty (N.Ire) beat Larry Nelson (USA) with a par at the seventh sudden-death playoff hole. [Wellington GC, Heretaunga, Upper Hutt, nr Wellington, NZ; from 2004 Royal Wellington GC].

1982
America
Lagunita CC
272 (-8)
x

Category

America

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Venue

Lagunita CC

Score

272 (-8)

Prize money

Title sponsor

x

Played as the Venezuelan Open. Won by 18-year-old Rafferty (N.Ire), who recorded his first win as a professional. [Lagunita CC, nr Caracas, Venezuela].

Category

Amateur

Winner (holder)

Rafferty, Ronan

Score

6 & 5

Prize money

amateur

Title sponsor

R&A

Played as the Boys Amateur Championship. Rafferty (N.Ire) beat D. Ray 6 and 5 in the 36-hole final match. [Kilmarnock (Barassie) GC, Troon, Ayrshire].

Find a course

Or

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). 

Who's Who

Céline Boutier: with many successes as both an amateur and professional golfer, Boutier added a major championship title to her impressive résumé at this year’s Evian Championship.

Alex Cejka: buffeted by rain and high winds, especially on the high-scoring final day, Čejka prevailed over Pádraig Harrington in a playoff at Royal Porthcawl, to scoop the Senior Open Championship title.

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

Popular videos

You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.

Hamburger GC - Falkenstein, Germany

WINSTONgolf - Links course

Littlestone Golf Club (Kent, UK)