\n<\/p>\n
One of European golf’s most recognisable figures, the highly respected former referee John Paramor, has died aged 67.<\/span><\/p>\n Paramor’s distinguished career spanned more than six decades after joining the European Tour as an administrator in 1976. He was a competent golfer and a former Surrey amateur champion.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But it was as a referee that he made his mark and was regularly seen by television audiences adjudicating on rulings involving some of the game’s biggest names, including Tiger Woods and Seve Ballesteros.<\/span><\/p>\n Paramor famously ruled against the legendary Spaniard at the 1994 Volvo Masters, where Ballesteros was seeking a free drop from a difficult lie that he claimed had been caused by a “burrowing animal”.<\/span><\/p>\n In 1989 Paramor became the European Tour’s chief referee and his work with the R&A and United States Golf Association influenced many significant changes to the sport’s rules.<\/span><\/p>\n DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said: “Legend is a word used too often in sport but, in terms of golf and the administration of the rules of our sport, it perfectly suits John Paramor.<\/span><\/p>\n “Quite simply, he was a leader in his field, the guru of referees and someone who commanded the absolute respect of the players and of his peers.”<\/span><\/p>\n Fifteen-time major winner Woods, speaking after his round at the Genesis Invitational, called Paramor “one of the all-time best rules officials”. <\/span><\/p>\n The American said: “John was around when I first turned pro and had been a staple obviously on the European Tour and all the World Golf Championships, when he came over here and was a rules official. Just a great guy. I’m a little bit taken back by that.”<\/span><\/p>\n Paramor retired from his role at the 2020 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. He had been ill for sometime before his death on Thursday. <\/span><\/p>\n Pelley added: “He was a big character in all senses – his physical stature, his stature in the game and his popularity with anyone who shared a dinner or social occasion with him.”<\/span><\/p>\n Fellow referee Andy McFee said: “What a man JP was and what a life he led. <\/span><\/p>\n “He has left us now, but he left us when he was full of his favourite things after a John-style lunch yesterday – garlic snails, rare fillet steak and fine red wine. He leaves us with memories galore.”<\/span><\/p>\n Paramor’s death will be marked by a minute’s silence during Saturday’s third round of the DP World Tour Thailand Classic in Bangkok. <\/span><\/p>\n