Ian Pattinson, a well-known figure in golf, nominated by The R&A as next captain

Pattinson, a retired solicitor, 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.

With the game in his blood, Pattinson became a member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club in 1989 and has served the historic club and the R&A Group in numerous roles.

He was chairman of the Rules of Golf and the Equipment Standards Committees and as the first-ever chairman of the World Handicap Board while, from 2018 to 2022, he was chairman of the General Committee and Chairman of the R&A Group boards.

He served as a rules official at The Open from 1995 to 2018 and on multiple occasions at the Masters between 1997 and 2019. He has also been a rules official at the US Open, the PGA Championship, the AIG Women’s Open and the Solheim Cup as well as leading amateur events including the Walker Cup, the Curtis Cup, the World Amateur Team Championships and the Arnold Palmer Cup.

In addition to his refereeing duties, Pattinson was 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.

He was co-chairman of the International Golf Federation Administrative Committee from 2018 to 2022 and became chairman of England Golf in 2023. He is a board member of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation.

Pattinson is an honorary member of Royal Worlington & Newmarket Golf Club and also a member of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers; Royal West Norfolk Golf Club; Merion Golf Club in the US, the Oxford & Cambridge Golfing Society and the Senior Golfers’ Society.

He will begin his year in office after the traditional driving-in ceremony on the first tee of the Old Course on 20 September.