TERRY GALE
Born Yelbeni, WA
14 June, 1946
Beating Jack Newton in a play-off to win the 1983 West Australian Open, playing in all Australian representative teams between 1969 and 1975, including three Eisenhower Cups, as well as being team captain in 1974, are among the many highlights of Terry Gale’s wonderful career which elevated him to the standing as one of the best players in the history of WA golf.
Gale, a State junior champion, has the distinction of winning the WA Open a record six times, twice as an amateur and four times as a professional.
His numerous achievements earned him the honour of being an inaugural inductee into WA Golf Industry’s Hall of Champions in 2017.
Gale turned professional at the age of 29 in 1976 after a highly successful career in amateur ranks, and from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s he was a regular winner in Australia and New Zealand, on the Japan Golf Tour and the pre-Asian Tour circuit.
His 41 victories as a professional included the 1978 Singapore Open, the Malaysian Open in 1983, 1985 and 1987, the 1984 Indonesian Open, the 1989 Dunlop International Open in Japan, the New Zealand PGA championship in 1981 and the 1982 New Zealand Open (when a birdie on the second play-off hole enabled him to defeat Wayne Grady).
One of his most spectacular triumphs was at the Royal Selangor course in Kuala Lumpur when he won the 1985 Malaysian Open by seven shots from Chen Tze-chung, of Taiwan.
A life member of the PGA of Australia, Gale has an enviable record at home, winning the Nedlands Masters a remarkable nine times.