The Vault: RJ Charles turns professional

The Vault: Bob Charles turned professional in 1960. Photo / NZH

This article appeared in the Herald on October 26, 1960.

One of the greatest New Zealand amateur golfers, RJ Charles, last night announced that he has become a playing professional.

He intends to compete as a professional in the Caltex Thousand tournament at Paraparaumu Beach on November 10, 11 and 12, and in the following week he will contest the New Zealand Open championship at Ivercargill as a professional.

South African tour

Charles will play in two other sponsored tournaments before leaving New Zealand in December for South Africa.

He will compete in nine sponsored tournaments , each with prize money of £1000, in South Africa until March and, if his form is good enough, will then go to the United States.

He will return to the New Zealand Open championship at New Plymouth in October next year, and from then on will spend September, October and November of each year in New Zealand.

More length

Cahrles hopes that plenty of play against leading professionals will give him the 30 or 40 yards of extra length which he thinks he will need to do well in the United States.

Charles trained as a bank officer but resigned before representing New Zealand in the recent world amateur teams' chamionship at Philadelphia.

He finished sixth equal in the filed in the individual aggregates.

Since he won the New Zealand Open championship in 1954 with the British Open champion, PW Thomson, in the filed, Charles has become the finest left-handed golfer in the world.

He has twice represented New Zealand at world championship tournaments and two years ago made a world tour on his own account, reaching the final 16 of the British Amateur championship.