Spalding Tournament

Spalding Tournament
Tournament information
LocationUnited Kingdom
Established1946
Course(s)Old Course at St Andrews
Worthing Golf Club
Moor Park Golf Club
FormatStroke play
Final year1960
Tournament record score
Aggregate267 Bobby Locke (1950)
Final champion
Harry Weetman

The Spalding Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom. It was played annually from 1946 to 1960. The total prize money was £1500 in 1946, £1250 in 1947 and 1948, £1350 from 1949 to 1959 and £2250 in 1960.[1] The event was sponsored by A.G. Spalding & Brothers.

From 1954 the Spalding Tournament moved to April and replaced the Silver King Tournament as the season opening event. The Silver King Tournament had been played at Moor Park from 1936 to 1953.

Winners

Year Winner Country Venue Score Margin
of victory
Runner(s)-up Winner's
share (£)
Ref
1946 Dai Rees  Wales Old Course at St Andrews 300 1 stroke England Henry Cotton
England Reg Whitcombe
315 [2]
1947 Henry Cotton  England Old Course at St Andrews 288 5 strokes Wales Dai Rees 300 [3]
1948 Norman Von Nida  Australia Old Course at St Andrews 289 2 strokes England Fred Bullock
England Reg Whitcombe
300 [4]
1949 Charlie Ward  England Worthing Golf Club 273 1 stroke Scotland Jimmy Adams 300 [5]
1950 Bobby Locke  South Africa Worthing Golf Club 267 2 strokes Wales Dai Rees 300 [6]
1951 Jack Hargreaves  England Worthing Golf Club 281 3 strokes Scotland John Panton 300 [7]
1952 Antonio Cerdá &
Harry Weetman
 Argentina
 England
Worthing Golf Club 271 Tie Shared title Shared 300
and 200
[8]
1953 Bernard Hunt  England Worthing Golf Club 273 2 strokes England Jack Hargreaves 300 [9]
1954 Dai Rees  Wales Moor Park Golf Club 272 2 strokes Scotland Eric Brown 300 [10]
1955 Cecil Denny  England Moor Park Golf Club 278 1 stroke England Eric Lester 300 [11]
1956 Christy O'Connor Snr &
Harry Weetman
 Ireland
 England
Moor Park Golf Club 276 Tie Shared title Shared 300
and 200
[12]
1957 Bernard Hunt  England Moor Park Golf Club 278 3 strokes England Peter Alliss 300 [13]
1958 Frank Jowle  England Moor Park Golf Club 277 2 strokes South Africa Harold Henning
England Arthur Lees
300 [14]
1959 Harold Henning &
Eric Lester
 South Africa
 England
Moor Park Golf Club 278 Tie Shared title Shared 300
and 200
[15]
1960 Harry Weetman  England Moor Park Golf Club 273 5 strokes Wales Dai Rees 500 [16]

References

  1. ^ "Spalding golf prizes increased". The Times. 26 January 1960. p. 14.
  2. ^ "Cotton's missed putt gives victory to Rees". The Glasgow Herald. 8 June 1946. p. 4.
  3. ^ "Cotton wins first prize". The Glasgow Herald. 7 June 1947. p. 6.
  4. ^ "Von Nida wins first prize". The Glasgow Herald. 5 June 1948. p. 4.
  5. ^ "Spalding golf winner". The Glasgow Herald. 4 June 1949. p. 2.
  6. ^ "Locke wins and set up another record". The Glasgow Herald. 3 June 1950. p. 9.
  7. ^ "Panton second in golf at Worthing". The Glasgow Herald. 2 June 1951. p. 2.
  8. ^ "Record-breaking golfer finishes only fourth". The Glasgow Herald. 14 June 1952. p. 9.
  9. ^ "B J Hunt beats leading British players". The Glasgow Herald. 15 August 1953. p. 2.
  10. ^ "Rees wins 'Spalding' tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 24 April 1954. p. 2.
  11. ^ "Spalding win for Denny". The Glasgow Herald. 23 April 1955. p. 4.
  12. ^ "Weetman and O'Connor tie in Spalding tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 21 April 1956. p. 7.
  13. ^ "Spalding win for Hunt". The Glasgow Herald. 27 April 1957. p. 9.
  14. ^ "Jowle's first major tournament win". The Glasgow Herald. 26 April 1958. p. 9.
  15. ^ "Lester and Henning tie for Spalding". The Glasgow Herald. 25 April 1959. p. 9.
  16. ^ "Weetman wins Spalding". The Glasgow Herald. 23 April 1960. p. 12.