Ian Pattinson performed the traditional driving-in ceremony for the new Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews on the 1st tee of the Old Course on Friday.
A large crowd, including many past captains of the club, gathered to watch the ceremony.
As Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, Pattinson will serve in an ambassadorial role for the club and also for The R&A to support its work in developing golf around the world and will attend its professional and amateur championships and matches in that capacity.
After hitting his tee shot, Pattinson said, “I am honoured and privileged to serve as Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and to be an ambassador for both the Club and The R&A as it carries out its responsibilities to the sport around the world. It was humbling to see so many people behind the tee this morning and I am very grateful to everyone who came along. I was very happy and relieved to hit a decent drive.”
Pattinson was raised in a golfing family. His father Reg played in The Open on two occasions as an amateur, represented England and won the inaugural Senior Amateur Championship in 1969.
Educated at The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he read Law and captained Cambridge University Golf Club, Pattinson went on to represent BBO and subsequently Cambridgeshire at county level.
After a career as a solicitor in the City of Cambridge, Pattinson retired from his partnership in a regional law firm in 2014. He became a Member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club in 1989 and has served the Club and the R&A Group in numerous roles in the last 30 years, including as Chairman of the Rules of Golf and the Equipment Standards Committees and as the first ever Chairman of the World Handicap Board. From 2018 to 2022 he was Chairman of the General Committee and Chairman of The R&A Group boards.
Pattinson served as a Rules Official at The Open from 1995 to 2018 and on multiple occasions at many championships around the world.
A highly experienced referee, Pattinson served as a Rules Official at The Open from 1995 to 2018 and on multiple occasions at the Masters Tournament between 1997 and 2019 as well as at other major championships. He was also The R&A’s Rules of Golf Advisor to the BBC for The Open from 2004 to 2015 and he performed a similar role for Sky Sports from 2016 to 2018.
Pattinson is an Honorary Member of Royal Worlington & Newmarket Golf Club, where he was Captain in its centenary year in 1993 and has served as President since 2023. He is also a member of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, Royal West Norfolk Golf Club, Merion Golf Club (USA), the Oxford & Cambridge Golfing Society and the Senior Golfers’ Society. His current Handicap Index is 4.9.