Ben Arda
Ben Arda was a Filipino professional golfer.
Arda, known as Bantam Ben and the Toy Tiger because of his small stature, was one of Asia's leading golfers during the 1960s and 1970s. He was the first Filipino to qualify for the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship. He won nine tournaments on the Asia Golf Circuit, including the Philippine Open three times, and headed the points list in 1970. He also won four times on the Japan Golf Tour and played in the World Cup 16 times, recording a best finish of 2nd place in 1977 with playing partner Rudy Lavares.
Professional wins (15)
Japan Golf Tour wins (4)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
1 | 27 May 1973 | Dunlop Tournament | −8 | 4 strokes | Masashi Ozaki |
2 | 30 Sep 1973 | Japan Open Golf Championship | −11 | 2 strokes | Isao Aoki |
3 | 25 Apr 1976 | Sobu International Open | −11 | 4 strokes | Chen Chien-chung |
4 | 24 Apr 1977 | Dunlop International Open | −6 | 2 strokes | Terry Kendall, Tommy Nakajima |
Asia Golf Circuit wins (9)
- 1963 Philippine Open
- 1967 Singapore Open
- 1970 Malaysian Open
- 1973 Singapore Open
- 1974 Indonesia Open
- 1976 Thailand Open, Sobu International Open
- 1977 Dunlop International Open
- 1979 Philippine Open
Other wins
- 1961 Philippine Open
- 1969 Indian Open
- 1976 Philippine Masters
- 1977 Philippine Masters
Results in major championships
Note: Arda never played in the U.S. Open or the PGA Championship.