Two-time Senior Open Champion Sir Bob Charles CBE has become an Honorary Member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
The 80 year old New Zealander, who has nearly 80 titles to his name including an Open Championship victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1963, was admitted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2008.
"I am extremely proud and gratified to be invited to become an Honorary Member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club,” said Charles.
"Winning The Open was a tremendous part of my career and I have always had a huge affinity for the Championship and the wonderful links courses on which it is played. The club is at the heart of golf in St Andrews and it is a privilege to follow so many other great champions in becoming part of its history."
Born in Carterton, on New Zealand's North Island in 1936, Charles discovered a love for golf at an early age but began a different career path as a teenager, working as a bank teller in his home town. His breakthrough as an amateur came at the New Zealand Open in 1954, at the age of 18, and he enjoyed a glittering career in the non-paid ranks before turning professional six years later.
He became the first left-handed golfer to win on the US PGA Tour at the Houston Classic in 1963 before going on to win The Open Championship later that year, his sole major title.
In 1969, Charles won the World Match Play Championship and amassed a string of top fives in Major Championships, earning back-to-back runner-up finishes at the 1968 and 1969 Open Championships.
He later embarked on a successful senior career, winning The Senior Open Championship on two occasions, first at Turnberry in 1989 and then at Royal Lytham in 1993.
Charles announced his retirement from competitive golf after The 2010 Senior Open, at the age of 74. He received a CBE for services to golf in 1992, a knighthood in 1999 and was appointed to The Order of New Zealand in 2011.
Gavin Caldwell, Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, said: "I am delighted to welcome Sir Bob Charles as an Honorary Member of the club.
"He has graced the sport for many years as one of its outstanding champions and has given back so much to golf by supporting development initiatives in his native New Zealand.
"Sir Bob has made a substantial contribution to the growth of golf throughout a long and successful career and thoroughly deserves this recognition."
