Reg Bamford (born 11 October 1967 in Cape Town, South Africa) is a croquet world champion from London, England. Although resident in England, he plays croquet for his native South Africa.
Since 2001, he has dominated world croquet. He is the only player to have won both versions of the World Championships (Golf Croquet and Association Croquet) and held both titles simultaneously in 2013. He has won the Association Croquet World Croquet Championship six times (2001, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2020 and 2025), and the WCF World Golf Croquet Championship twice (2013 and 2017). He was runner-up on two occasions (2018 in AC and 2012 in GC) and semi-finalist on two occasions (2014 and 2016 in AC). He has won the British AC Open Championship 12 times and the British GC Open Championship 12 times, the premier events in the UK of each code.
Furthermore, he was ranked 29th in the 100 Best Sportspeople in the World for the year 2020 by Sports Media. He enjoys a rivalry with Robert Fulford, whom he has faced in eleven British AC Open singles finals.
He is a businessman and qualified Chartered Accountant (after completing his articles at Deloitte SA in 1992), who founded and runs Sable International, a company that offer services to expats and high-net-worth individuals. He is known throughout the Antipodean and South African communities in London. He has two sons and is married to Adrienne.
Career statistics (Association Croquet) Source:
Major tournament performance timeline
Tournament19841987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999World Championship A AQF1RQF2RQFOpen Championship1RSF A A AAAWWW2RSFQFWMen's Championship A A A A AAAWFAAAAWWin–loss 0-1 3-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-1 10-0 11-2 6-1 1-1 5-2 2-1 9-0
Tournament20002001200220032004200520062007200820092010World ChampionshipW*2RW1RWOpen ChampionshipFW*WFSFSFFFSFSFWMen's ChampionshipWWWAWAAAAAAWin–loss 8-1 10-0 9-1 4-1 7-1 8-1 3-1 4-1 3-2 7-1 5-0 Tournament201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 Win %World ChampionshipWSFSFFW2RW 6 / 17 48 - 11 Open ChampionshipWWWFQFQFWAF1RWFSFQFA 12 / 33 104 - 21 Men's ChampionshipASFAAAAAAANHAAAAA 6 / 8 33 - 2 Win–loss 5-0 11-1 7-1 4-1 1-1 4-2 4-0 4-1 3-1 5-1 4-0 3-1 3-2 1-1 5-0 24 / 58 185 - 34 * The 1989 and 2001 World and Open Championships were combined events.
Major Championship Finals: 32 (22 titles, 10 runners-up) OutcomeYearChampionshipOpponentScoreWinner1993Men's ChampionshipChris Clarke+tpo, +tp, +tpWinner1993Open ChampionshipDavid Maugham-25tp, +26tp, +19, -11tp, +26tpRunner-up1994Men's ChampionshipMichael Taylor+26tp, -26tp, -26tpWinner1994Open ChampionshipChris Clarke+16tp, +26Winner1995Open ChampionshipRobert Fulford+24tp, +26tp, -26tp, -26tp, +26tpWinner1999Men's ChampionshipStephen Mulliner-17, -17tp, +26tp, +10, +16tpWinner1999Open ChampionshipRobert Fulford+26tp, -26tp, -26tp, +26tp, +26tpWinner2000Men's ChampionshipToby Garrison+26tp, +1, -26tp, +26tpRunner-up2000Open ChampionshipStephen Mulliner+25tp, -9tpo, -20tp, -20tpWinner2001Men's ChampionshipRobert Fulford+3, -8tp, +8, -20tp, +17qnpWinner2001World ChampionshipRobert Fulford-16tp, +17sxp, -3, +26sxp, +26qpWinner2002Men's ChampionshipDavid Goacher+17sxp, +15sxp, +17octpWinner2002Open ChampionshipChris Clarke+12, +26sxp, +26sxpRunner-up2003Open ChampionshipRobert Fulford-26tp, -12, -18tpWinner2004Men's ChampionshipPeter Trimmer-8tp, +17sxp, +26sxp, -19tp, +26sxpWinner2005World ChampionshipRobert Fulford+17tp, +26sxp, +17sxpRunner-up2006Open ChampionshipRobert Fulford+2qp, -25sxp, -26qnp, +8sxp, -1Runner-up2007Open ChampionshipRobert Fulford-26tp, -25sxp, +16tp, -26sxpWinner2009World ChampionshipBen Rothman+13tp, +22, +18tpWinner2010Open ChampionshipRobert Fletcher+16 -17tp +17tp -26tp +12tpoWinner2011Open ChampionshipRobert Fulford-18tp, +26sxp, +17, +26sxpWinner2012World ChampionshipRobert Fletcher-12tpo, +17tp, -26tp, +17tp, +26qpWinner2012Open ChampionshipRobert Fulford+25sxp, -14tp, +24sxp, +24sxpWinner2013Open ChampionshipSamir Patel+26sxp, +25sxp, +15qnpRunner-up2014Open ChampionshipRobert Fulford-16, -5qp, -18qpWinner2017Open ChampionshipRobert Fulford-25sxp, -3, +20sxp, +26sxp, +19sxpRunner-up2018World ChampionshipPaddy Chapman-7tp, +26tp, +26tp, -15tp, -17tpRunner-up2019Open ChampionshipJames Death-18tp, -18tpWinner2020World ChampionshipMatthew Essick+14tp, -12, +17tp, +26tpWinner2021Open ChampionshipRobert Fulford-3sxp, +25sxp, +24sxp, +19sxpRunner-up2023Open ChampionshipJames Death-19tp, +17sxp, -2, -26tpWinner2025World ChampionshipMark Avery+7tp, +26tp, +26tp
The 2001 World Championship and Open Championship were a combined event.
References