Daily Mail Tournament

The Daily Mail Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom. The Daily Mail sponsored the St Andrews Tournament in 1919 and in 1920 continued their sponsorship with the start of the Daily Mail Tournament. The event was dropped after the 1927 tournament[1] and not reinstated until 1936. The event was unusual in that it took place in 1940, after the start of World War II. The prize money for the 1940 event was just £500, money being raised for the Red Cross A tournament was also played in September 1945, soon after the end of the war, and was informally referred to as the "Victory" tournament. The last event was played in 1950.

Daily Mail Tournament
Tournament information
LocationUnited Kingdom
Established1919
Final year1950
Final champion
Charlie Ward

1919

The Daily Mail started their sponsorship by providing £500 for prizes for the St Andrews Tournament played over the Old Course on 25 and 26 May 1919.[2] The event was organised by the PGA. Since there was not enough time to organise qualifying contests the entry was restricted to the 60 leading PGA members in the 1914 Open Championship.[3] The PGA later invited locals Laurie Ayton, Snr and Andrew Kirkaldy who would not otherwise have qualified. The Open Championship was not played in 1919 and the tournament was regarded as the most important of the year. This tournament sometimes called the "Victory Open" even though it was restricted to professionals.

Ted Ray led after the first day on 150 with two rounds of 75. Abe Mitchell was second on 151 with Fred Leach, Arnaud Massy and Willie Ritchie on 153 and James Batley on 154.[4] The over-night leaders struggled on the second day. Ray took 80 and 85 and finished fourth while Mitchell's 80 and 81 put him on 312. Harry Vardon and Sandy Herd had the best scores on the second day. Vardon had rounds of 76 and 77 and a total of 313, good enough for third place, while Herd scored 75 and 78 and a total of 316 gave him a tie for fifth place with Batley. George Duncan scored 78 and 76 and finished on 312 to tie Mitchell. There was no play-off and so Duncan and Mitchell shared the prize money, taking £87 10s each. Vardon took £50 and a bronze medal, Ray £30 and there were prizes down to £5 for 20th place. Since a stroke-play competition had been arranged for the following morning on the Eden Course, and with the field including both Duncan and Mitchell, it was decided that the round would decide the possession of the gold and silver medals.[5]

The Daily Mail also provided £125 in prize money for a tournament played the following day, 27 June, on the Eden Course. 8 players were invited: 4 from England and 4 from Scotland. England were represented by Harry Vardon, J.H. Taylor, Ted Ray and Abe Mitchell while Scotland had James Braid, George Duncan, Sandy Herd and Laurie Ayton, Snr. A medal round was played in the morning with each match being an England/Scotland pairing. Ray had an excellent round of 71 and won by 5 shots, taking the £20 first prize. Taylor had a 76 and took the £15 second prize while Herd and Mitchell scored 77 and shared third place. Mitchell's 77 bettered the Duncan's 79 and he took the gold medal from the St Andrews tournament. Two Scotland against England foursomes were played in the afternoon. Ray and Taylor won their match while Duncan and Braid won the other. The winning players won £7 10s each, the losers £2 10s.[6]

Winners
YearWinnerCountryVenueScoreMargin
of victory		Runner(s)-upWinner's
share (£)		Ref
St Andrews Tournament
1919George Duncan ScotlandOld Course at St Andrews312TieShared 100
and 75		[5]
Abe Mitchell England
Daily Mail Tournament
1920George Duncan ScotlandRoyal North Devon Golf Club2917 strokes Abe Mitchell100[7]
1921Albert Hallam EnglandFormby Golf Club2951 stroke Arthur Havers300[8]
1922George Duncan ScotlandOld Course at St Andrews3004 strokes Ted Ray300[9]
1923Ted Ray JerseyLytham & St Annes Golf Club2881 stroke Len Holland
Abe Mitchell		300[10]
1924Charles Whitcombe EnglandRoyal Cinque Ports Golf Club2899 strokes Len Holland300[11]
1925Charles Johns EnglandNotts Golf Club2931 stroke James Adwick
George Buckle
Tom Williamson		300[12]
1926Aubrey Boomer JerseyOld Course at St Andrews2973 strokes George Duncan
Abe Mitchell		300[13]
1927Abe Mitchell EnglandWentworth Golf Club2943 strokes Fred Robson300[14]
1928–35: No tournament
1936Alf Padgham EnglandBramshot Golf Club2843 strokes Sam King500[15]
1937Sam King EnglandLittle Aston Golf Club2834 strokes Henry Cotton500[16]
1938Alf Perry EnglandGosforth Golf Club2844 strokes Dai Rees500[17]
1939Henry Cotton EnglandQueens Park Golf Club292Playoff
(36 holes)		 Archie Compston500[18][19]
1940Dick Burton EnglandSundridge Park Golf Club2801 stroke Henry Cotton100[20]
1941–44: No tournament due to World War II
1945Charlie Ward EnglandOld Course at St Andrews2981 stroke Max Faulkner200[21]
1946Alf Padgham EnglandRoyal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club3013 strokes Charlie Ward525[22]
1947Dai Rees WalesKilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club2792 strokes Norman Von Nida525[23]
1948Norman Von Nida AustraliaSunningdale Golf Club2705 strokes Reg Whitcombe525[24]
1949Tom Haliburton ScotlandGlasgow Golf Club2711 stroke Laurie Ayton, Jnr525[25]
1950Charlie Ward EnglandWalton Heath Golf Club290Playoff
(36 holes)		 Bobby Locke
Ossie Pickworth		525[26][27]
gollark: I think if you tried it striped river x green copper they might come out differently? Let me find the FAQ.
gollark: Also, briefly glimpsed a few golds/silvers.
gollark: I've caught a few coppers (two or three), that's it.
gollark: But nobody has that, so it's magic.
gollark: Sunfish is Magic™

References
  1. "Golf - "Daily Mail" tournament abandoned". The Times. 8 December 1927. p. 7.
  2. "Golf – The St Andrews tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 25 June 1919. p. 12.
  3. "Golf - Professional tournament". The Times. 31 May 1919. p. 5.
  4. ""Big three fail" – Golf at St Andrews – Ray and Mitchell leading". The Glasgow Herald. 26 June 1919. p. 9.
  5. "St Andrews golf – Mitchell and Duncan tie". The Glasgow Herald. 27 June 1919. p. 13.
  6. "St Andrews Golf – Eden course tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 28 June 1919. p. 9.
  7. "Golf – The £580 tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 18 June 1920. p. 14.
  8. "Golf – The £1000 tournament – Arthur Hallam's remarkable victory". The Glasgow Herald. 13 May 1921. p. 12.
  9. "Golf at St Andrews – Duncan's brilliant win in £1000 tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 12 May 1922. p. 12.
  10. "£1000 tournament – Ray comes into his own". The Glasgow Herald. 4 May 1923. p. 16.
  11. "Golf – C A Whitcombe's triumph". The Glasgow Herald. 16 May 1924. p. 17.
  12. "Golf – £1200 tournament won by a stroke". The Glasgow Herald. 15 May 1925. p. 15.
  13. "Brilliant golf – Aubrey Boomer wins". The Glasgow Herald. 21 May 1926. p. 7.
  14. "Golf – Mitchell wins at Wentworth". The Glasgow Herald. 13 May 1927. p. 6.
  15. "Golf – Final stages of £2000 tournament – Padgham wins with record round". The Glasgow Herald. 4 April 1936. p. 2.
  16. "Brilliant final rounds – S L King wins £2000 tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 10 April 1937. p. 3.
  17. "Ryder Cup players in first three places – Perry's fighting finish to win £2000 golf tourney". The Glasgow Herald. 9 April 1938. p. 18.
  18. "Cotton and Compston to replay – Thrilling last round duel at £2000 golf tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 1 April 1939. p. 3.
  19. "Cotton's grand start – Winner of £2000 tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 3 April 1939. p. 4.
  20. "Thrilling golf duel – Champion wins £500 tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 15 June 1940. p. 10.
  21. "Ward's one stroke victory at St Andrews". The Glasgow Herald. 22 September 1945. p. 4.
  22. "Padgham's thrilling victory in £2500 golf tourney". The Glasgow Herald. 30 March 1946. p. 2.
  23. "Rees nine strokes under level fours – Welshman wins professional tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 24 May 1947. p. 2.
  24. "Von Nida's victory with record aggregate". The Glasgow Herald. 15 May 1948. p. 4.
  25. "Scottish professionals first and second". The Glasgow Herald. 20 May 1949. p. 6.
  26. "Ward-Pickworth-Locke tie at Walton Heath". The Glasgow Herald. 13 May 1950. p. 9.
  27. "Ward wins playoff at Walton Heath – Locke's faulty putting". The Glasgow Herald. 15 May 1950. p. 10.
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