Legendary golf referee John Paramor dies aged 67

Legendary golf referee John Paramor has died at his home in London.

The stalwart of European golf passed away at the age of 67, after a battle with disease. As first reported by Golf Planete, the esteemed referee died peacefully this morning.

“Like many, I worked with him for many years. He was an extraordinary character,” Alain De Soultrait, former chief of the Challenge Tour, told the French site.

“With stature, highly respected. When the players had him in front of them, it was different.

“He had a desire to pass on his knowledge, his unique way of approaching the players.”

Paramor spent 44 years as a referee on the European circuit, 30 of them as chief referee, before retiring in 2020. His final tournament was the BMW PGA Championship in October 2020.

When he retired in 2020, the Englishman said, “I’ll miss the players and I’ll miss the interaction with the players, which I’ve also enjoyed, for the most part as there’s been a couple of occasions where it hasn’t gone well. And I’ll miss the travelling.”

When asked how he would like to be remembered, Paramor said:

“I would like, really, the first reaction to be a smile, and then ‘Yeah, he was fair’.”