On Monday night legend Terry Gale was the third member of the State’s golfing world to be elevated into the WA Sporting Hall of Champions.
He was joined by dual rowing world champion Amber Bradley and Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Todd Pearson.
Humbled by being inducted into the Hall of Champions, he believes it is the elite challenges of sport that bring athletes of all types together. Gale said, “It doesn’t matter what sport you play; sporting men and women have a common bond. You’ve got to have that inner drive in you, it’s what makes it happen.”
A knee injury became the reason Gale became the most prolific winner of WA golf tournaments after he had initially set on a path to play elite level cricket. In his youth, he led a team that included fellow Hall of Champion greats, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh, to victory over Victoria at the MCG. After deciding on golf, Gale had a successful amateur career before turning professional when he was nearly 30.
As an amateur he won local, state, and national titles including the 1974 Australian Amateur title, the WA Amateur Championship four times, the WA Open twice, and the Nedlands Masters three times. After turning professional, Gale amassed 42 victories around the world, including 15 on the PGA Australasian Tour, 2 on the Japanese tour as well as numerous victories in Asia and on the European and Australian Seniors Tour. He also won his beloved WA Open a further 4 times as a professional and is honoured in that event through the Terry Gale Cup, which is presented to the leading amateur golfer in the WA Open.
Gale grew up in the tiny Wheatbelt town of Yelbeni and still enjoys golf even though he claims his handicap of 6.2 is ‘embarrassing’.
