Former Senior Open champion and Senior Tour Order of Merit winner Ian Stanley has died aged 69 after a long battle with cancer.
One of Australian golf’s biggest characters, he was known and loved for his warmth and huge personality, as well as his golfing brilliance.
Stanley had a successful amateur career before turning professional in 1970. He went on to win 19 times in more than 20 years on the PGA Tour of Australasia and played for seven consecutive seasons on the European Tour from 1972, jointly winning the Martini International alongside Ireland’s Christy O’Connor Jnr in 1975 at Westward Ho in Devon.
He was renowned as one of Australia’s finest golfing exports of the decade along with Jack Newton, Bob Shearer, Stewart Ginn and Rodger Davis.
Stanley went on to find yet more success on this continent later in his career on the European Senior Tour.
Victory at the 2000 Coca-Cola Kaiser Karl European Trophy hinted at what was to come in the following stellar season as Stanley won the De Vere PGA Seniors Championship in May 2001. Two month later he was a Major champion, capturing the Senior Open at Royal County Down Golf Club on the way to winning the John Jacobs Trophy for topping the Order of Merit.
He transitioned from his playing career into a successful role in the media as a commentator and was also involved in golf course architecture.
Away from the golf course, he was renowned for his charitable work and played a key role in establishing the Jack Newton Trust after his good friend and fellow professional was involved in a near-fatal accident in 1983, travelling Australia to raise money for Newton.
He was also a passionate supporter of grassroots golf and a director of not-for-profit organisation Tee Up for Kids, which raises money for underprivileged children in Victoria. He was also a board member of the PGA Tour of Australasia in the 1980s.
Andy Stubbs, former Managing Director of the European Senior Tour who presented the Australian with the John Jacobs Trophy in 2001, said: “Ian was an incredible character who lit up the European Senior Tour, but more than anything he was a brilliant golfer and a great champion, underlined by a fitting Senior Open victory 2001. It was a real pleasure to present him with the John Jacobs Trophy later that year.
“He was one of the original big personalities on the Tour, and one thing I always remember is how he approached Pro-Ams, going out of his way to enrich the experience for his amateur partner.
“I will remember Ian fondly as a player and as a person, and I certainly will not be alone in that sentiment. He will be greatly missed, and my thoughts are with his family.”
Stanley is survived by his wife Pam, three children and seven grandchildren.
