# Ben Arda

Ben Arda (13 June 1929 – 20 December 2006) 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)
### PGA of Japan Tour wins (4)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 27 May 1973 | Dunlop Tournament | −8 (71-69-70-70=280) | 4 strokes | Masashi Ozaki |
| 2 | 30 Sep 1973 | Japan Open Golf Championship | −11 (68-74-69-66=277) | 2 strokes | Isao Aoki |
| 3 | 25 Apr 1976 | Sobu International Open$^1$ | −11 (69-68-70-70=277) | 4 strokes | Chen Chien-chung |
| 4 | 24 Apr 1977 | Dunlop International Open$^1$ (2) | −6 (72-71-67-72=282) | 2 strokes | Terry Kendall, Tsuneyuki Nakajima |
$^1$Co-sanctioned by the Asia Golf Circuit

### Asia Golf Circuit wins (8)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 17 Feb 1963 | Philippine Open | +1 (71-74-74-70=289) | 3 strokes | Teruo Sugihara |
| 2 | 5 Mar 1967 | Singapore Open | −2 (70-69-71-72=282) | Playoff | Hideyo Sugimoto |
| 3 | 8 Mar 1970 | Malaysian Open | −15 (69-68-68-68=273) | 1 stroke | Tim Woolbank |
| 4 | 11 Mar 1973 | Singapore Open (2) | E (71-68-72-73=284) | Playoff | Norman Wood |
| 5 | 17 Mar 1974 | Indonesia Open | −5 (73-71-70-69=283) | Playoff | Hsu Chi-san, Graham Marsh |
| 6 | 7 Mar 1976 | Thailand Open | −18 (66-70-65-69=270) | 4 strokes | Sukree Onsham |
| 7 | 25 Apr 1976 | Sobu International Open$^1$ | −11 (69-68-70-70=277) | 4 strokes | Chen Chien-chung |
| 8 | 24 Apr 1977 | Dunlop International Open$^1$ (2) | −6 (72-71-67-72=282) | 2 strokes | Terry Kendall, Tsuneyuki Nakajima |
$^1$Co-sanctioned by the PGA of Japan Tour
Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (3–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1967 | Singapore Open | Hideyo Sugimoto | Won with par on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1973 | Singapore Open | Norman Wood | Won with par on third extra hole |
| 3 | 1974 | Indonesia Open | Hsu Chi-san, Graham Marsh | Won with par on sixth extra hole Hsu eliminated by par on first hole |
| 4 | 1975 | Taiwan Open | Hsieh Min-Nan, Kuo Chie-Hsiung | Kuo won with birdie on fourth extra hole |

### Other wins (5)

This list may be incomplete
* 1961 Philippine Open
* 1969 Indian Open
* 1976 Philippine Masters
* 1977 Philippine Masters
* 1979 Philippine Open

## Results in major championships

| Tournament | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 |
| Masters Tournament | CUT | | | | | | | | | | |
| The Open Championship | | | | | | | | | | | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1972 Open Championship) Note: Arda never played in the U.S. Open or the PGA Championship.

## Team appearances

This list is incomplete
* World Cup (representing the Philippines): 1956, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977