Ronan Patrick Rafferty (born 13 January 1964) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who formerly played on the European Tour. He won the European Tour Order of Merit in 1989.
Early life
Rafferty was born in Newry, Northern Ireland. He won the Boys Amateur Championship aged 15, qualified for the Open Championship at age 16, and played in the 1981 Walker Cup aged 17. He tied for first place with Peter McEvoy in the 1980 English Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy. According to Rafferty, as an amateur he and future pro Philip Walton had the best handicaps in the country.
Professional career
For a period Rafferty was one of the best professional golfers in Europe. Between 1987 and 1993, he won 12 official tournaments around the world: five in Australia and seven in Europe. He led the 1989 European Tour Order of Merit and qualified for the 1989 Ryder Cup team. By the early 1990s, he came close to breaking the then-record for consecutive cuts made on the European Tour. He also spent over 100 weeks ranking inside the top 25 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1993.
Rafferty joined the European Tour in 1982. His first year was solid (if unremarkable) with one top-ten placing and 48th ranking on the Order of Merit. His second season, in 1983, inaugurated an excellent stretch that lasted throughout the 1980s. In eight straight seasons, he finished in the top 30 of the Order of Merit and recorded at least six top-10s per year.
He struggled at coming through down the stretch, however. He recorded an astonishing 62 top-10s before his first European Tour victory. This included a playoff loss to compatriot David Feherty at the 1986 Lancia Italian Open.
He had better luck winning down under, however, recording two wins on the 1987 Australasian Tour. The second victory was at the New Zealand Open, where he defeated defending PGA Championship winner Larry Nelson in a playoff. He was the first European to win New Zealand's national open since the 1920s. He also won the 1988 Australian Match Play Championship, defeating Australian Mike Clayton in the finals.
After knocking on the door for years, Rafferty would finally win in Europe in 1989. He avenged his 1986 playoff loss at the Italian Open with a one-stroke win over Sam Torrance. This would be Rafferty's best season, as he would win an additional two events and record 15 top-10 finishes. At the end of the year, he won the Volvo Masters, the most prestigious win of his career, defeating Nick Faldo by one shot. He would go on to win the European Tour Order of Merit. He would also finish atop the 1989 Ryder Cup standings and play in his only Ryder Cup that year at The Belfry. Although Rafferty did not play well (he lost both team matches he played), he won his singles match against defending Open Championship winner Mark Calcavecchia on the 18th hole for a 1up win. This tight win proved indispensable as the European team struggled on the last day and only barely retained the cup with a 14–14 tie.
1990 was another great season for Rafferty. He won the Coca-Cola Classic, PLM Open and Ebel European Masters Swiss Open, recorded two runner-ups and had 12 top-10s in 30 official tour events. His excellent play earned him a special foreign invitation to play the Masters for the first time. In the spring he reached his career peak of #16 in the Official World Golf Ranking after a tie for 6th at the Belgian Open.
The remainder of the early 1990s would see Rafferty play a mixture of some good and more disappointing golf. Although he recorded six official top-10s, including a runner-up finish at the European Pro-Celebrity pro-am, 1991 was a frustrating year. For the first time in five seasons, Rafferty did not win an official international event. He missed a European Tour cut for the first time in years at the Spanish Open. His play at the majors was especially weak. He missed the cut at the Masters, abruptly withdrew from the U.S. Open in the middle of the second round and failed to qualify for the Open Championship for the first time. His withdrawal from the U.S. Open was particularly contentious and he was fined by the European Tour. His world ranking would peak again at #16 after his win in Portugal. This would culminate with a victory at the 1993 Hohe Brucke Austrian Open. Rafferty would finish the season ranked inside the global top 50.
Personal life
Rafferty was first married to Clare and had two children. His second wife is Yvonne.
In 1987, while playing on the Australasian Tour during the European Tour offseason, he lived with the family of Australian pro Ian Baker-Finch. During this time, Rafferty became a connoisseur of Australian wine. He remains a noted wine collector. 1980
- Jacques Léglise Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1979 (winners)
- European Boys' Team Championship (representing Ireland): 1980
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1980
- St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1980 (winners)
- Walker Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1981
- European Amateur Team Championship (representing Ireland): 1981
Professional
- World Cup (representing Ireland): 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993
- Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing Ireland): 1984
- Dunhill Cup (representing Ireland): 1986, 1987, 1988 (winners), 1989, 1990 (winners), 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995
- Four Tours World Championship (representing Europe): 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 (winners)
- Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1989 (tie, cup retained)
- Record: 3 matches, 1 point (33% point percentage)
- All formats (W–L–H): 1–2–0 = 1 pt
- Singles: 1–0–0 = 1pt
- Foursomes: 0–2–0 = 0pts
- Fourballs: 0–0–0 = 0pts
See also
- List of people on the postage stamps of Ireland