Charles Whitcombe (golfer)

Charles Albert Whitcombe (21 September 1895 – 13 February 1978) was an English golfer. He was born in Berrow, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, the second of the three Whitcombe brothers who were all successful English professional golfers in the 1920s and 1930s and – despite never winning The Open Championship like his younger brother Reg – could be considered the most prominent of the three, winning the British PGA Matchplay Championship twice and captaining the Ryder Cup side four times.

Charles Whitcombe
Personal information
Full nameCharles Albert Whitcombe
Born(1895-09-21)21 September 1895
Berrow, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England
Died13 February 1978(1978-02-13) (aged 82)
Winchmore Hill, Enfield, London
Nationality England
Career
StatusProfessional
Professional wins17
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenCUT: 1927
The Open Championship3rd: 1935
Achievements and awards
Harry Vardon Trophy1937

Whitcombe finished fifth in The Open Championship in 1922, three shots behind the winner and beaten only by Walter Hagen, Jim Barnes, George Duncan and Jock Hutchison – the players who between them had won 8 of the previous 9 major championships. Whitcombe would enjoy several other high finishes in the Championship, beaten by players including Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen and Henry Cotton, but only once again came as close to winning, in 1935, when he finished third, three shots behind Alf Perry at Muirfield.

Whitcombe won the British PGA Matchplay Championship in 1928 and 1930, and also won the Irish Open in 1930. Both of his Matchplay championship victories came in finals against a young Henry Cotton, by 12 years Whitcombe's junior. In 1931, 1935, and 1937 Whitcombe was selected as playing captain of the Great Britain and Ireland Ryder Cup side, having also played in every side from 1927 to 1933, and was then non-playing captain in 1949.

Tournament wins

Results in major championships
Tournament 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
U.S. Open NT NT
The Open Championship WD NT NT NT NT NT
Tournament 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship 5 T6 DQ WD T24 6 CUT T39
Tournament 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
U.S. Open
The Open Championship T9 T29 T4 CUT T7 3 T19 4 T10 CUT
Tournament 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948
U.S. Open NT NT NT NT
The Open Championship NT NT NT NT NT NT CUT T32

Note: Whitcombe never played in the Masters Tournament nor the PGA Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Team appearances
  • Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain): 1927, 1929 (winners), 1931 (captain), 1933 (winners), 1935 (captain), 1937 (captain), 1949 (non-playing captain)
  • France–Great Britain Professional Match (representing Great Britain): 1929 (winners)
  • England–Scotland Professional Match (representing England): 1932 (winners), 1933 (winners), 1934 (winners), 1935 (winners), 1936 (winners), 1937 (winners), 1938 (winners)
  • England–Ireland Professional Match (representing England): 1933 (winners)
  • Coronation Match (representing the Ladies and Professionals): 1937

References
  • Alliss, Peter: "The Who's Who of Golf" (1983), Orbis Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-85613-520-8

Further reading
  • Fry, Peter (15 January 1994). The Whitcombes: A Golfing Legend. Grant Books. ISBN 978-0907186403.
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