Denis Durnian (born 30 June 1950) is an English professional golfer.

Denis Durnian
Personal information
Full nameDenis Durnian
Born (1950-06-30) 30 June 1950 (age 74)
Wigan, England
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality England
ResidenceChorley, England
Career
Turned professional1969
Current tour(s)European Seniors Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
Professional wins7
Highest ranking90 (28 May 1989)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Senior Tour3
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT8: 1983

Early life

edit

Durnian was born in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.

Professional career

edit

In 1969, Durnian turned professional. He played on the European Tour from the early 1970s to the early 1990s. He never won a European Tour event, but he finished second four occasions, with one being a defeat in a matchplay final, and twice losing out in a playoff. His best finish on the European Tour Order of Merit was 20th in 1988. In 1985 he won the PLM Open on the Swedish Golf Tour. The tournament became a European Tour event the following season, and he was twice the British Club Professional Champion.

Durnian played in The Open Championship every year from 1982 to 1990, only making the 36-hole cut on one occasion, in 1983 at Royal Birkdale, when he went on to finish tied for 8th place. During the second round he set the record for the lowest nine-hole total in the Open, with 28 on the front nine.[2]

After turning fifty Durnian joined the European Seniors Tour. He has won three tournaments at that level and was second on the end of season Order of Merit in both 2001 and 2002.

Professional wins (7)

edit

Swedish Golf Tour wins (1)

edit
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 7 Jul 1985 PLM Open −14 (69-68-64-73=274) 8 strokes   Per-Arne Brostedt,   Ove Sellberg

Other wins (3)

edit

European Seniors Tour wins (3)

edit
Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other European Seniors Tour (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 10 Jun 2001 Wales Seniors Open +1 (74-65-69=208) 1 stroke   Jay Horton
2 22 Sep 2002 Charles Church Scottish Seniors Open −10 (67-68-71=206) 6 strokes   Neil Coles,   Martin Gray,
  Tommy Horton,   Alan Tapie
3 27 Oct 2002 Estoril Seniors Tour Championship −5 (68-68-72=208) Playoff   Eamonn Darcy

European Seniors Tour playoff record (1–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2001 Microlease Jersey Seniors Masters   Delroy Cambridge,   Seiji Ebihara Ebihara won with birdie on third extra hole
Cambridge eliminated by par on first hole
2 2002 Estoril Seniors Tour Championship   Eamonn Darcy Won after concession on first extra hole
3 2004 Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open   Horacio Carbonetti Lost to par on first extra hole

Playoff record

edit

European Tour playoff record (0–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1978 Greater Manchester Open   Brian Barnes,   Bob Charles,
  Nick Job
Barnes won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1989 Jersey European Airways Open   Christy O'Connor Jnr Lost to par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

edit
Tournament 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T8 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT

Note: Durnian only played in The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1978 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Week 21 1989 Ending 28 May 1989" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Denis Durnian makes comeback". The Independent. London. 8 July 1996. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
edit