little golf during the war, although he played a number of exhibition matches in the winter of 1942/43. During World War II Faulkner served in the RAF as a Physical Training (PT) instructor. He took up boxing, becoming services champion. Post-war golf career Faulkner's tournament career restarted immediately after the war. In September 1945 he was runner-up in the Daily Mail Tournament, a stroke behind Charlie Ward. During his career he won 16 regular tournaments in Europe, including three Spanish Opens, with his last being the 1968 Portuguese Open at the age of 52. He also won the PGA Seniors Championship on two occasions. His greatest achievement was his victory in the 1951 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. With a round still to be played he had a 6-stroke lead and is reported to have signed autographs with the postscript "1951 Open Champion". Helped by what he called a "mystery guiding light", he went on to finish with a score of 3 under par, two ahead of Antonio Cerdá, and said later "It was all I ever wanted. The Open meant everything to me." Faulkner played in five Ryder Cup matches, including the historic 1957 contest at Lindrick where the Great Britain team won for the first time since 1933. Faulkner was believed to have over 300 putters, always searching for the perfect one. He very rarely used a conventional set of clubs, sometimes having several of the same club with a variety of shaft lengths and flexes. He was known for his shotmaking ability, being able to make the ball curve in the air even on short lofted shots. Honours In 2001, on the 50th anniversary of the Open triumph, Faulkner was honoured with an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to golf. Death Faulkner lived in his later years at Pulborough, Sussex and died on 26 February 2005, aged 88, of pneumonia at St Richard's Hospital, Chichester. Professional wins (19) Important wins (14) Other wins (3) 1937 Addington Foursomes (with Stanley Anderson) 1947 West of England Professional Championship 1964 Southern Professional Championship Senior wins (2) 1968 PGA Seniors Championship 1970 PGA Seniors Championship Major championships Wins (1) Results timeline Note: Faulkner only played in The Open Championship. CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1974 Open Championship) "T" indicates a tie for a place Team appearances Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain):