The 1912 News of the World Match Play was the tenth News of the World Match Play tournament. It was played from Wednesday 2 to Friday 4 October at Sunningdale 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 £400. Harry Vardon defeated Ted Ray by 1 hole in the final to win the tournament.
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 eight PGA sections. The Southern section had 12 qualifiers, the Northern section 7, the Midland section 5, the Scottish, Welsh and Western sections 2 and the Eastern and Irish sections 1. Because of the large number of entries in the Southern section, two events were run with 6 qualifiers at each venue. In the event of a tie for places there was a playoff.
Qualifying events:
4 July Scottish section at North Berwick: Robert Thomson won by 6 strokes on 146. The Dunlop Cup was played the following day.[1]
11 July Western section at Parkstone: Ernest Whitcombe won by 4 strokes on 144.[2]
24 July Eastern section at Cambridge: Allan Gow won by 3 strokes on 151. He was the leading Eastern section player in the open competition, finishing third behind James Batley and Anthony Kettley who tied on 149.[3]
4 September Northern section at Halifax: Walter Hambleton won by 2 on 163.[4]
11 September Southern section at Hanger Hill: George Duncan won by 9 strokes on 143. Anthony Kettley and Jack White tied on 155. They played off the following day with White scoring 77 and Kettley 81.[5][6]
11 September Southern section at Sundridge Park: Ted Ray won by 4 strokes on 150. Eric Bannister and James Bradbeer tied on 159. They played off the following day with Bradbeer scoring 80 and Bannister 81.[5][6]
11 September Welsh section at Tenby: Peter Rainford won by 2 strokes on 155.[7]
19 September Irish section at Portmarnock: Michael Moran and Pat O'Hara tied on 159. They played off the following day. Moran scored 77, O'Hara 82.[8][9]
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.
The winner received £100 and a gold medal, but the runner-up now received £40 and a silver medal, losing semi-finalists £20 and a bronze medal, losing quarter-finalists £15, second round losers £10 and first round losers £5.
References
↑ "£400 professional tournament Scottish qualifying competition". The Times. 5 July 1912. p.14.
↑ "The £400 tournament – Western qualifying competition". The Times. 12 July 1912. p.13.
↑ "Golf Eastern professional competition". The Times. 25 July 1912. p.13.
↑ "Professional tournament for £400 – Northern section". The Times. 5 September 1912. p.9.
1 2 "Golf – Professional tournament for £400 – Southern section – Braid's failure to qualify". The Times. 12 September 1912. p.11.
1 2 "The professional tournament for £400". The Times. 13 September 1912. p.9.
↑ "The Welsh competition". The Times. 12 September 1912. p.11.
↑ "Professional tournament for £400". The Times. 20 September 1912. p.9.
↑ "The professional tournament for £400". The Times. 21 September 1912. p.10.
↑ "Professional tournament for £400 – Midland section". The Times. 26 September 1912. p.9.
↑ "Midland professional championship". The Times. 27 September 1912. p.9.
↑ "Golf – Professional tournament for £400 – The draw". The Times. 27 September 1912. p.9.
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Harry Vardon 
