THE death has been announced of Bill Tillman, vice-president of Surrey County Golf, Surrey captain from 1965-1968 and Surrey Seniors Champion in 1991.

As a member of the English Golf Union championship committee, Tillman bid to introduce the larger 1.68 diameter American size golf ball into the amateur game. He felt that to compete against American players on level terms, use of the bigger ball was necessary.

In order to encourage amateurs to use the larger ball, he began his own tournament, the Tillman Trophy, in 1980 where everyone had to play with the American ball.

Within three years, the Royal and Ancient had outlawed the smaller 1.62 ball in amateur play and this proved a turning-point in British fortunes in top amateur competition, paving the way for a first Walker Cup win on American soil in 1989.

The Tillman Trophy has since been won by future top professionals Ernie Els, Peter Baker and Ross Fisher, and continues today.

The 2016 Tillman Trophy will be contested by 160 top amateurs at East Sussex National Golf Club from July 12-14.