Australian golfer Lyndsay Stephen, who made 71 European Tour appearances across the 1980s and 1990s, has died at the age of 64.
From Donnybrook, Western Australia, Stephen turned professional in 1978 and won his first professional title at the 1981 South Australian Open on the PGA Tour of Australasia. His second professional victory on his home Tour came at the Nedlands Masters in 1986.
He made his European Tour debut at the 1985 Jersey Open, finishing in a share of tenth. He would record five further top ten finishes, three of which came in the 1987 season.
Compatriot Mike Clayton, who played with Stephen on the European Tour, said: “Lynds played in Europe in what really was a golden era for Australians on the European Tour. Greg was just heading off to America when our lot started but Rodger Davis, Finchy, Wayne Grady, Mike Harwood, Peter Fowler, Wayne Riley, Vaughan Somers, Peter Senior, Frank Nobilo, Greg Turner - we always counted the New Zealanders as ours - had about as much fun as you can imagine. It was competitive but if anyone needed help it was always there.
“Three growing children brought him home from Europe and he parlayed his reputation into a career of corporate golf. He was a terrific imitator of swings, a great storyteller and had the necessary patience of a saint when it came to teaching amateurs, many of whom were there because they’d bought an expensive car and not because they were any great shakes as golfers. He would always make them laugh and sent them away better players than when they arrived.”
