British PGA Matchplay Championship
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The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a matchplay golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the British newspaper the News of the World, and was commonly known by the paper's name. Initially organised as the championship of British professionals, the event came to include invited players from other countries - in particular from around the Commonwealth (it was won on four occasions by Australia's Peter Thomson, a record number of victories shared with Dai Rees and James Braid). On occasion, American professionals also took part, notably in 1949 when the eight members of the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup side accepted invites to the event, Lloyd Mangrum reaching the semi-finals.
For many years, the event boasted the richest prize fund in British golf, and certainly in the pre-first World War era, can be considered to have been a "major" championship of its day, as at the time, the British professionals were considered the best players in the world - in 1907 the four semi-finalists were "The Great Triumvirate" of Harry Vardon, J.H. Taylor and James Braid, and Ted Ray, who would go on to win both the British and U.S. Opens. After World War Two, the event provided several notable British and Irish players, like Christy O'Connor Snr, Eric Brown and Dave Thomas, with their greatest triumphs, and became a showcase for the matchplay strength of Neil Coles, who was a semi-finalist nine times. The tournament was also often notable for remarkable runs to the later stages by veteran players - Max Faulkner was a semi-finalist aged 51, and in 1969 Dai Rees reached the final aged 56. However, following the establishment of the British PGA Championship (at strokeplay) in 1955, interest in the matchplay championship began to dwindle. The tournament was an official money event on the European Tour from its first season in 1972, but after 1979 it was discontinued. The last champion was Irishman Des Smyth, who beat a youthful Nick Price in the final.
[edit] Winners
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | Semi-finalists | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | James Braid | Ted Ray | J.H. Taylor, G Coburn | Sunningdale |
| 1904 | J.H. Taylor | A Toogood | J Hepburn, Sandy Herd | Mid-Surrey |
| 1905 | James Braid | T Vardon | R Jones, A Mitchell | Walton Heath |
| 1906 | Sandy Herd | C Mayo | George Duncan, R Jones | Hollinwell |
| 1907 | James Braid | J.H. Taylor | Ted Ray, Harry Vardon | Sunningdale |
| 1908 | J.H. Taylor | Fred Robson | C Mayo, James Sherlock | Mid-Surrey |
| 1909 | Tom Ball | Sandy Herd | Harry Vardon, James Hepburn | Walton Heath |
| 1910 | James Sherlock | George Duncan | E Bannister, C Hughes | Sunningdale |
| 1911 | James Braid | Ted Ray | Tom Williamson, Harry Vardon | Walton Heath |
| 1912 | Harry Vardon | Ted Ray | RG Wilson, Harry Cawsey | Sunningdale |
| 1913 | George Duncan | James Braid | RG Wilson, Willie Watt | Walton Heath |
| 1914-18 | No tournament due to World War I | |||
| 1919 | Abe Mitchell | George Duncan | Peter Rainford, Fred Robson | Walton Heath |
| 1920 | Abe Mitchell | Josh Taylor | B Seymour, L Holland | Mid-Surrey |
| 1921 | B Seymour | J Gaudin | Ted Ray, C Wingate | Oxhey |
| 1922 | George Gadd | Fred Leach | Ernest Whitcombe, C Johns | Sunningdale |
| 1923 | RG Wilson | T Renouf | Abe Mitchell, T Williamson | Walton Heath |
| 1924 | Ernest Whitcombe | George Gadd | Sandy Herd, T Barber | St.George's |
| 1925 | Archie Compston | George Gadd | George Duncan, L Holland | Moor Park |
| 1926 | Sandy Herd | J Bloxham | RG Wilson, WH Ball | Mid-Surrey |
| 1927 | Archie Compston | James Braid | T Williamson, Ernest Whitcombe | Walton Heath |
| 1928 | Charles Whitcombe | Henry Cotton | JJ Taylor, HC Jolly | Stoke Poges |
| 1929 | Abe Mitchell | P Rodgers | Archie Compston, A Beck | Wentworth |
| 1930 | Charles Whitcombe | Henry Cotton | Abe Mitchell, Syd Easterbrook | Oxhey |
| 1931 | Alf Padgham | M Seymour | CH Ward, CW Thomson | Mid-Surrey |
| 1932 | Henry Cotton | A Perry | Arthur Lacey, JH Jolly | Moor Park |
| 1933 | Percy Alliss | M Seymour | Ernest Whitcombe, Archie Compston | Purley |
| 1934 | JJ Busson | Charles Whitcombe | A Chevalier, Reg Whitcombe | Walton Heath |
| 1935 | Alf Padgham | Percy Alliss | Richard Burton, Reg Whitcombe | Mid-Surrey |
| 1936 | Dai Rees | Ernest Whitcombe | Percy Alliss, JJ Taylor | Oxhey |
| 1937 | Percy Alliss | J Adams | D Curtis, Charles Whitcombe | Stoke Poges |
| 1938 | Dai Rees | Eddie Whitcombe | Arthur Havers, L Ayton | Walton Heath |
| 1939 | No tournament | |||
| 1940 | Henry Cotton | Alf Padgham | R French, Arthur Lacey | Mid-Surrey |
| 1941-44 | No tournament due to World War II | |||
| 1945 | Reg Horne | Percy Alliss | RA Knight, TE Odams | Walton Heath |
| 1946 | Henry Cotton | J Adams | Bobby Locke, Richard Burton | Hoylake |
| 1947 | Fred Daly | Flory Van Donck | CH Ward, Henry Cotton | Lytham St. Annes |
| 1948 | Fred Daly | L Ayton | SL King, CH Ward | Birkdale |
| 1949 | Dai Rees | Henry Cotton | SL King, Lloyd Mangrum | Walton Heath |
| 1950 | Dai Rees | Frank Jowle | Ken Bousfield, Henry Cotton | Carnoustie |
| 1951 | Harry Weetman | J Adams | AS Waters, SL King | Hoylake |
| 1952 | Fred Daly | Flory Van Donck | John Panton, G Johnson | Walton Heath |
| 1953 | Max Faulkner | Dai Rees | John Jacobs, Fred Daly | Ganton |
| 1954 | Peter Thomson | J Fallon | Frank Jowle, N Sutton | St. Andrew's |
| 1955 | Ken Bousfield | Eric Brown | A Lees, Frank Jowle | Walton Heath |
| 1956 | John Panton | Harry Weetman | Ken Bousfield, RP Mills | Hoylake |
| 1957 | Christy O'Connor Snr | TB Haliburton | Harry Bradshaw, Eric Brown | Turnberry |
| 1958 | Harry Weetman | BJ Hunt | Christy O'Connor, AM Fox | Walton Heath |
| 1959 | David Snell | Harry Weetman | N Sutton, Dave Thomas | Birkdale |
| 1960 | Eric Brown | Harry Weetman | TB Haliburton, Dave Thomas | Turnberry |
| 1961 | Peter Thomson | RL Moffitt | Neil Coles, BJ Hunt | Walton Heath |
| 1962 | Eric Brown | E Whitehead | Dave Thomas, TA Fisher | Walton Heath |
| 1963 | Dave Thomas | J Macdonald | G Will, I Wright | Turnberry |
| 1964 | Neil Coles | PJ Butler | Max Faulkner, Hedley Muscroft | Walton Heath |
| 1965 | Neil Coles | L Platts | C Greene, Tony Jacklin | Walton Heath |
| 1966 | Peter Thomson | Neil Coles | A King, Peter Alliss | Walton Heath |
| 1967 | Peter Thomson | Dai Rees | Max Faulkner, Neil Coles | Walton Heath |
| 1968 | Brian Huggett | John Panton | Neil Coles, J Martin | Walton Heath |
| 1969 | Maurice Bembridge | Dai Rees | Brian Huggett, D Talbot | Walton Heath |
| 1970 | Tommy Horton | Ronnie Shade | RT Walker, R Bernardini | Moor Park |
| 1971 | No tournament | |||
| 1972 | John Garner | Neil Coles | Ronnie Shade, Dave Stockton | Moor Park |
| 1973 | Neil Coles | Doug McClelland | Peter Wilcock, Hedley Muscroft | Hillside |
| 1974 | Jack Newton | Cesar Sanudo | Neil Coles, David Jagger | Downfield |
| 1975 | Eddie Polland | Peter Butler | Dale Hayes, Ronnie Shade | Lindrick |
| 1976 | Brian Barnes | Craig DeFoy | John O'Leary, Simon Hobday | King's Norton |
| 1977 | Hugh Baiocchi | Brian Huggett | Neil Coles, Christy O'Connor Jnr | Stoke Poges |
| 1978 | Mark James | Neil Coles | Sam Torrance, Manuel Piñero | Dalmahoy |
| 1979 | Des Smyth | Nick Price | Antonio Garrido, Carl Mason | Fulford |
[edit] See also
- Wentworth World Match Play Championship - another matchplay championship played in the United Kingdom, which has been an official money event on the European Tour since 2004.
