Harold Henning
South African professional golfer (1934–2004)
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Harold Henning (3 October 1934 – 1 January 2004) was a South African professional golfer. He played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. He won professional tournaments on the highest level in Africa, Australia, Asia, North America and Europe.
| Harold Henning | |
|---|---|
| |
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | Horse[1] |
| Born | 3 October 1934 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Died | 1 January 2004 (aged 69) Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  South Africa |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1953 |
| Former tours | PGA Tour European Tour Champions Tour |
| Professional wins | 43 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 2 |
| European Tour | 1 |
| PGA Tour Champions | 3 |
| Other | 37 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | T11: 1962 |
| PGA Championship | T44: 1969 |
| U.S. Open | T37: 1968 |
| The Open Championship | T3: 1960, 1970 |
| Signature | |
 | |
Early life
Henning was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1934. His brothers Allan, Brian, and Graham all became professional golfers.[2]
Professional career
Nicknamed The Horse, he turned pro in 1953. From 1953 to 1965, Henning traveled the world playing on international circuits, winning the national championships of Switzerland. South Africa, Italy, and Germany. A win with Gary Player at the 1965 Canada Cup convinced him to play on the PGA Tour.
In 1966, Henning won the PGA Tour's Texas Open. However, he was not a PGA Tour member yet and was expected to earn membership at 1966 PGA Tour Qualifying School. However, shortly before the tournament, the PGA Tour gave him an exemption from the event.[3]
In 1970, Henning won the Tallahassee Open Invitational on the PGA Tour. He then retired in 1972.
He returned to the game six years later and recorded a victory at the KLM Dutch Open in 1981. Henning won the title in dramatic fashion, going out on the last hole of the tournament in the last group with Nick Price, both of them on seven under par. Ray Floyd stood in the clubhouse, having finished on seven under par. Henning went in to a greenside bunker with his third shot, while Price was on the green in three. Then Henning holed his bunker shot for a birdie 4 and won the tournament with one-shot-margin.[4]
Upon reaching age 50 in October 1984, Henning began play on the Senior PGA Tour. During his 18 seasons on this Tour, he won three official events and two Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf Championships.
Personal life
Henning died after a long illness in 2004.[5]
Professional wins (43)
PGA Tour wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 May 1966 | Texas Open Invitational | −8 (72-67-65-68=272) | 3 strokes |  Wes Ellis, Gene Littler, Ken Still |
| 2 | 26 Apr 1970 | Tallahassee Open Invitational | −11 (67-76-64-70=277) | 1 stroke | Rives McBee |
PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1969 | Los Angeles Open | Charlie Sifford |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
European Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 Jul 1981 | KLM Dutch Open | −8 (71-68-70-71=280) | 1 stroke | Raymond Floyd,  Nick Price |
Other European wins (12)
- 1957 Italian Open
- 1958 Daks Tournament (tie with Peter Thomson), Yorkshire Evening News Tournament (tie with Eric Brown)
- 1959 Spalding Tournament (tie with Eric Lester)
- 1960 Swiss Open, Sprite International
- 1964 Swiss Open, Pringle of Scotland Tournament, Lancia d'Oro
- 1965 Swiss Open, German Open
- 1966 Engadine Open
Far East Circuit wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 Mar 1966 | Malayan Open | −10 (70-69-71-68=278) | 3 strokes |  Peter Thomson |
Southern Africa Tour wins (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 Feb 1972 | General Motors International Classic | −16 (65-70-74-71=280) | 4 strokes |  Gary Player |
| 2 | 25 Nov 1972 | Luyt Lager PGA Championship | −1 (69-68-71-71=279) | 1 stroke | Hugh Baiocchi |
| 3 | 29 Nov 1980 | ICL International | −7 (73-67-69-72=281) | 1 stroke | John Bland,  Ian Mosey, Denis Watson |
Other South African wins (17)
- 1956 Natal Open, Cock of the North (Zambia)
- 1957 South African Open, Transvaal Open, 1.000 Guineas Anglo-African Tournament (Rhodesia)[6]
- 1959 Cock of the North (Zambia), Western Province Open
- 1960 Northern Transvaal Open
- 1961 Natal Open
- 1962 South African Open
- 1965 South African PGA Championship
- 1966 South African PGA Championship, Kimberley Tournament (South Africa) (tie with Tony Jacklin), General Motors Open
- 1967 South African PGA Championship
- 1972 International Better-ball (with Graham Henning),[7] Ellerines Team Tournament (with Graham Henning)[8]
Other wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Oct 1958 | Wiseman's Tournament | −10 (278) | 5 strokes | Peter Thomson Gary Player |
| 2 | 3 Oct 1965 | Canada Cup (with Gary Player) |
−5 (142-138-139-152=571) | 8 strokes |  Spain − Ángel Miguel and Ramón Sota |
Senior PGA Tour wins (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 Oct 1985 | Seiko-Tucson Senior Match Play Championship | 4 & 3 | Dan Sikes | |
| 2 | 13 Mar 1988 | GTE Classic | −2 (68-73-73=214) | 3 strokes | Bruce Crampton, Dale Douglass |
| 3 | 8 Sep 1991 | First of America Classic | −11 (72-64-66=202) | Playoff | Gibby Gilbert |
Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1988 | Silver Pages Classic |  Gary Player |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1989 | GTE Suncoast Classic |  Bob Charles, Dave Hill, Jim Ferree |
Charles won with birdie on third extra hole Ferree and Hill eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 3 | 1991 | First of America Classic | Gibby Gilbert |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Other senior wins (2)
- 1989 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Al Geiberger)
- 1993 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||
| U.S. Open | |||
| The Open Championship | 29 | 13 | T23 |
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | T11 | CUT | CUT | T22 | T36 | T22 | T13 | ||
| U.S. Open | CUT | T37 | ||||||||
| The Open Championship | T3 | T10 | T30 | T20 | T8 | T13 | T6 | T16 | ||
| PGA Championship | T45 | T44 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | 41 | ||||||||
| U.S. Open | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | T3 | T10 | ||||||||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||
| U.S. Open | |||||
| The Open Championship | T51 | CUT | 41 | T6 | CUT |
| PGA Championship |
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1984 Open Championship)
"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 | 4 | 10 | 6 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 16 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 32 | 19 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1967 Open Championship – 1969 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (six times)