TULSA, Okla. – Right place, right time can only be used so often to describe one’s good fortune at producing a memorable photograph. When it comes to David Cannon, who has consistently delivered the goods while covering more than 100 golf majors, it’s better to be good than lucky.
“Throughout my career I have developed an unerring desire to capture the split second of life that will be remembered forever,” he said.
The Englishman, 66, was honored Wednesday with the PGA of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Photojournalism at a ceremony at Southern Hills Country Club.
With his distinctive wide-brimmed hat, Cannon has been a foot soldier lugging 20-30 pounds of cameras and belt packs full of lens and equipment over courses for going on four decades.
“If I had a dime for every mile that Dave Cannon has walked, I’d already be retired,” said his Getty Images colleague Sam Greenwood.
He’s also flown the equivalent of circling the world more than 100 times and spent more than 500 nights in hotel rooms. As the writer John Hopkins so eloquently put it, “David is there, wherever there is.”
Cannon take a golf photo from a golfer’s perspective. He was good enough to finish eighth in a British Youth tournament ahead of Sandy Lyle, but seeing Nick Faldo play had him looking for another profession. At one time, he was a lingerie salesman and worked at an ad agency before finding his niche behind the lens.
“His photos capture the moment but they’re almost artwork,” Greenwood said. “You want to hang them on the wall.”
Cannon seamlessly made the transition from film to digital. Where he once shot 50 rolls of film with 30 frames on each, he now shoots 2,500 photographs on an average day. He tries to focus on the eyes while also having a knack for capturing just the right background.
“The combination of shooting tournament action and golf courses at that level is very rare,” said noted photographer Scott Halleran, who worked alongside Cannon for 16 years.
Cannon didn’t become arguably golf’s preeminent photographer by chance, Halleran said.
“He gets up every morning like it’s a job interview and works so hard,” Halleran said.
Among his many celebrated photos, Cannon counts his photos of Seve Ballesteros at the top of the list.
“As a golfer there is no way to describe how exciting he was to photograph,” said Cannon, whose photo of Seve celebrating his win at St. Andrews has become iconic.
At the British Open, Cannon works exclusively for the R&A and his duties include escorting the champion to his post-tournament duties. In 2014, he was heading upstairs to the clubhouse at Royal Liverpool with winner Rory McIlroy when McIlroy shouted for him to stop so he could take a selfie.
“That split second of spontaneous joy became one of the definitive images of that championship,” he recalled.
At the 1999 Dunhill Cup, a celebrity pro-am at St. Andrews, Cannon overhead Michael Jordan challenge Sergio Garcia to a race.
“So I made sure I was always 200 yards ahead of them just in case – and sure enough I got lucky,” he recalled.
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Cannon has photographed all the greats, the biggest events – even the wedding of Paula Creamer – and he’s seemingly always been at the right place at the right time.
