PETER Alliss, president of Old Thorns Manor Hotel Golf and Country Estate and the BBC’s former Voice of Golf, has paid tribute to Sir Terry Wogan, who died on January 31, aged 77, after a brief battle with cancer.

The former Ryder Cup star, who lives in Churt, said: “Terry has been a dear family friend for more than 40 years and became godfather to our youngest son, Henry, who is now golf manager at Old Thorns. He was a lovely person and both our wives, Jackie and Helen, got on very well.

“As a golfer Terry was quite ordinary, but he did set a world record for the longest successful putt ever televised, which he holed from 100 feet at Gleneagles in a pro-celebrity TV programme in 1981, a challenge given by me.

“Jackie and I met up with Terry and the family before Christmas and he said he had a little back trouble, which turned out to be a tumour that spread and quickly took his life.

“Terry was never a complainer. He said when it’s my time, I’ll pitch my tent and go quietly, which is exactly what he did.”

Mr Alliss, 84, continued: “He loved golf and tennis and was a great supporter of mine and Jackie’s charity golf work. He came along to the opening of Old Thorns golf course in 1982, which included the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Isao Aoki and Bill Rogers.

“Terry also came along to help me open the little golf course at St Edmund’s School in Hindhead in 1995, and we both played a round with the children afterward.

“Terry was a dear friend and my family and I will miss him terribly.”

In 1979, the genial Irish broadcaster was a guest on easy-going BBC television programme A Round with Alliss, where he discussed the importance of family life and his love of golf with his dear friend Peter Alliss.

Other revered guests included Kevin Keegan, Ludovic Kennedy, and Harry Secombe.

Sir Terry was also a guest on the BBC2 programme An Evening with Peter Alliss, which was a celebration of the Voice of Golf, revealing the man behind the scenes.

Born in Limerick on August 3, 1938, Sir Terry worked for the BBC from 1956 to 2015, hosting a number of radio and television shows.

On the radio, he could be heard on Wake Up with Wogan from 1993 to 2009 and Weekend Wogan from 2010 to 2015, earning cult status from his legion of fans.

On the small screen, Sir Terry was well-known as for his tongue-in-cheek commentary on the Eurovision Song Contest between 1971 and 2008, Blankety Blank from 1979 to 1983, the chat show Wogan between 1982 and 1992, and Wogan’s Perfect Recall from 2008 to 2010.

In 1980, the BBC’s charity appeal for children was first broadcast as a telethon called Children in Need, which Sir Terry presented alongside Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen and which he supported and presented until 2014.

He campaigned extensively for the charity, involved himself personally, conducted auctions on his radio show, and took part in well-publicised sponsored activities.

In 2008, Wogan and singer Aled Jones released the single Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth, which decades earlier had been famously covered by Bing Crosby and David Bowie and which got to number three in the UK charts second time around.

The money raised form the chart hit went to the BBC Children in Need appeal.

Sir Terry, who lived in Buckinghamshire, was known for not taking himself seriously, but he always took his work for Children In Need seriously.

Chris Evans, owner of The Mulberry pub in Chiddingfold, was leading tributes to Sir Terry, having taken over the coveted BBC2 flagship breakfast show in January 2010.

Evans spoke about Sir Terry’s love for his family, his kindness and generosity towards his colleagues, his incredible relaxed way of working, his intelligence, wit and sense of humour, the laughter, and his love for his radio audience.

“Thank you for being my friend” was Sir Terry’s final goodbye from the airwaves.