1909 News of the World Match Play

1909 News of the World Match Play

Tournament information
Dates	5–7 October 1909
Location	Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, England
Course(s)	Walton Heath Golf Club
Organised by	The PGA
Format	Match play – 18 holes (Final 36 holes)
Statistics
Field	32 players
Prize fund	£240
Winner's share	£100
Champion
Tom Ball
def. Sandy Herd 7 & 5
←  1908 1910  →

Walton Heath Golf Club

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Location in England

The 1909 News of the World Match Play was the seventh News of the World Match Play tournament. It was played from Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 October at Walton Heath Golf Club. 32 players competed in a straight knock-out competition, with each match contested over 18 holes, except for the final which was over 36 holes. The winner received £100 out of a total prize fund of £240. Tom Ball defeated Sandy Herd 7 & 5 in the final to win the tournament.

Qualification

Entry was restricted to members of the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA). Qualification was by a series of 36-hole stroke-play competitions; one for each of the seven PGA sections. The Southern section had 13 qualifiers, the Northern section 7, the Midland and the Scottish sections 4, the Irish section 2 and the Welsh and Western sections 1. Compared to 1908 one entry was allocated to the new Western section with the number of qualifiers from the Southern section reduced to 13. In the event of a tie for places there was a playoff.

The qualifiers were:

• Irish section: Michael Moran, Alex Robertson
• Midland section: George Coburn, Frank Coltart, Alfred Lewis, Tom Williamson
• Northern section: Tom Ball, Sandy Herd, Peter McEwan Jr., Ted Ray, Herbert Riseborough, Fred Robson, Tom Simpson
• Southern section: James Batley, James Braid, Arthur Butchart, George Carter, James Hepburn, Charles Johns, Charles Mayo, Arthur Mitchell, Wilfrid Reid, Jack Rowe, James Sherlock, J.H. Taylor, Harry Vardon
• Scottish section: Willie Binnie, David Kinnell, Robert Thomson, Willie Watt
• Western section: Ernest Foord
• Welsh section: Jack Ross

Format

The format was unchanged. Matches were over 18 holes except for the final which was over 36 holes. Extra holes were played in the event of a tied match. Two rounds were played on the first day, two more on the second day with the final on the third day.

Results

Source: ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

First round 5 October

Second round 5 October

Third round 6 October

Semi-finals 6 October

Final 7 October

Arthur Butchart

4&3

Ernest Foord

Arthur Butchart

Willie Watt

Sandy Herd

5&4

Sandy Herd

6&5

Sandy Herd

5&3

Herbert Riseborough

3&2

Charles Mayo

David Kinnell

Herbert Riseborough

Charles Mayo

3&2

Charles Mayo

21h

Tom Simpson

Sandy Herd

1up

George Carter

Harry Vardon

Ted Ray

1up

Ted Ray

Frank Coltart

2up

Frank Coltart

1up

Arthur Mitchell

Frank Coltart

Robert Thomson

Harry Vardon

5&4

Harry Vardon

4&3

Harry Vardon

2&1

Peter McEwan Jr.

1up

Peter McEwan Jr.

Alex Robertson

Sandy Herd

Jack Ross

Tom Ball

7&5

Fred Robson

19h

Fred Robson

George Coburn

Tom Ball

2&1

Tom Ball

3&2

Tom Ball

3&2

James Braid

Jack Rowe

Jack Rowe

4&3

Jack Rowe

2&1

Alfred Lewis

James Sherlock

James Sherlock

1up

Tom Ball

5&4

Michael Moran

James Hepburn

Charles Johns

2&1

Charles Johns

19h

Willie Binnie

Wilfrid Reid

Wilfrid Reid

5&3

Charles Johns

Tom Williamson

4&3

James Hepburn

2&1

James Batley

Tom Williamson

James Hepburn

20h

James Hepburn

1up

J.H. Taylor

Prize money

The winner received £100 and a gold medal, the runner-up £30 and a silver medal, the losing semi-finalists £15 and a bronze medal, while the third round losers received £10 and the second round losers received £5.

References

1. "The £240 tournament – The Draw". The Times. 28 September 1909. p. 17.
2. "The professional golf tournament – Braid and Taylor defeated". The Glasgow Herald . 6 October 1909. p. 9.
3. "The professional golf tournament – Alec Herd and Tom Ball in the final – Some exhilarating golf". The Glasgow Herald . 7 October 1909. p. 7.
4. "The professional golf tournament – Victory of Tom Ball". The Glasgow Herald . 8 October 1909. p. 9.

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