Mark James (golfer)

Mark Hugh James (born 28 October 1953) is an English professional golfer who had a long career on the European Tour and captained Europe in the 1999 Ryder Cup. He has also played senior golf on the European Senior Tour and the U.S.-based Champions Tour.

Mark James
James in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Mark Hugh James
Nickname	Jesse
Born	(1953-10-28) 28 October 1953 (age 71) Manchester, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	178 lb (81 kg; 12.7 st)
Sporting nationality	England
Residence	Burley in Wharfedale, West Yorkshire, England
Career
Turned professional	1976
Current tour(s)	European Senior Tour
Former tour(s)	European Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	32
Highest ranking	25 (5 May 1991)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	18
Sunshine Tour	1
PGA Tour Champions	3
European Senior Tour	2
Other	8
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	CUT: 1980
PGA Championship	T31: 1999
U.S. Open	CUT: 1990, 1996
The Open Championship	T3: 1981
Achievements and awards
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year 1976

Early life and amateur career

James was born in Manchester, England and educated at Stamford School. He won the English Amateur championship at Woodhall Spa in 1974 ^[2] and was a member of the Great Britain & Ireland 1975 Walker Cup team.

Professional career

European Tour

His first professional win was the 1977 Lusaka Open and the following year he picked up the first of his eighteen wins on the European Tour at the Sun Alliance Match Play Championship. He also holds the record for the highest European Tour event 18-hole-round of 111 strokes at the 1978 Italian Open in Sardinia, when refusing to with-draw despite an injury. Four years later he won the same tournament.

James never won a major championship, but he had four top-five finishes at The Open Championship. He was consistently competitive on the European Tour winning 12 times with 20 top-30 finishes on the Order of Merit, including seven top-10 finishes, the best of them third place in 1979. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2000, but after treatment began playing golf again in 2001.^[3]

Ryder Cup

James represented Great Britain & Ireland or Europe in the Ryder Cup seven times including 1989 when Europe tied the match and retained the cup they had won in 1987, and 1995 when they won it outright. He was the European captain in the controversial "Battle of Brookline" in 1999, when the behaviour of the American galleries and team created a great deal of resentment in Europe, and also James' own actions during the matches drew fire from both sides of the Atlantic.

Prior to the event, James controversially chose Andrew Coltart as his second captain's pick on the team, thus leaving out Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer (veterans who were the two most successful players for the European team in Ryder Cup history). In one of the most discussed moves in the Ryder Cup, James then kept Jean van de Velde, Jarmo Sandelin and Coltart on the bench during all sixteen matches during the first two days of play, relegating them to singles matches on Sunday only. His refusal to play those three first-time players helped lead to Europe's defeat, as none of the three won their one match. On the other hand, United States captain Ben Crenshaw played all twelve players at least once during the first two days, even though Mark O'Meara only played once.

James published a best selling book about the event called Into the Bear Pit in 2000. In addition to criticising the behaviour of the Americans at Brookline, it also detailed James' clashes with some of his fellow Europeans including Faldo, the fading superstar whose merits as a potential captain's pick for the Ryder Cup had been much debated in the UK. James revealed in his book that just before the Ryder Cup began he had thrown a letter of encouragement from Faldo into the bin rather than share it with team. The controversy that this revelation aroused led to James resigning as one of Europe's Ryder Cup vice-captains for 2001.

A follow-up book, called After the Bear Pit, covering James' cancer and his experiences as a European Tour player, as well as further thoughts on the Ryder Cup, appeared in 2002.

Senior Tour and other commitments

James qualified to play senior golf when he turned fifty in late 2003. He chose to play mainly in the U.S. and was second in the Champions Tour Qualifying Tournament Finals that November. In 2004 he became the first European player to win one of the Champions Tour's senior majors with victory at the Ford Senior Players Championship.^[4] In 2005, he won on the Champions Tour for a second time at the ACE Group Classic and finished in the top 20 on the money list for a second consecutive season. His last full season on the Champions Tour was 2010 and he has played mainly on the European Senior Tour since then.

James has also worked as a golf commentator for the BBC.

Professional wins (32)

European Tour wins (18)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	1 Jul 1978	Sun Alliance Match Play Championship	3 and 2		Neil Coles
2	17 Jun 1979	Welsh Golf Classic	−6 (72-68-68-70=278)	Playoff	Mike Miller, Eddie Polland
3	26 Aug 1979	Carroll's Irish Open	−6 (73-75-69-65=282)	1 stroke	Ed Sneed
4	17 Aug 1980	Carroll's Irish Open (2)	−4 (71-66-74-73=284)	1 stroke	Brian Barnes
5	2 May 1982	Italian Open	−8 (70-67-71-72=280)	3 strokes	Bobby Clampett, Ian Woosnam
6	17 Apr 1983	Tunisian Open	−4 (74-69-69-72=284)	2 strokes	Gordon J. Brand, Gordon Brand Jnr, Tom Sieckmann
7	19 May 1985	GSI L'Equipe Open	−16 (68-67-71-66=272)	3 strokes	Carl Mason
8	17 Aug 1986	Benson & Hedges International Open	−14 (65-70-69-70=274)	Playoff	Hugh Baiocchi, Lee Trevino
9	15 May 1988	Peugeot Spanish Open	−18 (63-68-63-68=262)	3 strokes	Nick Faldo
10	5 Mar 1989	Karl Litten Desert Classic	−11 (69-68-72-68=277)	Playoff	Peter O'Malley
11	27 Mar 1989	AGF Open	−11 (69-67-69-72=277)	3 strokes	Mark Mouland
12	18 Jun 1989	NM English Open	−9 (72-70-69-68=279)	1 stroke	Eamonn Darcy, Craig Parry, Sam Torrance
13	3 Jun 1990	Dunhill British Masters	−18 (70-67-66-67=270)	2 strokes	David Feherty
14	19 Aug 1990	NM English Open (2)	−4 (76-68-65-75=284)	Playoff	Sam Torrance
15	17 Jan 1993	Madeira Island Open	−7 (71-69-70-71=281)	3 strokes	Gordon J. Brand, Paul Broadhurst
16	14 Feb 1993	Turespaña Iberia Open de Canarias	−13 (71-69-69-66=275)	6 strokes	De Wet Basson
17	12 Mar 1995	Moroccan Open	−13 (70-70-70-65=275)	1 stroke	David Gilford
18	27 Apr 1997	Peugeot Open de España (2)	−11 (67-68-73-69=277)	Playoff	Greg Norman

European Tour playoff record (5–4)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1979	Welsh Golf Classic	Mike Miller, Eddie Polland	Won with par on third extra hole Polland eliminated by birdie on second hole
2	1984	St. Mellion Timeshare TPC	Jaime Gonzalez	Lost to par on second extra hole
3	1985	Trophée Lancôme	Nick Price	Lost to par on third extra hole
4	1986	Benson & Hedges International Open	Hugh Baiocchi, Lee Trevino	Won with birdie on first extra hole
5	1989	Karl Litten Desert Classic	Peter O'Malley	Won with birdie on first extra hole
6	1989	German Open	Craig Parry	Lost to par on second extra hole
7	1990	NM English Open	Sam Torrance	Won with birdie on first extra hole
8	1992	BMW International Open	Paul Azinger, Glen Day, Anders Forsbrand, Bernhard Langer	Azinger won with birdie on first extra hole
9	1997	Peugeot Open de España	Greg Norman	Won with par on third extra hole

Southern Africa Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	20 Feb 1988	Danglo Tournament Players Championship	−14 (66-70-69-69=274)	2 strokes	Hugh Baiocchi

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	1991	Lexington PGA Championship	Hugh Royer III, Roger Wessels	Wessels won par with on second extra hole Royer eliminated by par on first hole

Safari Circuit wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	20 Mar 1977	Lusaka Open	−13 (70-74-68-67=279)	1 stroke	Gary Cullen

Other wins (5)

• 1980 Euro Masters Invitational (Italy – not a European Tour event)
• 1981 Heublein Open (Brazil)
• 1982 Hennessy Cognac Cup Individual^[5]
• 1983 Euro Masters Invitational (Italy – not a European Tour event)
• 2011 Gary Player Invitational (with George Coetzee)

Champions Tour wins (3)

Legend
Champions Tour major championships (1)
Other Champions Tour (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	11 Jul 2004	Ford Senior Players Championship	−13 (68-67-67-73=275)	1 stroke	José María Cañizares
2	20 Feb 2005	ACE Group Classic	−13 (69-68-66=203)	2 strokes	Hale Irwin, Tom Wargo
3	11 Feb 2007	Allianz Championship	−15 (64-69-68=201)	2 strokes	Jay Haas

European Senior Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	4 Sep 2005	Bovis Lend Lease European Senior Masters	−9 (70-71-66=207)	Playoff	Sam Torrance
2	10 May 2009	Son Gual Mallorca Senior Open	−10 (70-70-66=206)	Playoff	Eamonn Darcy

European Senior Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2005	Bovis Lend Lease European Senior Masters	Sam Torrance	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	2009	Son Gual Mallorca Senior Open	Eamonn Darcy	Won with birdie on third extra hole

Other senior wins (2)

• 2011 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Raphael Division (with Des Smyth)
• 2012 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Raphael Division (with Des Smyth)

Results in major championships

Tournament	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship	CUT	CUT		T5	CUT	CUT	4
PGA Championship

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship	T45	T3	T51	T29	T44	T20	T35	CUT	T62	T13
PGA Championship

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT						CUT
The Open Championship	T31	T26	CUT	T27	T4	T8	T22	T20	T19	T43	CUT
PGA Championship	CUT		T40	CUT	CUT		CUT			T31

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1974, 1977 and 1978 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
U.S. Open	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
The Open Championship	0	0	1	4	5	10	26	20
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	2
Totals	0	0	1	4	5	10	35	22

• Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1980 Open Championship – 1986 Open Championship)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament	1999
Match Play
Championship	T25
Invitational

  Did not play

"T" = Tied

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2004	Ford Senior Players Championship	−13 (68-67-67-73=275)	1 stroke	José María Cañizares

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2021.

Tournament	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
The Tradition	T19	4	T4			T41	T50										NT
Senior PGA Championship	T4	T10	CUT	T33	T62	T9	T56	CUT	T56	CUT							NT
Senior Players Championship	1	T49	T11			T22	T11
U.S. Senior Open	T15	T54	T14	T47	T29												NT
Senior British Open Championship	4	T12	T15	T61	T16	T43	T20	T72	T53	47	CUT	CUT			CUT	CUT	NT	CUT

  Win

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Team appearances

Amateur

• Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1975
• European Amateur Team Championship (representing England): 1975

Professional

• Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1976 (winners), 1978 (winners), 1980 (winners), 1982 (winners & individual winner), (representing England) 1984 (winners)
• Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland/Europe): 1977, 1979, 1981, 1989 (tied and retained cup), 1991, 1993, 1995 (winners), 1999 (non-playing captain)
• World Cup (representing England): 1978, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 1999
• Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing England): 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999
• Four Tours World Championship (representing Europe): 1988, 1989, 1990

See also

• List of golfers with most European Tour wins