Who's who: Reg Whitcombe

  • Torrey Pines - South course, host of the Farmers Insurance Open
  • Prince's GC, England
  • Torrey Pines - South course, host of the Farmers Insurance Open
  • Terras da Comporta, Dunas
  • Monte Rei G&CC
  • Marco Simone GC (Italy); host of the Ryder Cup 2023
  • Pebble Beach host of the US Open; US Women's Open; Pebble Beach Pro-Am
  • Marco Simone GC

Who's who: Reg Whitcombe

  • Name:

    Reginald Arthur Whitcombe
  • Also known as:

    Reggie
  • Country:

    England
  • Lived:

    [1898-1957]. Born on April 10, 1898 in Berrow, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset. Died on Jan 11, 1957 in Hambledon, Surrey (aged 58).
  • Original/Home Club:

    Came Down GC, Dorset.
  • Occupation:

    Professional golfer
  • Turned Pro:

    c.1919

Roll of Honour

MAJORS (1): The Open (1938). Ryder Cup player (1929, 1931, 1935).

Did you know?

Reg Whitcombe was the youngest of the three Whitcombe brothers who successfully strode the English professional golfing stage in the 1920s and 1930s. All three played together in the 1935 Ryder Cup. In 1938 at a windy Royal St George's, Reg won the Open Championship title by two shots from Scotland's Jimmy Adams.

"Reggie" as he was often called, was the long-time professional at Parkstone GC in Poole, Dorset, from 1928 until his untimely death in 1957. He was succeeded at Parkstone by the Alliss brothers, Peter and Alec.

Top tournaments won by Reg Whitcombe

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Whitcombe, Reg

Score

270

Prize money

£120

Title sponsor

Penfold

Played as the Penfold Tournament. The competiton ended in a three-way tie between Dai Rees (Wales), Reg Whitcombe (Eng) and Norman Von Nida (Aus), who were all declared winners. [Stoke Park CC, Stoke Poges, Bucks].

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Whitcombe, Reg

Score

280

Prize money

£350

Title sponsor

Lotus

Played as the inaugural Lotus £1,500 Tournament (Aug 8-10). Second-placed Tom Haliburton (Scot) finished 4 shots behind Reg Whitcombe (Eng). [Stoke Park CC, Stoke Poges, Bucks].

1939
Awards
27 pts
British PGA

Category

Awards

Winner (holder)

Whitcombe, Reg

Venue

Score

27 pts

Prize money

Title sponsor

British PGA

Whitcombe (Eng) won the Harry Vardon Trophy as the British PGA Tour 1939 Order of Merit winner. Award based on a points system for finishes in the season's top professional events. In previous and subsequent years, the Trophy was awarded for the lowest scoring average. If this method had been used in 1939, Sam King (Eng), with an average of 72.87, would have prevailed over Whitcombe (73.00).

1938
Majors
295 (+7)
£100
R&A

Category

Majors

Winner (holder)

Whitcombe, Reg

Score

295 (+7)

Prize money

£100

Title sponsor

R&A

The Open Championship (73rd) (July 6-8). Second-placed James "Jimmy" Adams (Scot) finished 2 shots behind Whitcombe (Eng). [Royal St George's GC, Sandwich, Kent].

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Whitcombe, Reg

Score

281

Prize money

Title sponsor

x

Played as the Irish Open. Second-placed William H. "Bill" Davies (Eng) finished 2 shots behind Whitcombe (Eng), the third of the three Whitcombe brothers to win the Irish Open. [Royal Dublin GC, Dollymount, Dublin].

1934
Europe
284
£150
Penfold

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Whitcombe, Reg

Score

284

Prize money

£150

Title sponsor

Penfold

Played as the Penfold-Fairhaven Tournament. Whitcombe (Eng) beat Mark Seymour (Eng) after both players shot 142 in a 36-hole playoff. Another nine holes was needed, in which Whitcombe's 34 beat Seymour's 36. [Fairhaven GC, Lytham, Lancs].

Find a course

Or

Tournaments

Ryder Cup: Rome plays host to the first ever Ryder Cup to be staged in Italy, with the USA defending golf’s greatest team trophy at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club (Sept 29-Oct 1).

Solheim Cup: also in September, also in southern Europe, the 18th Solheim Cup will be contested at Finca Cortesin on the Costa del Sol, with Europe defending after their surprise win in Toledo, Inverness Club (Ohio) in 2021 (Sept 22-24). 

Who's Who

Céline Boutier: with many successes as both an amateur and professional golfer, Boutier added a major championship title to her impressive résumé at this year’s Evian Championship.

Alex Cejka: buffeted by rain and high winds, especially on the high-scoring final day, Čejka prevailed over Pádraig Harrington in a playoff at Royal Porthcawl, to scoop the Senior Open Championship title.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

Popular videos

You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.

Hamburger GC - Falkenstein, Germany

WINSTONgolf - Links course

Littlestone Golf Club (Kent, UK)