John Harrison on 50 consecutive years of wins as a PGA professional
Success, and particularly victories, are hard to find in golf – and they are even harder to hold onto for a long time. While form can come and go, winning over an extended period takes a level of skill and dedication which very few players have ever achieved.
That context makes the success of John Harrison even more remarkable.
Since he turned pro in 1977, John has won at least one professional event every season. In 2026, his 50th year as a professional, victory came in the form of a tied first place finish in the North East & North West PGA’s Carlisle Golf Club pro am alongside Kyle Marklew, Darren Pearce, Mark Ridley and Michael Skelton as all five players shot two under-par rounds.
“It’s a great feeling to have achieved 50 years of wins as a professional,” says John. “It wasn’t something I’d thought about until a couple of years ago. Having got closer, I did start to think: ‘I’m not going to do this; I’m getting too bloody old.’
“I’ve had spells where I’ve won a bit. It took a while to get one last season and then, all of a sudden, I got two wins in a few days.
“This year, I’ve played a lot less than I normally would with a few things to juggle, including a coaching diary that’s still busy. With that, and getting shorter off the tee every year, I wondered if I’d get one, but I played a bit better as the season went on and the firm conditions helped me a bit. I’m lucky we have so many events to play in the region too, on plenty of courses which still suit me, and I was over the moon to get there at Carlisle.”
The victory at Carlisle added to an incredible list of achievements over the last 50 years.
John has won more than 100 events as a professional and topped the NE/NW PGA order of merit multiple times, most recently in 2019. He has won several of the association’s order of merit events throughout his career – most recently at the NE/NW PGA Championship at Brancepeth Castle in 2025. His pro am record is also incredibly impressive, while he has won several times on the national stage too – most recently at the PGA Super 60s tournament alongside his partner, Viv Hutchinson, at Matfen Hall in 2023.
While the years of success have taken a great deal of skill and an ability to stay relatively injury-free, John puts his longevity down to one simple thing.
“It’s all about having the enthusiasm to play,” he says. “I’ve never lost the desire to get the clubs out and play golf. If you lose your enthusiasm, golf is going to be hard work. I’ve never been one to get down for very long; I’ve kept playing and loved playing.
“It’s not just playing a lot, it’s about enjoying playing a lot, that’s the key,” he adds.
John, 66, also credits his all-round game standing the test of time, particularly his short-game and short putting, and his continuing work with lots of younger players as a coach.
“The boys who I coach who are playing on tour give me a couple of shots now,” he laughs. “They still have to concentrate to beat me though.”
Having turned pro in 1977 at the age of 17, John won his first professional event that year – a regional qualifier for The News of the World Under-23 Championship.
“That was a great one to win,” says John, who made a hole-in-one on the 18th hole at Ellesmere Golf Club in Manchester to get into a playoff with Gordon Manson, then made a two at the same hole to win the playoff.
“I was on £10 a week as an assistant pro, playing with my first full set of clubs having only ever had a half set before I turned pro, and I won £200 in one event. I got another £250 from The News of the World for giving them such a good story and had 45-times my wages in my pocket by the end of the day!”
In the matchplay finals, played at the recently opened Belfry, John was beaten on the 19th hole in the first round by Ian Woosnam.
“The buzz is still the same when I put my card in and see my name at the top of the leaderboard,” John says. “I think if I lost that, if I didn’t have that love for hitting golf shots, I wouldn’t still be doing it.”
Not one to spend a lot of time reliving his achievements – John has no idea how many events he’s won in total – he admits a few stand out.
“Winning the European Seniors Tour Qualifying School in 2009 was a good one,” says John, who went on to split his time between playing on tour and working at Matfen Hall – where he was based from 1994, before the golf course opened, until 2023.
“Winning that allowed me to change my career path for a few years. While I still worked and coached at Matfen, I loved being away for around 18 weeks a year playing on tour. Those four-and-a-half years were a lot of fun. Having not played loads outside of the region and the UK as a young pro, I really enjoyed that period.”
John also qualified for the European Tour through Q School in 1984, though he only played a handful of events. He also represented GB&I in the PGA Cup at PGA National in Florida in 1994 – having qualified at North Berwick after making another hole-in-one, one of the 11 aces he’s made in tournaments.
Having reached 50 years of success as a PGA professional, and while he continues to keep a busy coaching diary at The Northumberland Golf Club, John says he has no plans to stop competing.
“You’ve got to go out there and do your best, I’ve said that to players at every level for years,” he adds. “You’ve got to accept you can’t play your best every day, and that you rarely win in this game.
“I’m not striking the long-irons like I used to, and I’m not as long off the tee as I was, but the technology in the putter has helped me a lot over the last few years and I hole out better these days. I can give myself chances on the right track, and I’ve got no plans to put the clubs away.”
John’s golf journey began at Brampton Golf Club – alongside his brothers Steve and Phil, who are also PGA professionals – with junior coaching every Saturday morning with Billy Laird. He went on to work in the pro shop at Brampton for a few months after turning pro, before he moved across to Barnard Castle Golf Club as an assistant to his brother, Phil.
Having all enjoyed different careers as professionals, in 2012 the three Harrison brothers competed in the PGA Seniors Championship at Slaley Hall. The only other time three or more brothers had competed in a tour event was in 1975 when four Ballesteros brothers – Seve, Baldomero, Manuel and Vincente – played in the Madrid Open.
“We’re a sporting family and the three of us played football to a decent level as boys. Dad played professional football [including for Carlisle, which led to the family moving to Brampton] and I’ll never forget when he was asked if we were good footballers. He said no… but he did say we were good at golf.”
Still a passionate golfer, whether he’s playing socially or in pro ams and tournaments, John says he would love to keep the record going.
“I’ve got opportunities to keep it going,” he adds, crediting the strength of the NE/NW PGA schedule. “It comes back to the love of the game. If anything, I enjoy it more now, particularly social golf, which I didn’t get anything out of as a younger player. I don’t see that fading, or my passion for coaching fading, so I’ll keep going as long as I can.
“Playing as a professional is great. I tell every young pro that they should keep it up as it’s really important, and I’ve got so much out of it over the years. The time will come, one day, when I feel like I can’t compete anymore, but I don’t think it will be anytime soon.”
