Norman Drew, who was one of Northern Ireland’s most celebrated golfers, has died at the age of 91.
Belfast man Drew was the first player to compete in the Walker Cup, World Cup and Ryder Cup.
He won Irish amateur, North of Ireland and East of Ireland titles before turning professional in 1953.
Drew played in the Open Championship on 15 occasions stretching to 1971 and his best finish was a share of 15th spot at St Andrews in 1957.
As an 18-year-old, Drew lifted the North of Ireland Amateur title at Royal Portrush in 1950 and a year later he was still working an an apprentice coach builder when he qualified for the Open Championship at the venue as the youngest player in the field.
Drew recalled his debut appearance in the Open 68 years later when the major returned to Royal Portrush.
A second North of Ireland success came a year later before he turned professional after his appearance for Great Britain & Ireland at the 1953 Walker Cup.
A Ryder Cup blazer followed six year later as he, Peter Alliss and Eric Brown were the only Great Britain & Ireland players to avoid defeat in the singles, with Drew halving his match with 1957 Masters champion Doug Ford.
In 1960, Drew made history as he became the first player to compete in a Walker Cup, a Ryder Cup and a World Cup as he and Christy O’Connor finished fourth in the latter event at Portmarnock as the Irish duo finished 10 shots behind US winners Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead.
The Irish pair repeated their fourth place in the then Canada Cup a year later in Puerto Rico as Snead took victory for the US with Jimmy Demaret.
