PETER McEvoy, the first British amateur golfer to make the cut at the Masters, has died at the age of 72.
McEvoy moved to the West Midlands at the age of 10 and joined Copt Heath Golf Club in Knowle at the age of 13.
He became an honorary member of the club with the Peter McEvoy Trophy contested annually at Copt Heath.
The Peter McEvoy Trophy was first played in 1981 and acts as the traditional curtain-raiser to the junior golf season.
McEvoy twice won the Amateur Championship in 1977 and 1978 and was the low amateur at the the Open in 1978 and 1979.He was born in London in 1953 and brought up in Renfrewshire, Scotland.
McEvoy played 153 matches for England between 1976 and 1992 which included 103 wins and 111 points.
He became the first British amateur to make the cut at the Masters in 1978.
McEvoy also won the Lytham Trophy in 1979, the Brabazon Trophy in 1980 and was a runner-up in the Amateur Championship in 1987.
He also featured in five Walker Cup teams for Great Britain and Ireland between 1977 and 1989.
And he later captained the team in 1999 and 2001 – leading the side to victory on both occasions which marked the first time Great Britain and Ireland had won consecutive events.
He also played in five Eisenhower Trophies and won the individual event in 1988 while helping Great Britain and Ireland triumph in the team event.
And he captained Great Britain and Ireland to victory in the tournament in 1998.
McEvoy remains the only person to have won the individual event and team event as a player and the team event as a captain.
He also played in seven European Amateur Team Championships and celebrated five wins from five St Andrews Trophy appearances.
McEvoy scooped the Golf Writers’ Trophy for his Amateur Championship success and Masters performance in 1978 and landed the award again 23 years later as captain of the 2001 Walker Cup team.
And he picked up the Gerald Micklem Award in 1999 for his outstanding contribution to further the interests of amateur golf in England.
In 2003, McEvoy was awarded an OBE for services to golf
He also became involved in golf course design for over 20 years and was also chairman of the R and A Selection Committee.
And McEvoy also became one of the very first people inducted into the England Golf Hall of Fame in 2024.
England Golf chief executive, Jeremy Tomlinson said: “Peter was an incredible amateur golfer in so many regards – as a player, a teammate, a captain and then supporting inspiration to worldwide golf, and of course especially to England Golf.
“We have lost one of our heroes, which is amazingly sad, and at this time we share our deepest sympathies with all Peter’s family and friends.
“An inaugural inductee to our England Golf Hall of Fame, he will forever be remembered and celebrated as one of our very best.”
