Ian Pattinson performed the traditional driving-in ceremony for the new captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews on the first tee of the Old Course on Friday.
A large crowd, including past club captains, gathered to watch the ceremony.
As captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, Pattinson will be an ambassador for the club and the R&A, supporting their work to develop golf around the world and in that capacity will attend professional and amateur championships and matches.
After hitting his tee shot, Pattinson said: “I am honoured to serve as Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and as an ambassador for the Club and the R&A in our commitment to the sport around the world. It was humbling to see so many people gathered behind the tee this morning and I’m so grateful to everyone who came out. I was very happy and relieved to have hit some good drives.”
Pattinson grew up in a golfing family: his father, Reg, played in two British Open tournaments as an amateur, represented England and won the inaugural Senior Amateur championship in 1969.
Educated at Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he studied law and captained Cambridge University Golf Club, Pattinson went on to represent Cambridgeshire at the BBO and then county level.
Mr Pattinson worked as a solicitor in Cambridge before retiring as a partner at a local law firm in 2014. He became a member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club in 1989 and has served in various roles at the Club and The R&A Group over the past 30 years, including Chairman of the Rules of Golf Committee and Equipment Standards Committee and the first Chairman of the World Handicap Committee. From 2018 to 2022, he served as Chairman of the Administration Committee and Chairman of the R&A Group Board.
Pattinson served as a rules official at the British Open from 1995 to 2018 and has also served as a rules official at numerous championships around the world at various times.
An experienced umpire, Pattinson was a rules official at The Open Championship from 1995 to 2018 and at the Masters Tournament and various other major championships from 1997 to 2019. He also served as the R&A Golf Rules Advisor for the BBC at The Open Championship from 2004 to 2015 and in a similar role for Sky Sports from 2016 to 2018.
Pattinson is an honorary member of the Royal Warrington & Newmarket Golf Club, having served as Captain for its Centenary in 1993 and will serve as President from 2023. He is also a member of the Honorary Society of Edinburgh Golfers, Royal West Norfolk Golf Club, Merion Golf Club (USA), Oxford & Cambridge Golf Association and the Senior Golf Association. His current handicap is 4.9.