Former European Tour referee John Paramor has died

67-year old former European Tour referee John Paramor died peacefully at his home in London on Friday morning after a battle with cancer.

Alain De Soultrait, former chief of the Challenge Tour, told GolfPlanete:

“Like many, I worked with him for many years. He was an extraordinary character. 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 reached legendary status as a golf referee, spending 44 years at the top level, 30 of which were as Chief Referee to the European Tour. Upon his send-off following his retirement after the BMW PGA in 2020, Paramor 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.”

He retired alongside great colleague Andy McFee who at the time said of his friend; “The word I would use about John is gravitas,” said Andy. “He has empathy with the players and he is honest and fair. When John Paramor speaks about the rules of golf, people listen.”

Asked how he would like to be remembered back then, Paramor simply said:

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

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h’anam dílis.