Henry Cotton
Name:
Thomas Henry CottonCountry:
EnglandLived:
[1907-1987]. Born on Jan 26, 1907 in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire. Died on Dec 22, 1987 in Westminster, London, aged 80.Original/Home Club:
Aquarius GC, Honor Oak, London.Occupation:
Professional golfer, course designer, golf writer and instructor.Turned Pro:
1924 (aged 17)Europe
Penfold
Played as the Penfold Tournament (36-hole strokeplay followed by match play for the top 32 players). Cotton (Eng) beat John Jacobs (Eng) 5 and 4 in the final. [Llandudno Maesdu GC, Llandudno, N Wales].
Europe
Dunlop
Played as the Dunlop 2000 Guineas Tournament (played over 90 holes). Second-placed Dai Rees (Wales) finished 5 shots behind Cotton (Eng). [West course, Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey].
Majors
R&A
The Open Championship (77th) (Jun 30-Jul 2). Second-placed Fred Daly (N.Ire) finished 5 shots behind Cotton (Eng). [Muirfield - The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, East Lothian].
Europe
x
Played as the Open de France (July 13-16). Second-placed John Knipe (Eng; Cotton's assistant professional at Monte Carlo GC) finished 3 shots behind defending champion Cotton (Eng). [Vineuil course, Golf de Chantilly, nr Paris].
Europe
Yorkshire Eve. News
Played as the Yorkshire Evening News 1000 Guineas Professional Tournament (June 11-13). Norman Von Nida (Aus) and Henry Cotton (Eng) finished in a tie for first place. Bill Shankland (Aus) finished 6 shots further back in third place. [Moortown GC, nr Leeds, W Yorks, England].
Europe
Spalding
Played as the Spalding £1,250 Tournament (June 4-6). Second-placed and defending champion Dai Rees (Wales) finished 5 shots behind Henry Cotton (Eng). [The Old Course, St Andrews, Fife].
Europe
x
Played as the Open de France. Second-placed Flory Van Donck (Belg) finished 15 shots behind Cotton (Eng). [Vert course, Saint Cloud GC, Garches, nr Paris].
Europe
News of the World
Played as the News of the World Match Play (Sept 25-28; for the first time the winner was officially recognised as the PGA's official Match Play Champion). Cotton (Eng) beat Jimmy Adams (Scot) 8 and 7 in the 36-hole final. [Royal Liverpool GC, Hoylake, Wirral, Merseyside].
Europe
The Star
Played as The Star £1,500 Professional Tournament (April 25-27; 36-hole strokeplay followed by match play for the top 16 players). Henry Cotton (Eng) beat Arthur Lees (Eng) 4 and 3 in the 18-hole final. [West course, Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey].
Europe
News of the World
Played as the News of the World Match Play (Jun 30-May 3). Cotton (Eng) beat Alf Padgham (Eng) at the 37th hole in the final. [Royal Mid-Surrey GC, Richmond, Surrey].
Europe
Daily Mail
Played as the Daily Mail £2000 Tournament. Cotton (Eng) beat Archie Compston (Eng) in a 36-hole playoff (Cotton 141, Compston 145). [Queen's Park GC, Bournemouth, Dorset, England].
Played as the German Open (for the last time until 1951 due to World War II). Won for the third straight year by Cotton (Eng). [Mittelrheinischer Golfclub, Bad Ems, nr Koblenz].
Europe
Penfold
Played as the Penfold £1,000 League Tournament (12 top British professionals played against each other in a league format; they played two matches per day). Winner Cotton (Eng) won nine of his eleven matches (and lost two) for a total of 18 pts. Second-placed Charles Whitcombe (Eng) also finished on 18 pts, but he won only eight matches and halved two. Defending champion Percy Alliss (Eng) came last out of the 12 players, winning only one of his matches. [Little Aston GC, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield, Warwicks].
Awards
British PGA
Cotton (Eng) won the Harry Vardon Trophy as the British PGA Tour 1938 Order of Merit winner. Award based on lowest scoring average in the season's top six professional events. Cotton's 72.87 was based on 16 rounds played; he entered four of the six events. Reg Whitcombe (Eng) was second with 73.35.
Europe
x
Played as the Czechoslovak Open (Aug 24-26; the last Czechoslovak Open). Second-placed Bill Laidlaw (Scot) finished 11 shots behind defending champion Henry Cotton (Eng). [Karlovy Vary GC, Carlsbad, western Bohemia, Czech].
Europe
x
Played as the Belgian Open (July 12-14). Arthur Lacey (Eng) finished 13 shots behind Cotton (Eng), who recorded his third win in this event. Cotton had been the club professional at Waterloo GC (1933-36). [Royal Waterloo GC, Ferme Blaret, Rhode-Saint-Genese, nr Brussels. This course closed following the Club's move to a new location].
Europe
x
Played as the German Open. Won by defending champion Cotton (Eng). [Frankfurter GC, Niederrad, Frankfurt am Main].
The Open Championship (72nd) (July 7-9). Second-placed Reg Whitcombe (Eng) finished 2 shots behind Cotton (Eng). [Championship Course, Carnoustie Golf Links, Angus].
Played as the German Open. Won by Cotton (Eng). [Mittelrheinischer Golfclub, Bad Ems, nr Koblenz].
Europe
x
Played as the Czechoslovak Open (Aug 21-23). Second-placed Arthur Lees (Eng) finished 5 shots behind Henry Cotton (Eng). [Royal GC Mariánské Lázně, Marienbad, Karlovy Vary, Czech; at the time known as GC Mariánské Lázně].
Europe
Silvertown Co.
Played as the Silver King Tournament. Second-placed Paddy Mahon (Ire) finished 1 shot behind Cotton (Eng). [High course, Moor Park GC, Rickmansworth, Herts].
Europe
Dunlop
Played as the Dunlop-Metropolitan £500 Tournament. Second-placed Arthur Lacey (Eng) and defending champion Ernest Whitcombe (Eng) finished 3 shots behind Cotton (Eng). [West course, Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey].
Europe
x
Played as the Italian Open. Won by Henry Cotton (Eng). [GC Sestrieres, Sestrieres, Italian Alps].
Europe
Yorkshire Eve. News
Played as the Yorkshire Evening News £750 Tournament (June 6-8). Henry Cotton (Eng) beat Percy Alliss (Eng) 3 and 2 in the 36-hole final. [Sand Moor GC, Leeds, W Yorks, England].
Europe
x
Played as the Belgian Open (Aug 13-15). Second-placed Percy Alliss (Eng) finished 3 shots behind Cotton (Eng), who won this event for the second time. Cotton was the club professional at Waterloo GC at the time. [Royal Waterloo GC, Ferme Blaret, Rhode-Saint-Genese, nr Brussels. This course closed following the Club's move to a new location].
Majors
R&A
The Open Championship (69th) (June 27-29). Second-placed Sydney "Sid" Brews (RSA) finished 5 shots behind Cotton (Eng), despite Cotton's closing round of 79. [Royal St George's GC, Sandwich, Kent].
Europe
Dunlop
Played as the Dunlop-Southport 1500 Guineas Tournament. Defending champion Cotton (Eng) beat Bill Twine (Eng) by 1 shot in a 36-hole playoff (Cotton 145, Twine 146). [Hesketh GC, Southport, Merseyside].
Europe
News of the World
Played as the News of the World Match Play (Sept 20-23). 25-year-old Cotton (Eng) beat Alf Perry (Eng) by a tournament record score of 10 and 8 in the 36-hole final. [Moor Park GC, Rickmansworth, Herts].
Europe
Dunlop
Played as the Dunlop-Southport 1500 Guineas Tournament. Second-placed and defending champion Archie Compston (Eng) finished 2 shots behind Cotton (Eng). [Southport & Ainsdale GC, Southport, Merseyside].
Played as the Belgian Open (June 27-29). Second-placed Archie Compston (Eng) finished 11 shots behind Cotton (Eng). [Royal GC of Belgium (Ravenstein), Tervuren, nr Brussels].
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