British PGA Matchplay Championship
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British PGA Matchplay Championship | |
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Location | Britain |
Established | 1903 |
Course(s) | |
Par | |
Tour(s) | European Tour |
Format | Matchplay |
Final year | 1979 |
Tournament record score | |
Final champion | |
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The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play 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 stroke play) 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sun Alliance European Match Play Championship | ||||
1979 | Des Smyth | Nick Price | Antonio Garrido, Carl Mason | Fulford |
Sun Alliance Match Play Championship | ||||
1978 | Mark James | Neil Coles | Sam Torrance, Manuel Piñero | Dalmahoy |
1977 | Hugh Baiocchi | Brian Huggett | Neil Coles, Christy O'Connor Jnr | Stoke Poges |
1976 | Brian Barnes | Craig DeFoy | John O'Leary, Simon Hobday | King's Norton |
1975 | Eddie Polland | Peter Butler | Dale Hayes, Ronnie Shade | Lindrick |
Benson & Hedges Match Play Championship | ||||
1974 | Jack Newton | Cesar Sanudo | Neil Coles, David Jagger | Downfield |
1973 | Neil Coles | Doug McClelland | Peter Wilcock, Hedley Muscroft | Hillside |
1972 | John Garner | Neil Coles | Ronnie Shade, Dave Stockton | Moor Park |
1971 | No tournament | |||
Long John Scotch Whisky Match Play Championship | ||||
1970 | Tommy Horton | Ronnie Shade | RT Walker, R Bernardini | Moor Park |
News of the World Match Play | ||||
1969 | Maurice Bembridge | Dai Rees | Brian Huggett, D Talbot | Walton Heath |
1968 | Brian Huggett | John Panton | Neil Coles, J Martin | Walton Heath |
1967 | Peter Thomson | Dai Rees | Max Faulkner, Neil Coles | Walton Heath |
1966 | Peter Thomson | Neil Coles | A King, Peter Alliss | Walton Heath |
1965 | Neil Coles | L Platts | C Greene, Tony Jacklin | Walton Heath |
1964 | Neil Coles | Peter Butler | Max Faulkner, Hedley Muscroft | Walton Heath |
1963 | Dave Thomas | J Macdonald | G Will, I Wright | Turnberry |
1962 | Eric Brown | E Whitehead | Dave Thomas, TA Fisher | Walton Heath |
1961 | Peter Thomson | RL Moffitt | Neil Coles, BJ Hunt | Walton Heath |
1960 | Eric Brown | Harry Weetman | TB Haliburton, Dave Thomas | Turnberry |
1959 | David Snell | Harry Weetman | N Sutton, Dave Thomas | Birkdale |
1958 | Harry Weetman | Bernard Hunt | Christy O'Connor Snr, AM Fox | Walton Heath |
1957 | Christy O'Connor Snr | TB Haliburton | Harry Bradshaw, Eric Brown | Turnberry |
1956 | John Panton | Harry Weetman | Ken Bousfield, RP Mills | Hoylake |
1955 | Ken Bousfield | Eric Brown | A Lees, Frank Jowle | Walton Heath |
1954 | Peter Thomson | John Fallon | Frank Jowle, N Sutton | St. Andrew's |
1953 | Max Faulkner | Dai Rees | John Jacobs, Fred Daly | Ganton |
1952 | Fred Daly | Flory Van Donck | John Panton, G Johnson | Walton Heath |
1951 | Harry Weetman | J Adams | AS Waters, SL King | Hoylake |
1950 | Dai Rees | Frank Jowle | Ken Bousfield, Henry Cotton | Carnoustie |
1949 | Dai Rees | Henry Cotton | SL King, Lloyd Mangrum | Walton Heath |
1948 | Fred Daly | L Ayton | SL King, CH Ward | Birkdale |
1947 | Fred Daly | Flory Van Donck | CH Ward, Henry Cotton | Lytham St. Annes |
1946 | Henry Cotton | J Adams | Bobby Locke, Richard Burton | Hoylake |
1945 | Reg Horne | Percy Alliss | RA Knight, TE Odams | Walton Heath |
1941-44 | No tournament due to World War II | |||
1940 | Henry Cotton | Alf Padgham | R French, Arthur Lacey | Mid-Surrey |
1939 | No tournament | |||
1938 | Dai Rees | Eddie Whitcombe | Arthur Havers, L Ayton | Walton Heath |
1937 | Percy Alliss | J Adams | D Curtis, Charles Whitcombe | Stoke Poges |
1936 | Dai Rees | Ernest Whitcombe | Percy Alliss, JJ Taylor | Oxhey |
1935 | Alf Padgham | Percy Alliss | Richard Burton, Reg Whitcombe | Mid-Surrey |
1934 | JJ Busson | Charles Whitcombe | A Chevalier, Reg Whitcombe | Walton Heath |
1933 | Percy Alliss | M Seymour | Ernest Whitcombe, Archie Compston | Purley |
1932 | Henry Cotton | A Perry | Arthur Lacey, JH Jolly | Moor Park |
1931 | Alf Padgham | M Seymour | CH Ward, CW Thomson | Mid-Surrey |
1930 | Charles Whitcombe | Henry Cotton | Abe Mitchell, Syd Easterbrook | Oxhey |
1929 | Abe Mitchell | P Rodgers | Archie Compston, A Beck | Wentworth |
1928 | Charles Whitcombe | Henry Cotton | JJ Taylor, HC Jolly | Stoke Poges |
1927 | Archie Compston | James Braid | T Williamson, Ernest Whitcombe | Walton Heath |
1926 | Sandy Herd | J Bloxham | RG Wilson, WH Ball | Mid-Surrey |
1925 | Archie Compston | George Gadd | George Duncan, L Holland | Moor Park |
1924 | Ernest Whitcombe | George Gadd | Sandy Herd, T Barber | St.George's |
1923 | RG Wilson | T Renouf | Abe Mitchell, T Williamson | Walton Heath |
1922 | George Gadd | Fred Leach | Ernest Whitcombe, C Johns | Sunningdale |
1921 | B Seymour | J Gaudin | Ted Ray, C Wingate | Oxhey |
1920 | Abe Mitchell | Josh Taylor | B Seymour, L Holland | Mid-Surrey |
1919 | Abe Mitchell | George Duncan | Peter Rainford, Fred Robson | Walton Heath |
1914-18 | No tournament due to World War I | |||
1913 | George Duncan | James Braid | RG Wilson, Willie Watt | Walton Heath |
1912 | Harry Vardon | Ted Ray | RG Wilson, Harry Cawsey | Sunningdale |
1911 | James Braid | Ted Ray | Tom Williamson, Harry Vardon | Walton Heath |
1910 | James Sherlock | George Duncan | E Bannister, C Hughes | Sunningdale |
1909 | Tom Ball | Sandy Herd | Harry Vardon, James Hepburn | Walton Heath |
1908 | J.H. Taylor | Fred Robson | C Mayo, James Sherlock | Mid-Surrey |
1907 | James Braid | J.H. Taylor | Ted Ray, Harry Vardon | Sunningdale |
1906 | Sandy Herd | C Mayo | George Duncan, R Jones | Hollinwell |
1905 | James Braid | T Vardon | R Jones, A Mitchell | Walton Heath |
1904 | J.H. Taylor | A Toogood | J Hepburn, Sandy Herd | Mid-Surrey |
1903 | James Braid | Ted Ray | J.H. Taylor, G Coburn | Sunningdale |
[edit] See also
- HSBC 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.