George Duncan (golfer)

George Duncan
Personal information
Born 16 September 1883(1883-09-16)
Methlick, Scotland
Died 15 January 1964(1964-01-15) (aged 80)
Leeds, England
Nationality  Scotland
Career
Status Professional
Professional wins 6
Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament DNP
U.S. Open 6th: 1922
The Open Championship Won: 1920
PGA Championship DNP

George Duncan (16 September 1883 – 15 January 1964)[1] was a Scottish professional golfer.

Duncan was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire. He was first apprenticed as a carpenter and rejected a chance to become a professional footballer at Aberdeen to become a golf professional. In 1920, he won the first post World War I Open Championship at Royal Cinque Ports in Kent, in one of the greatest comebacks in Open Championship history. After shooting 80 in his first two rounds, Duncan was still thirteen shots behind the leader during the final round, but made up the deficit to win.[2]. He is the last player to win a golf major with a score of 80 for a round.[3]. He played for Great Britain in the Ryder Cup in 1927, 1929, and 1931. He was playing captain in 1929 when GB won. He was also a golf course designer. His much sought after professional teaching and swing analysis skills lead to him being referred to as "the pros pro."

Although he did not win the British Open in 1922, his third round of that Open was included as one of the 25 greatest rounds of golf ever played in the Guinness Book of Golf Records Facts and Champions. His third round 69 was only the third round shot under 70 in British Open history; a major achievement given the limitations of the golf technology of the day. He just failed to win the 1922 Open, eventually losing to Walter Hagen by a margin of one stroke. The scene of his demise was a dip in the fairway in front of the 18th green from which he fluffed a chip shot to a position five yards short of the pin. He eventually missed the crucial putt for a tie with Hagen, which led to the short position in front of the 18th being ironically named "Duncan's Hollow."

Duncan was also well known for his fast pace of play; he would simply walk to his ball, drop his limbs into his stance immediately, and hit the ball. If he ever studied the line and shape of his shot, he had done it before he reached his ball, for there was no pause when he got to it. As for practice swings, he regarded them as totally unnecessary and barely legal - close to practicing on the course.[4]

Contents

Tournament wins (6)

This list may be incomplete.

Major championship is shown in bold.

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin Runner-up
1920 The Open Championship 2 shot deficit (80-80-71-72=303) 2 strokes Sandy Herd

Results timeline

Duncan played in only The Open Championship and the U.S. Open.

Tournament 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T8 T7 T18 T21
Tournament 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP NT NT DNP
The Open Championship 3 8 4 DNP T10 NT NT NT NT NT
Tournament 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
U.S. Open DNP T8 6 DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP
The Open Championship 1 5 T2 T6 T6 T28 T21 DNP T18 22
Tournament 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937
U.S. Open DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT T36 CUT CUT DNP CUT DNP CUT

NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

References

  1. ^ "Former British Golf Star Dies". The Age (Melbourne, Australia): p. 18. 17 January 1964. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=U6IQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pJUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4981,2287591&dq=george-duncan+golf&hl=en. Retrieved 5 October 2010. 
  2. ^ Zullo, Allan, "Astonishing but True Golf Facts", Andrew McMeels Publishing, Forest Fairview, North Carolina, 2001.
  3. ^ http://www.pgatour.com/2010/r/07/17/notebook/index.html
  4. ^ Caddie in the Golden Age - Ernest Hargreaves

1860 Willie Park, Sr. · 1861 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1862 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1863 Willie Park, Sr. · 1864 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1865 Andrew Strath · 1866 Willie Park, Sr. · 1867 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1868 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1869 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1870 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1871 No championship · 1872 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1873 Tom Kidd · 1874 Mungo Park · 1875 Willie Park, Sr. · 1876 Bob Martin · 1877 Jamie Anderson · 1878 Jamie Anderson · 1879 Jamie Anderson · 1880 Bob Ferguson · 1881 Bob Ferguson · 1882 Bob Ferguson · 1883 Willie Fernie† · 1884 Jack Simpson · 1885 Bob Martin · 1886 David Brown · 1887 Willie Park, Jr. · 1888 Jack Burns · 1889 Willie Park, Jr.† · 1890 John Ball# · 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy · 1892 Harold Hilton# · 1893 William Auchterlonie · 1894 John Henry Taylor · 1895 John Henry Taylor · 1896 Harry Vardon · 1897 Harold Hilton# · 1898 Harry Vardon · 1899 Harry Vardon · 1900 John Henry Taylor · 1901 James Braid · 1902 Sandy Herd · 1903 Harry Vardon · 1904 Jack White · 1905 James Braid · 1906 James Braid · 1907 Arnaud Massy · 1908 James Braid · 1909 John Henry Taylor · 1910 James Braid · 1911 Harry Vardon† · 1912‡ Edward Ray · 1913 John Henry Taylor · 1914 Harry Vardon · 1915-19 No Championships due to World War I · 1920 George Duncan · 1921 Jock Hutchison† · 1922 Walter Hagen · 1923 Arthur Havers · 1924 Walter Hagen · 1925 Jim Barnes · 1926 Bobby Jones# · 1927‡ Bobby Jones# · 1928 Walter Hagen · 1929 Walter Hagen · 1930 Bobby Jones#· 1931 Tommy Armour · 1932‡ Gene Sarazen · 1933 Denny Shute† · 1934‡ Henry Cotton · 1935 Alf Perry · 1936 Alf Padgham · 1937 Henry Cotton · 1938 Reg Whitcombe · 1939 Dick Burton · 1940-45 No Championships due to World War II · 1946 Sam Snead · 1947 Fred Daly · 1948 Henry Cotton · 1949 Bobby Locke† · 1950 Bobby Locke · 1951 Max Faulkner · 1952 Bobby Locke · 1953 Ben Hogan · 1954 Peter Thomson · 1955 Peter Thomson · 1956 Peter Thomson · 1957 Bobby Locke · 1958 Peter Thomson† · 1959 Gary Player · 1960 Kel Nagle · 1961 Arnold Palmer · 1962 Arnold Palmer · 1963 Bob Charles† · 1964 Tony Lema · 1965 Peter Thomson · 1966 Jack Nicklaus · 1967 Roberto De Vicenzo · 1968 Gary Player · 1969 Tony Jacklin · 1970 Jack Nicklaus† · 1971 Lee Trevino · 1972 Lee Trevino · 1973‡ Tom Weiskopf · 1974 Gary Player · 1975 Tom Watson† · 1976 Johnny Miller · 1977 Tom Watson · 1978 Jack Nicklaus · 1979 Seve Ballesteros · 1980 Tom Watson · 1981 Bill Rogers · 1982 Tom Watson · 1983 Tom Watson · 1984 Seve Ballesteros · 1985 Sandy Lyle · 1986 Greg Norman · 1987 Nick Faldo · 1988 Seve Ballesteros · 1989 Mark Calcavecchia† · 1990 Nick Faldo · 1991 Ian Baker-Finch · 1992 Nick Faldo · 1993 Greg Norman · 1994 Nick Price · 1995 John Daly† · 1996 Tom Lehman · 1997 Justin Leonard · 1998 Mark O'Meara† · 1999 Paul Lawrie† · 2000 Tiger Woods · 2001 David Duval · 2002 Ernie Els† · 2003 Ben Curtis · 2004 Todd Hamilton† · 2005‡ Tiger Woods · 2006 Tiger Woods · 2007 Pádraig Harrington† · 2008 Pádraig Harrington · 2009 Stewart Cink† · 2010 Louis Oosthuizen · 2011 Darren Clarke
† indicates the event was won in a playoff ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire in 72-holes # indicates the event was won by an amateur

Great Britain

1927 Ted Ray · 1929 George Duncan · 1931 Charles Whitcombe · 1933 John Henry Taylor · 1935 Charles Whitcombe · 1937 Charles Whitcombe · 1947 Henry Cotton · 1949 Charles Whitcombe · 1951 Arthur Lacey · 1953 Henry Cotton · 1955 Dai Rees · 1957 Dai Rees · 1959 Dai Rees · 1961 Dai Rees · 1963 John Fallon · 1965 Harry Weetman · 1967 Dai Rees · 1969 Eric Brown · 1971 Eric Brown

Great Britain & Ireland

1973 Bernard Hunt · 1975 Bernard Hunt · 1977 Brian Huggett

Europe

1979 John Jacobs · 1981 John Jacobs · 1983 Tony Jacklin · 1985 Tony Jacklin · 1987 Tony Jacklin · 1989 Tony Jacklin · 1991 Bernard Gallacher · 1993 Bernard Gallacher · 1995 Bernard Gallacher · 1997 Seve Ballesteros · 1999 Mark James · 2002 Sam Torrance · 2004 Bernhard Langer · 2006 Ian Woosnam · 2008 Nick Faldo · 2010 Colin Montgomerie