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Harold Henning

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For the swimming administrator with this name, see International Swimming Hall of Fame and Hal Henning.

Harold Henning
Personal information
NicknameHorse[1]
Born(1934-10-03)3 October 1934
Johannesburg, South Africa
Died1 January 2004(2004-01-01) (aged 69)
Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Sporting nationality South Africa
Career
Turned professional1953
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins43
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
European Tour1
PGA Tour Champions3
Other37
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT11: 1962
PGA ChampionshipT44: 1969
U.S. OpenT37: 1968
The Open ChampionshipT3: 1960, 1970

Harold Henning (3 October 1934 – 1 January 2004) was a South African professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. He won professional tournaments on the highest level in Africa, Australia, Asia, North America and Europe.

Early life

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Henning was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. His brothers Allan, Brian, and Graham all became professional golfers.[2]

Professional career

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Nicknamed The Horse, he turned pro in 1953. From 1953 to 1965, Henning traveled the world playing on international circuits, winning the national championships of Switzerland. South Africa, Italy, and Germany. A win with Gary Player at the 1965 Canada Cup convinced him to play on the PGA Tour.

In 1966 Henning won the PGA Tour's Texas Open. However, he was not a PGA Tour member yet and was expected to earn membership at 1966 PGA Tour Qualifying School. However, shortly before the tournament, the PGA Tour gave him an exemption from the event.[3]

In 1970 Henning won the Tallahassee Open Invitational on the PGA Tour. He then retired in 1972.

He returned to the game six years later and recorded a victory at the KLM Dutch Open in 1981. Henning won the title in dramatic fashion, going out on the last hole of the tournament in the last group with Nick Price, both of them on seven under par. Ray Floyd stood in the clubhouse, having finished on seven under par. Henning went in to a greenside bunker with his third shot, while Price was on the green in three. Then Henning holed his bunker shot for a birdie 4 and won the tournament with one-shot-margin.[4]

Upon reaching age 50 in October 1984, Henning began play on the Senior PGA Tour. During his 18 seasons on this Tour, he won three official events and two Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf Championships.

Personal life

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Henning died in 2004 after a long illness.[5]

Professional wins (43)

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PGA Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 1 May 1966 Texas Open Invitational −8 (72-67-65-68=272) 3 strokes United States Wes Ellis, United States Gene Littler,
United States Ken Still
2 26 Apr 1970 Tallahassee Open Invitational −11 (67-76-64-70=277) 1 stroke United States Rives McBee

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1969 Los Angeles Open United States Charlie Sifford Lost to birdie on first extra hole

European Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 26 Jul 1981 KLM Dutch Open −8 (71-68-70-71=280) 1 stroke United States Raymond Floyd, Zimbabwe Nick Price

Far East Circuit wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 13 Mar 1966 Malayan Open −10 (70-69-71-68=278) 3 strokes Australia Peter Thomson

Southern Africa Tour wins (3)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 5 Feb 1972 General Motors International Classic −16 (65-70-74-71=280) 4 strokes South Africa Gary Player
2 25 Nov 1972 Luyt Lager PGA Championship −1 (69-68-71-71=279) 1 stroke South Africa Hugh Baiocchi
3 29 Nov 1980 ICL International −7 (73-67-69-72=281) 1 stroke South Africa John Bland, England Ian Mosey,
Zimbabwe Denis Watson

Other South African wins (17)

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European circuit wins (12)

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New Zealand circuit wins (1)

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Other wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 3 Oct 1965 Canada Cup
(with South Africa Gary Player) 		−5 (142-138-139-152=571) 8 strokes  Spain − Ángel Miguel and Ramón Sota

Senior PGA Tour wins (3)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 27 Oct 1985 Seiko-Tucson Senior Match Play Championship 4 & 3 United States Dan Sikes
2 13 Mar 1988 GTE Classic −2 (68-73-73=214) 3 strokes Australia Bruce Crampton, United States Dale Douglass
3 8 Sep 1991 First of America Classic −11 (72-64-66=202) Playoff United States Gibby Gilbert

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1988 Silver Pages Classic South Africa Gary Player Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2 1989 GTE Suncoast Classic New Zealand Bob Charles, United States Dave Hill,
United States Jim Ferree 		Charles won with birdie on third extra hole
Ferree and Hill eliminated by birdie on first hole
3 1991 First of America Classic United States Gibby Gilbert Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other senior wins (2)

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Results in major championships

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Tournament 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship 29 13 T23
PGA Championship
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament CUT T11 CUT CUT T22 T36 T22 T13
U.S. Open CUT T37
The Open Championship T3 T10 T30 T20 T8 T13 T6 T16
PGA Championship T45 T44
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament CUT 41
U.S. Open
The Open Championship T3 T10
PGA Championship
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship T51 CUT 41 T6 CUT
PGA Championship
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1984 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 4 10 6
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
The Open Championship 0 0 2 2 6 12 18 16
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Totals 0 0 2 2 6 16 32 19
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1967 Open Championship – 1969 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (six times)

Team appearances

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this list may be incomplete

References

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  1. ^ Desmith, David. "Golf's Animal Kingdom of Player Nicknames". Links Magazine. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Brothers aim to qualify". News24. 7 January 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  3. ^ "School Screens Pro Hopefuls; Must Pass Tough 144-Hole Test". Hartford Courant. 23 August 1968. p. 44. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Henning blasts his way to the title". The Glasgow Herald. 27 July 1981. p. 14. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  5. ^ Golfer Harold Henning dead at 69
  6. ^ "Henning wins S.A. golf tourney". The Canberra Times. 6 March 1957.
  7. ^ "Hennings Win". The Glasgow Herald. 28 February 1972.
  8. ^ "Hennings win team event". The Glasgow Herald. 25 December 1972.
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