Noel Ratcliffe

Noel Anthony Ratcliffe (17 January 1945 – April 2024) was an Australian professional golfer.

Noel Ratcliffe
Ratcliffe at the 2010 Dutch Senior Open
Personal information
Full name	Noel Anthony Ratcliffe
Nickname	The Rat[1]
Born	(1945-01-17)17 January 1945 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died	April 2024(2024-04-00) (aged 79)
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Sporting nationality	Australia
Residence	Sydney, Australia
Career
Turned professional	1974
Former tour(s)	European Tour PGA Tour of Australasia European Seniors Tour
Professional wins	16
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	2
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
European Senior Tour	8 (Tied-7th all-time)
Other	2 (regular) 3 (senior)
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	T38: 1988
Achievements and awards
European Seniors Tour Order of Merit winner 2000

Early life and amateur career

Ratcliffe turned to golf late for a future professional, and didn't own a set of clubs until he was twenty-one. At university he studied pharmacy and worked for an insurance company and in public service.^{[citation needed]}

Professional career

In 1974, Ratcliffe turned professional. Like many Australian golfers of his era, he divided his time between the PGA Tour of Australia and the European Tour. In his regular career he won three titles in Australasia and two in Europe, where his best year was 1978 when he finished 11th on the Order of Merit.^[2]

After turning fifty he was successful on the European Seniors Tour, where he topped the Order of Merit in 2000,^[3] made the top five on four other occasions, and won eight tournaments.

Death

Ratcliffe died in April 2024, at the age of 79.^[4]

Amateur wins

• 1969 New South Wales Medal
• 1971 New South Wales Medal

Professional wins (16)

European Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	11 Jun 1978	Belgian Open	−12 (72-70-72-66=280)	1 stroke	Chris Tickner
2	16 Aug 1987	Benson & Hedges International Open	−13 (69-70-70-66=275)	2 strokes	Ove Sellberg

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	1978	Benson & Hedges International Open	Neil Coles, Lee Trevino	Trevino won with par on fourth extra hole Ratcliffe eliminated by par on first hole

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	6 Feb 1977	South Australian Open	−5 (69-68-77-73=287)	Playoff	David Galloway

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1977	South Australian Open	David Galloway	Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other Australasian wins (2)

• 1974 Australian PGA Assistants Championship
• 1976 Huon Open (Papua New Guinea)

European Seniors Tour wins (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	28 Jun 1997	Manadens Affarer Seniors Open	−9 (69-67-68=204)	7 strokes	Steve Wild
2	13 Jul 1997	Senior German Open	−12 (66-69-69=204)	2 strokes	David Creamer
3	3 Sep 2000	The Scotsman Scottish Seniors Open	−11 (68-72-65=205)	1 stroke	Trevor Downing
4	24 Sep 2000	TEMES Seniors Open	−5 (71-69-71=211)	2 strokes	Maurice Bembridge, Denis O'Sullivan
5	5 May 2001	Beko Classic	−7 (69-73-67=209)	1 stroke	Terry Gale
6	5 Aug 2001	De Vere Hotels Seniors Classic	−11 (67-71-67=205)	1 stroke	Jerry Bruner, Simon Owen
7	18 May 2003	AIB Irish Seniors Open	−5 (69-69-73=211)	1 stroke	Delroy Cambridge, Martin Gray, Bob Lendzion
8	5 Jun 2005	AIB Irish Seniors Open (2)	−6 (71-68-71=210)	2 strokes	Luis Carbonetti

European Seniors Tour playoff record (0–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	1996	Ryder Collingtree Seniors Classic	Malcolm Gregson, David Huish	Huish won with par on first extra hole
2	1998	AIB Irish Seniors Open	Terry Gale, Joe McDermott	McDermott won with birdie on fifth extra hole Ratcliffe eliminated by par on first hole

Other senior wins (3)

• 1995 Australian Senior Open
• 2001 Australian PGA Seniors Championship^[5]
• 2008 Polygiene Australian PGA Seniors Championship^[5]

Results in major championships

Tournament	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988
The Open Championship	CUT	T41		CUT				CUT			T38

Note: Ratcliffe only played in The Open Championship.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1978 and 1981 Open Championships)
"T" = tied

Team appearances

Amateur

• Commonwealth Tournament (representing Australia): 1971
• Eisenhower Trophy (representing Australia): 1972
• Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing New South Wales): 1970 (winners), 1971, 1973 (winners)

Professional

• Praia d'El Rey European Cup: 1997 (winners)

See also

• List of golfers with most European Senior Tour wins