Double winner of the French Open died at 76

After an immense career during which he won the European Order of Merit four times, played in the Ryder Cup six times, and came close to winning a Major on several occasions, Englishman Peter Oosterhuis has passed away at the age of 75.

Winner of seven European Tour tournaments in the 1970s, Peter Oosterhuis was a four-time winner of the Order of Merit between 1971 and 1974.

In his list of achievements, the 1.96m-tall Englishman notably includes a victory in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, as well as back-to-back wins at the Open de France in 1973 at La Boulie and in 1974 at Chantilly.

During another chapter of his career, Oosterhuis played on the PGA Tour, managing to outshine Jack Nicklaus in 1981 at the Canadian Open.

Record in Ryder Cup Singles He was a member of the Great Britain and Ireland team before it expanded to include all of Europe, participating in six Ryder Cups where he always came out victorious in singles matches.

Golf, death

His six wins on the final day of the Europe-USA match set a record that he shares with Arnold Palmer, Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Lee Trevino, Sam Snead, Billy Casper, and Ian Poulter.

It’s worth noting that both Palmer and Trevino were defeated by the Englishman in their singles match on the final day.

So Close to Major Success Oosterhuis finished runner-up twice in The Open Championship. The first time was behind Gary Player at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in 1974, and then in 1982 at Royal Troon where he was beaten by Tom Watson, for Watson’s fourth of five victories in the oldest of the Majors.

He also finished on the podium at the Masters in 1973.

First-Class Commentator After hanging up his clubs, he had a brilliant career as a commentator for Sky Sports, the BBC, and Golf Channel before moving to the United States and joining CBS to commentate on the Masters.

Affected by Alzheimer’s disease, he retired in 2014 and passed away on Thursday, May 2nd, at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, the day before his 76th birthday.