Misplaced Pages

Yorkshire Evening News Tournament

Tournament information
Location	Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Established	1923
Format	Match play (1923–1939, 1949) Stroke play (1944–1948; 1950–1963)
Final year	1963
Final champion
Tom Haliburton
Show map of EnglandShow map of West Yorkshire

The Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was a professional golf tournament that was held in the Leeds area of Yorkshire, England between 1923 and 1963. It was a fixture on the British PGA tournament circuit, which would later become the European Tour. Before World War II, it was a knockout match play tournament preceded by a 36-hole stroke play qualifying round; when it was revived following the war it was a pure stroke play tournament, except for 1949 when it was played as knockout match play.

In the early years, the Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was considered a British major golf tournament. "The first tournament, in 1923, was billed as the unofficial ‘Championship of the World’ between American superstars Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen. Hagen triumphed, but lost in the final by a two-hole margin to Ryder Cup star Herbert Jolly."

Format

From its founding in 1923 until 1939, the Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was contested as match play knockout by the leading players after 36 holes of stroke play. When it was revived in 1944, during World War II, it was a 36-hole stroke play tournament. Following the end of the war, in 1946, it was extended to 72 holes. The 72-hole stroke play format was retained except for 1949, when it was played as knockout match play in order to provide British players with practice in advance of the Ryder Cup.

Winners

Year	Winner	Score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share (£)	Venue	Ref
1963	Tom Haliburton	280	1 stroke	Peter Thomson	1,000	Sand Moor
1962	Peter Butler	273	4 strokes	Ken Bousfield	1,000	Moortown
1961	Peter Thomson	282	1 stroke	Dai Rees		Sand Moor
1960	Peter Thomson	268	5 strokes	Bernard Hunt	500	Moortown
1959	Norman Drew	281	4 strokes	Peter Alliss Harold Henning Peter Thomson	500	Sand Moor
1958	Eric Brown & Harold Henning	280	Tie	Shared title	500 & 250 (shared)	Moortown
1957	Peter Thomson	264	15 strokes	Harry Bradshaw	500	Sand Moor
1956	Ken Bousfield & Dai Rees	281	Tie	Shared title	500 & 250 (shared)	Moortown
1955	Antonio Cerdá	276	3 strokes	Harry Weetman	500	Sand Moor
1954	John Panton	284	1 stroke	Ken Bousfield Bernard Hunt	500	Moortown
1953	Flory Van Donck	278	1 stroke	Harry Bradshaw	500	Sand Moor
1952	Dai Rees	283	1 stroke	Henry Cotton Syd Scott		Moortown
1951	Dai Rees & Norman Von Nida	281	Tie	Shared title	300 & 150 (shared)	Moortown
1950	Dai Rees	276	8 strokes	Arthur Lees		Sand Moor
1949	Sam King	6 & 5		Walter Lees		Moortown
1948	Charlie Ward	275	3 strokes	Norman Von Nida		Moortown
1947	Norman Von Nida & Henry Cotton	277	Tie	Shared title	200 & 100 (shared)	Moortown
1946	Bobby Locke	283	7 strokes	A G Matthews Dai Rees		Moortown
1945	Archie Compston	148	5 strokes	Bill Cox		Moortown
1944	Sam King	133	6 strokes	Bill Shankland		Roundhay
1940–43: No tournament due to World War II
1939	Dai Rees	37 holes		Jack Hargreaves	150	Temple Newsam
1938	Alf Perry	8 & 6		Vernon Greenhalgh		Leeds
1937	Arthur Lacey	2 & 1		John Fallon		Moortown
1936	Dick Burton	3 & 2		A G Matthews		Temple Newsam
1935	Henry Cotton	3 & 2		Percy Alliss	150	Sand Moor
1934	Alf Padgham	37 holes		Sid Brews		Moortown
1933	Arthur Lacey	2 & 1		Alf Padgham		Temple Newsam
1932	Bert Hodson	39 holes		Fred Robson		Moortown
1931	Ernest Whitcombe	39 holes		Tom Barber		Sand Moor
1930	Herbert Jolly	3 & 1		Owen Sanderson	200	Headingley
1929	Joe Turnesa	37 holes		Herbert Jolly	200	Moortown
1928	Charles Whitcombe	3 & 2		Herbert Jolly		Moortown
1927	Ernest Whitcombe	9 & 8		Herbert Jolly		Headingley
1926	Charles Whitcombe	9 & 8		Moses O'Neill		Moortown
1925	Len Holland	3 & 2		James Ockenden		Moortown
1924	Fred Robson	37 holes		Archie Compston		Headingley
1923	Herbert Jolly	2 up		Walter Hagen	200	Headingley

Records

• Most wins:

  5 – Dai Rees (2 shared)

  3 – Peter Thomson

• Lowest aggregate score (72-hole stroke play):

  264 – Peter Thomson (1957)

• Largest margin of victory (72-hole stroke play):

  15 strokes – Peter Thomson (1957)

• Largest margin of victory (36-hole match play final):

  9 and 8 – Charles Whitcombe (1926), Ernest Whitcombe (1927)

Venues

References

1. "Headingley Golf Club: Club History". Headingley Golf Club. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
2. "World golf champions in Leeds". The Yorkshire Evening Post. 15 May 1923. p. 10. Retrieved 1 April 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
3. "British golf victory". News Chronicle. 6 June 1939. p. 18. Retrieved 1 April 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "Match Play For Ryder Cup Men". Bristol Evening Post. 28 January 1949. p. 12. Retrieved 1 April 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Horne, Cyril (24 June 1963). "Surprise Victory For Haliburton". The Glasgow Herald. p. 9.
6. "Butler Wins Moortown Tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 25 June 1962. p. 9.
7. "First Success For Thomson". The Glasgow Herald. 24 June 1961. p. 5.
8. "Thomson Wins By 5 Strokes". The Glasgow Herald. 18 June 1960. p. 5.
9. "Drew's First Victory In Major Event". The Glasgow Herald. 20 June 1959. p. 9.
10. "Brown And Henning Tie At Moortown". The Glasgow Herald. 21 June 1958. p. 7.
11. "Thomson Goes For Aggregate Record And Succeeds". The Glasgow Herald. 22 June 1957. p. 9.
12. "D.J. Rees and K. Bousfield Tie At Moortown". The Glasgow Herald. 23 June 1956. p. 7.
13. "Argentine Golfer Wins At Sand Moor". The Glasgow Herald. 25 June 1955. p. 9.
14. "Panton Surprise Winner At Moortown". The Glasgow Herald. 12 June 1954. p. 9.
15. "Astonishing Finish In Golf At Sandmoor". The Glasgow Herald. 20 June 1953. p. 9.
16. "Rees Wins At Moortown". The Glasgow Herald. 21 June 1952. p. 9.
17. "Von Nida And Rees Tie". The Glasgow Herald. 9 June 1951. p. 6.
18. "Rees Wins By Eight Strokes". The Glasgow Herald. 10 June 1950. p. 6.
19. "King Wins £1350 Tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 13 June 1949. p. 3.
20. "Remarkable Finish By Von Nida". The Glasgow Herald. 11 June 1948. p. 2.
21. "Cotton and von Nida Tie for First Place". The Glasgow Herald. 14 June 1947. p. 2.
22. "Locke's decisive victory". The Glasgow Herald. 27 May 1946. p. 7.
23. "Compston wins Leeds golf tourney". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 4 June 1945. Retrieved 29 July 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
24. "Sam King". The Glasgow Herald. 22 May 1944. p. 5.
25. "Golf Struggle At Leeds". The Glasgow Herald. 12 June 1939. p. 20.
26. "Perry's Easy Win At £750 Final". The Glasgow Herald. 6 June 1938. p. 18.
27. "Scot beaten in Tourney Final". The Glasgow Herald. 7 June 1937. p. 6.
28. "Burton wins £735 Tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 15 June 1936. p. 6.
29. "Cotton defeats Alliss". The Glasgow Herald. 10 June 1935. p. 4.
30. "£750 Tournament final". The Glasgow Herald. 11 June 1934. p. 17.
31. "Lacey wins at Leeds". The Glasgow Herald. 5 June 1933. p. 3.
32. "Hodson beats Robson". The Glasgow Herald. 23 May 1932. p. 3.
33. "The 1000 Guineas Tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 25 May 1931. p. 5.
34. "Jolly wins 1000 Guineas Tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 2 June 1930. p. 6.
35. "Golf – Turnesa wins Leeds tournament". The Times. 20 May 1929. p. 5.
36. "Turnesa Wins In England". The Pittsburgh Press. United Press. 19 May 1929. p. 9 (Sporting section).
37. "One Thousand Guineas Tournament – C A Whitcombe's success". The Times. 21 May 1928. p. 6.
38. "Golf – Leeds Tournament – Ernest Whitcombe's wins". The Glasgow Herald. 1 August 1927. p. 15.
39. "Golf – The Leeds Tournament – Charles Whitcombe's big win". The Glasgow Herald. 23 August 1926. p. 7.
40. "One Thousand Guineas Tournament – Holland beats Ockenden in final". The Glasgow Herald. 13 July 1925. p. 11.
41. "The Thousand Guineas Tournament – Fred Robson wins". The Glasgow Herald. 2 June 1924. p. 17.
42. "Golf – The Leeds Tournament – Jolly's great win over Hagen". The Glasgow Herald. 21 May 1923. p. 15.
43. "Britisher Defeats Hagen For Professional Title". The Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania. 20 May 1923. p. 17.

• Golf tournaments in England
• Sports competitions in Leeds