‘Lost an Icon’: Tiger Woods Joins Billy Horschel and Others in Mourning the Saddening Loss of a Prominent Figure in Golf

Published 02/17/2023, 10:12 PM EST

Friday morning started on a sad note for the golf world as they lost another gem from their treasure. John Paramor, the best referee for the DP World Tour for 44 years, bid his final goodbye to the world. He took his last breath after losing the battle against an unspecified illness. The 67 years old Paramor was the chief referee for three decades and has affected the lives of many golf entities. The big names of golf and the GOAT, Tiger Woods, expressed their sorrow of losing the best rule official in an interview.

Tiger Woods joins the golf world in mourning

Woods, who started off on a good note at the Genesis Invitational in round 1, expressed his sorrow and mourned the death of Paramor. He attended the flash interview on Friday evening. The former number one golfer talked about him and said, “uh, one of the all-time best rules officials.”

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He further spoke about the official’s influence on himself. The pro said, “so John was around when I’ve when I first turned pro and been a stable. And obviously, in the European tour and all the war golf championships, 20 came over him was the rules official.”

Woods described the greatness of Paramor and said, ” Um, just a great guy, and I’m a little bit taken back by that.” His words did justice to his feelings. The R&A, the organizing body of The Open Championship, also offered tribute to the deceased soul and released an obituary for Paramor. The professional golfer from Northern Ireland, Graeme McDowell, shared his grief with the world. He shared a tweet and wrote a heartfelt message.

Sad loss for golf with the passing of John Paramore. He was a great man who had a huge impact on my golf career and I’m thankful for his leadership and the ever present fairness he did a difficult job with. Thoughts and prayers with his family. pic.twitter.com/cmKUAwLsFc
— Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) February 17, 2023

The Instagram handle of the DP World Tour also expressed their deep sadness with a post. After the sad post by the DP World Tour, pro golfers Billy Horschel and Dylan Frittelli joined in the wave of sorrow and commented, “RIP” and “RIP John,” respectively. Scottish golfer Colin Montgomerie also commented, “Very sad to hear of the passing of JP as he was known to us all. The world of golf will miss a great referee and a fine man. My thoughts are with Katie and his family.” Darren Clarke said, “JP was one of the best. Always fair but firm in his refereeing and would join you in a glass of red or 2 in the evening. RIP John. “

Here are a few more reactions from the golf world.

It doesn't seem too long ago that he announced his retirement, so sad.
— David Funnell 🇬🇧 (@David_Funnell) February 17, 2023

That is sad news 😔
— grant nuttall (@G_Nutt10) February 17, 2023

Sad indeed G-Mac 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
— William (@thebox1969) February 17, 2023

Sad news indeed. The sport has lost an icon. Our thoughts are with John’s family and friends.
— Scottish Golf (@ScottishGolf) February 17, 2023

Feel privileged to have got a ruling off John. A true legend of the game. Rest in peace.
— Darren Timms (@darrentimmsgolf) February 17, 2023

Remember having a chat with him beside the 1 of the stands at the open championship in northern Ireland
— Graham Martin (@gmartyn2004) February 17, 2023

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That’s very sad, he was a nice man. I remember him giving me a lift back to the TV compound at a very wet Open. I was soaked and exhausted and very grateful. Lots of others didn’t stop for me but he did.
— Denise Harker (@denise_harker) February 17, 2023

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We hope the great soul finds rest in peace.

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Written by:

A Commerce graduate who turned her passion into her profession, Saumya is a Golf writer at Essentially Sports. Having developed the love for the sport at a very young age, she watched Tiger Woods and caught inspiration from his legacy early on. Apart from Woods, she shares great admiration for her country's players like Vishwanathan Anand and Neeraj Chopra.

Edited by:

Anjana Prabhakaran

‘Lost an Icon’: Tiger Woods Joins Billy Horschel and Others in Mourning the Saddening Loss of a Prominent Figure in Golf

Tiger Woods joins the golf world in mourning

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