Ryder Cup hero O’Connor Jnr dies

Christy O’Connor

MADRID: European Ryder Cup hero Christy O’Connor Jnr has died suddenly in Spain at the age of 67. He is understood to have passed away while on holiday with his wife Ann in Tenerife. The Irishman helped Europe retain the Ryder Cup at the Belfry in 1989when his two-iron approach at the last sealed a singles win over Fred Couples. O’Connor won four European Tour titles, including his Irish Open triumph at Woodbrook in 1975. That victory helped secure a Ryder Cup spot that year and he played in the competition again 14 years later. The Galway man won two Senior British Open titles and also earned victories on the Champions Tour in the US. He started playing golf in his native Galway and turned professional while still in his teens in 1967. His breakthrough season on the European Tour came eight years later when his tied victory with Ian Stanley in the Martini International and Irish Open triumph secured his Ryder Cup place. After a period of struggle in the late 1970s, O’Connor regained his form in the following decade and finished in a share of third place in the 1985 Open after leading the field following an opening 64 at Royal St George’s. His fourth and final European Tour triumph came at the British Masters at Woburn in 1992 and a successful Senior Tour career followed on both sides of the Atlantic.—Agencies