Greater Manchester Open

Greater Manchester Open

Tournament information
Location	Wilmslow, Cheshire, England
Established	1976
Course(s)	Wilmslow Golf Club
Month played	June
Final year	1981
Final champion
Bernard Gallacher

Wilmslow Golf Club

Location in England

The Greater Manchester Open was a European Tour golf tournament which was played annually from 1976 to 1981. It was held at Wilmslow Golf Club in Wilmslow, Cheshire, just to the south of Manchester. Three of the six winners were from the Republic of Ireland, and a fourth, Mark McNulty, became an Irish citizen many years later. In 1981 the prize fund was £40,222, which was the third smallest on the European Tour that season.

Winners

Year	Winner	Country	Score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share (£)	Ref
Cold Shield Greater Manchester Open
1981	Bernard Gallacher	Scotland	264	5 strokes	Nick Faldo	7,000	[1]
1980	Des Smyth	Ireland	273	Playoff	Brian Waites	5,830	[2]
Greater Manchester Open
1979	Mark McNulty	Zimbabwe Rhodesia	267	5 strokes	Manuel Piñero	5,000	[3]
1978	Brian Barnes	Scotland	275	Playoff	Bob Charles Denis Durnian Nick Job	4,000	[4]
1977	Eamonn Darcy	Ireland	269	8 strokes	Brian Barnes Ken Brown John Morgan	4,000	[5]
1976	John O'Leary	Ireland	276	4 strokes	John Fourie	2,200	[6]

In 1980 Smyth won the playoff at the 6th extra hole with a birdie 3. In 1978 Barnes won the playoff at the first extra hole with a birdie 3.

References

1. "Gallacher bounces in with a record victory". The Glasgow Herald. 15 June 1981. p. 16.
2. "Smyth wins play-off duel". The Glasgow Herald. 23 June 1980. p. 17.
3. "McNulty's triumph with record aggregate". The Glasgow Herald. 25 June 1979. p. 16.
4. "Barnes wins play-off with 20-foot putt". The Glasgow Herald. 19 June 1978. p. 17.
5. "Darcy by 8 shots". The Glasgow Herald. 20 June 1977. p. 17.
6. "O'Leary by 4 shots". The Glasgow Herald. 21 June 1976. p. 22.

External links

• Coverage on the European Tour's official site