| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland |
| Established | 1953 |
| Course(s) | Gleneagles Hotel |
| Month played | September/October |
| Final year | 1966 |
| Final champion | |
| Alex Caygill and Bernard Cawthray | |
The Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament was a pro-am golf tournament played at the Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland. The event was held annually from 1953 to 1966. From 1953 to 1957 it was called the Gleneagles-Saxone Foursomes Tournament. Saxone was a Scottish footwear manufacturer.
In 1953, 32 professionals were invited who each chose their own amateur partner. The event was played under handicap with the professionals playing off scratch and the amateurs limited to a handicap of 6. Play was over four days with two round played on the third day. The final and 3rd/4th place match were over 18 holes on the fourth day. Total prize money was £3,000. [1]
The 1954 event was severally affected by rain. The first day's play was lost and the first round was played at Carnoustie Golf Links on the second day. The players returned to Gleneagles, where the second and third round were played o the third day and the semi-final and final on the final day. There was a consolation event for those pairs beaten in the first round.
The 1955 event was reduced to three days, using the format used in 1954.
Norman Vico Drew is a Northern Irish professional golfer. He had a successful amateur career, winning a number of important Irish championships and playing in the 1953 Walker Cup. He an exceptionally successful season in 1959 when he won the Yorkshire Evening News Tournament and played in the Ryder Cup. Hr later represented Ireland in the Canada Cup, becoming the first golfer to play in the Walker Cup, Ryder Cup and Canada Cup. He was renowned for his short game.
Joseph Benedict Carr was an Irish amateur golfer.
Eric Chalmers Brown was a Scottish professional golfer.
Malcolm Edward Gregson is an English professional golfer. After a promising start to his career as an amateur and assistant professional, he had one exceptional year, 1967, when he won the Harry Vardon Trophy and played in the Ryder Cup, but had only limited success afterwards. After reaching 50 he played on the European Senior Tour, winning five times.
John Panton, MBE was a Scottish professional golfer, who represented Great Britain three times in the Ryder Cup.
Jessie Valentine was a Scottish amateur golfer who won the British Ladies Amateur in 1937, 1955 and 1958. In 1937, after winning the British Ladies title at Turnberry she was the world number one ranking ladies golfer. In 1959, Valentine was the first woman golfer to be appointed as an MBE for services to golf and was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
The Glasgow Herald Tournament was a British golf tournament played at Gleneagles from 1920 to 1927. The 1920 event had prize money of £650, then the largest ever in a British tournament. From 1921 the prize money was increased further, to 1,000 guineas (£1,050), a new record. The first prize increased from £160 to £200. From 1921 the event was often called the Glasgow Herald 1000 Guineas Tournament.
The Turnberry-B.O.A.C. Foursomes Tournament was a pro-am golf tournament played at Turnberry, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The event was held in 1969 and 1970. It had a similar format to the Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament which had finished in 1966. The tournament was sponsored by British Transport Hotels, the owners of Turnberry, and B.O.A.C. The 1970 final was delayed by a day because of bad weather.
James Francis O’Grady Bruen was an Irish amateur golfer. He won the 1946 Amateur Championship and was in the British Walker Cup team in 1938, 1949 and 1951. He is regarded as one of Ireland's leading amateur golfers.
Jean Macalister Donald was a Scottish golfer. She won the Scottish Women's Amateur Championship three times and played in the Curtis Cup in 1948, 1950 and 1952. She turned professional at the start of 1954 following a change in the rules regarding amateur status.
Jeanne Mary Bisgood is an English former amateur golfer. She won the English Women's Amateur Championship three times, in 1951, 1953 and 1957 and played in the Curtis Cup three times, in 1950, 1952 and 1954.
Antony B. Coop was an English professional golfer who won the 1965 Rediffusion Tournament. He played in the Open Championship 11 times, finishing 13th in 1961.
Wanda Morgan was a leading English golfer of the 1930s. She won the Womens Amateur Championship in 1935, having been a runner-up in 1931. She also won the English Women's Amateur Championship three times, in 1931, 1936 and 1937. She played three times for Britain in the Curtis Cup, in 1932, 1934 and 1936 and for England in the Women's Home Internationals between 1931 and 1953. In early 1938 she took a paid position at Dunlop which resulted in the loss of her amateur status. She was reinstated as an amateur in 1949 but lost her amateur status again in 1954.
Diana Jessie Merville Plumpton was an English amateur golfer. She reached the final of the 1933 Womens Amateur Championship and played in the 1934 Curtis Cup.
The Worplesdon Open Scratch Mixed Foursomes is an open mixed foursomes golf tournament contested annually at the Worplesdon Golf Club in Surrey since 1921. From its inception until the 1960s the event attracted many of the leading amateur golfers. The event was open to professionals and attracted some British women golfers who had lost their amateur status by taking up paid positions with golf equipment makers.
Marley Joan Spearman She won the British Ladies Amateur in 1961 and 1962 and the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1964. She was in four Curtis Cup teams, in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964.
Janette Sneddon Wright is a Scottish amateur golfer. She won the Scottish Women's Amateur Championship in 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1973. She was in four Curtis Cup teams, in 1954, 1956, 1958 and 1960.
Angela, Lady Bonallack was an English amateur golfer. She was twice a finalist in the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship and won the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1958 and 1963. She played in six successive Curtis Cup matches from 1956 to 1966. She was married to Michael Bonallack.
Elizabeth Price was an English amateur golfer. She won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship in 1959 and twice a losing finalist. She was three times runner-up in the English Women's Amateur Championship and won the Spalding Women's Open Stroke Play twice. She played in six successive Curtis Cup matches from 1950 to 1960.
The Sunningdale Foursomes is an open foursomes golf tournament contested at the Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire in March. It was first contested in 1934 and has been held annually since, except between 1940 and 1947. The event is open to all golfers. Players are handicapped based only on whether they are male or female, professional or amateur.
