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George Duncan (golfer)

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George Duncan
George Duncan golf c1920.jpg
Duncan, c. 1920
Personal information
Born(1883-09-16)16 September 1883
Methlick, Scotland
Died15 January 1964(1964-01-15) (aged 80)
Leeds, England
Sporting nationality Scotland
Career
StatusProfessional
Professional wins22
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. Open6th: 1922
The Open ChampionshipWon: 1920

George Duncan (16 September 1883 – 15 January 1964) was a Scottish professional golfer. 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 pro's pro." He won the 1920 Open Championship.

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Golf career

Duncan was 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 practising on the course.[2]

1920 Open Championship

Duncan in the 1920s
Duncan in the 1920s

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 thirteen shots behind the leader, Abe Mitchell, before the final two rounds were played, but made up the deficit to win by two shots from Sandy Herd.[3] His rounds were 80-80-71-72=303. He is the last player to win a golf major with a score of 80 for a round.[4]

1922 Open Championship

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."

Ryder Cup

He played for Great Britain in the Ryder Cup in 1927, 1929, and 1931. He was playing captain in 1929 when Great Britain was the victorious side.

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World War I

World War I

World War I or the First World War, often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. It was fought between two coalitions, the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting occurred throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died as a result of genocide, while the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war.

Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club

Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club

Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club is an 18-hole links golf course in southeastern England, in the town of Deal in the County of Kent.

Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the northwest, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the southwest, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the French department of Pas-de-Calais across the Strait of Dover. The county town is Maidstone. It is the fifth most populous county in England, the most populous non-metropolitan county and the most populous of the home counties.

Abe Mitchell

Abe Mitchell

Henry Abraham Mitchell was an English professional golfer. Mitchell had eight top-10 finishes out of 17 appearances in the Open Championship, his best performance being fourth in 1920. He was runner-up in the 1912 Amateur Championship and won the 1924 Miami Open.

Sandy Herd

Sandy Herd

Alexander "Sandy" Herd was a Scottish professional golfer from St Andrews. He won The Open Championship in 1902 at Hoylake.

1922 Open Championship

1922 Open Championship

The 1922 Open Championship was the 57th Open Championship, played 22–23 June at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Walter Hagen became the first American-born winner of the Open Championship, one stroke ahead of runners-up Jim Barnes and George Duncan. It was the first of Hagen's four Open Championships and the fourth of his eleven major titles.

Walter Hagen

Walter Hagen

Walter Charles Hagen was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger Woods (15). Known as the "father of professional golf," he brought publicity, prestige, big prize money, and lucrative endorsements to the sport. Hagen is rated one of the greatest golfers ever.

Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named after the English businessman Samuel Ryder who donated the trophy. The event is jointly administered by the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe, the latter a joint venture of the PGA European Tour (60%), the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland (20%), and the PGAs of Europe (20%).

Death and legacy

Duncan died on 15 January 1964 in Leeds, England.[5] He is best remembered for winning the 1920 Open Championship.

Tournament wins (22)

Note: This list may be incomplete.

Major championship is shown in bold.

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Leeds Cup

Leeds Cup

The Leeds Cup is a golf tournament that has been played annually in northern England since 1902. The event is organised by the north region of the Professional Golfers' Association. It is the oldest trophy in professional golf that is still played for. The Tooting Bec Cup is older, having been first played for in 1901, but is no longer contested.

London Professional Foursomes Tournament

London Professional Foursomes Tournament

The London Professional Foursomes Tournament was a professional golf tournament played annually from 1907 to 1911. In 1909 the southern section of the PGA took over the organisation of the event which was called the Southern Professional Foursomes Tournament. The winners received the "Dewar Shields" donated by Sir Thomas Dewar.

Charles Mayo (golfer)

Charles Mayo (golfer)

Charles Henry Mayo was an English professional golfer of the early 20th century. Mayo won the 1911 Belgian Open held at the Royal Golf Club of Belgium. Frenchman Arnaud Massy finished in second place. He had seven starts in the Open Championship, his best finish being T11 in 1912. He finished runner-up in the 1908 French Open and had five international appearances representing England against Scotland.

Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament

Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament

The Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament was a professional golf tournament played annually from 1911 to 1914. Total prize money was £350 provided by the owners of The Sphere and The Tatler. The winners received individual silver trophies. It followed a similar format to that used for the popular News of the World Matchplay except that it was a foursomes event rather than singles.

James Sherlock (golfer)

James Sherlock (golfer)

James George Sherlock was an English professional golfer. He had four top-10 finishes in the Open Championship, including a sixth place finish in 1904. In his long golf career, he had at least 16 professional wins. He played for the British team against the United States in the 1921 Ryder Cup match at Gleneagles.

Belgian Open (golf)

Belgian Open (golf)

The Belgian Open is a men's golf tournament which has been played intermittently from 1910 to 2000. All editions since 1978 have been part of the European Tour. After not having been played since 2000, it returned in 2018 as the Belgian Knockout, hosted by PietersProductions, along with its co-founder, Belgian professional golfer Thomas Pieters. With a prize pool set at €1 million, 144 professional golfers start the competition with 36 holes of stroke play, followed by 9-hole match play for the top 64 finishers from the stroke play rounds.

Bishop's Stortford Tournament

Bishop's Stortford Tournament

The Bishop's Stortford Tournament was a professional golf tournament played at Bishop's Stortford Golf Club, Hertfordshire in 1914. The tournament was won by George Duncan.

Port Seton Professional Tournament

Port Seton Professional Tournament

The Port Seton Professional Tournament was a professional golf tournament played at Port Seton on 1 June 1914 to promote the new golf course. George Duncan won the event by two shots from J.H. Taylor.

Daily Mail Tournament

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 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.

Abe Mitchell

Abe Mitchell

Henry Abraham Mitchell was an English professional golfer. Mitchell had eight top-10 finishes out of 17 appearances in the Open Championship, his best performance being fourth in 1920. He was runner-up in the 1912 Amateur Championship and won the 1924 Miami Open.

Roehampton Invitation Tournament

Roehampton Invitation Tournament

The Roehampton Invitation Tournament was a British golf tournament played each April at the Roehampton Club from 1920 to 1935. From 1922 the tournament was played over three days. There was 36 holes of stroke play on the first day with the leading 16 players qualifying for a knock-out contest on the following two days. Except in 1920 the total prize money was £200. A challenge cup was awarded to the winner to remain the absolute property of any player who won the tournament on two occasions, not necessarily consecutive. Three players won the cup outright: Abe Mitchell, Mark Seymour and Archie Compston. The tournament was cancelled in 1936 because of "the crowded state of the fixture list".

Glasgow Herald Tournament

Glasgow Herald Tournament

The Glasgow Herald Tournament was a British golf tournament played at Gleneagles from 1920 to 1927. The 1920 event had prize money of £650, then the largest ever in a British tournament. From 1921 the prize money was increased further, to 1,000 guineas (£1,050), a new record. The first prize increased from £160 to £200. From 1921 the event was often called the Glasgow Herald 1000 Guineas Tournament.

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 Scotland Sandy Herd

Results timeline

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

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

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

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1920 Open Championship

1920 Open Championship

The 1920 Open Championship was the 55th Open Championship, held 30 June to 1 July at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club in Deal, England. George Duncan erased a 13-stroke deficit after 36 holes to win his only major title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Sandy Herd, the 1902 champion.

The Open Championship

The Open Championship

The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later the venue rotated between a select group of coastal links golf courses in the United Kingdom. It is organised by the R&A.

Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a 96-mile (154-kilometre) border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. It also contains more than 790 islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Most of the population, including the capital Edinburgh, is concentrated in the Central Belt—the plain between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands—in the Scottish Lowlands.

Sandy Herd

Sandy Herd

Alexander "Sandy" Herd was a Scottish professional golfer from St Andrews. He won The Open Championship in 1902 at Hoylake.

U.S. Open (golf)

U.S. Open (golf)

The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. Since 1898 the competition has been 72 holes of stroke play, with the winner being the player with the lowest total number of strokes. It is staged by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in mid-June, scheduled so that, if there are no weather delays, the final round is played on the third Sunday. The U.S. Open is staged at a variety of courses, set up in such a way that scoring is very difficult, with a premium placed on accurate driving. As of 2022, the U.S. Open awards a $17.5 million purse, the largest of all four major championships.

Team appearances

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England–Scotland Professional Match

England–Scotland Professional Match

The England–Scotland Professional Match was an annual men's professional golf competition between teams representing England and Scotland. It was played from 1903 to the start of World War I and was then revived in 1932 and played until the start of World War II. The match was played on a single day, generally a few days before the Open Championship. Except on one occasion, there were 12 players in each team who played 12 singles matches and 6 foursomes. Scotland won the inaugural match in 1903 but didn't win another match, although three matches were tied. The event was organised by the PGA and only members of the PGA were eligible to play.

1911 Coronation Match

1911 Coronation Match

The 1911 Coronation Match was a men's team golf competition between teams of amateur and professional golfers. It was played at Royal St George's Golf Club on 24 June 1911, the Saturday before the 1911 Open Championship, to celebrate the coronation of George V two days earlier. The match replaced the annual England–Scotland Professional Match which had been played just before the Open Championship since 1903.

Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named after the English businessman Samuel Ryder who donated the trophy. The event is jointly administered by the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe, the latter a joint venture of the PGA European Tour (60%), the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland (20%), and the PGAs of Europe (20%).

1927 Ryder Cup

1927 Ryder Cup

The 1st Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts. The first competition was dominated by the United States who won by the then landslide score of 91⁄2–21⁄2 points. USA Captain Walter Hagen became the first winning captain to lift the Ryder Cup. Samuel Ryder, the competition's founder was unable to be present at Worcester Country Club for the inaugural event due to ill health at the time. Ted Ray was the first captain to represent the Great Britain team.

1929 Ryder Cup

1929 Ryder Cup

The 2nd Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Moortown Golf Club in Leeds, England. It was very cold, with hail and at one point heavy snow on the greens. About two thousand spectators saw America gain a narrow lead after the foursome matches before the Great Britain team won singles on the final day and thus the competition by a score of 7–5 points. George Duncan of Scotland became the first of only three British captains to lift the Ryder Cup which was given to him by Samuel Ryder who was in attendance after missing the 1927 matches.

1931 Ryder Cup

1931 Ryder Cup

The 3rd Ryder Cup Matches were held June 26–27, 1931 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. The United States team won the competition by a score of 9 to 3 points.

Source: "George Duncan (golfer)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, October 2nd), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Duncan_(golfer).

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References
  1. ^ "Births in the Parish of Methlick in the County of Aberdeen". Statutory Births 221/00 0048. ScotlandsPeople. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  2. ^ Caddie in the Golden Age – Ernest Hargreaves
  3. ^ Zullo, Allan (2001) Astonishing but True Golf Facts. Andrew McMeels Publishing, Forest Fairview, North Carolina. ISBN 0740714260.
  4. ^ Bush, John (17 July 2010). "Notebook, Round 3: British Open". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011.
  5. ^ "Former British Golf Star Dies". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. 17 January 1964. p. 18. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  6. ^ "1920 George Duncan". The Open. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
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