Yorkshire Evening News Tournament

The Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was a professional golf tournament that was held in the Leeds area of Yorkshire, England between 1923 and 1963. It was a fixture on the British PGA tournament circuit, which would later become the European Tour. Before World War II, it was a knockout match play tournament preceded by a 36-hole stroke play qualifying round; when it was revived following the war it was a pure stroke play tournament, except for 1949 when it was played as knockout match play.

First tournament (1923)

Yorkshire Evening News Tournament

Tournament information
Location	Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Established	1923
Format	Match play (1923–1939, 1949) Stroke play (1944–1948; 1950–1963)
Final year	1963
Final champion
Tom Haliburton
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In the early years, the Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was considered a British major golf tournament. "The first tournament, in 1923, was billed as the unofficial ‘Championship of the World’ between American superstars Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen. Hagen triumphed, but lost in the final by a two-hole margin to Ryder Cup star Herbert Jolly."^[1]

Format

From its founding in 1923 until 1939, the Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was contested as match play knockout by the leading players after 36 holes of stroke play.^[2][3] When it was revived in 1944, during World War II, it was a 36-hole stroke play tournament. Following the end of the war, in 1946, it was extended to 72 holes. The 72-hole stroke play format was retained except for 1949, when it was played as knockout match play in order to provide British players with practice in advance of the Ryder Cup.^[4]

Winners

Year	Winner	Score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share (£)	Venue	Ref
1963	Tom Haliburton	280	1 stroke	Peter Thomson	1,000	Sand Moor	[5]
1962	Peter Butler	273	4 strokes	Ken Bousfield	1,000	Moortown	[6]
1961	Peter Thomson	282	1 stroke	Dai Rees		Sand Moor	[7]
1960	Peter Thomson	268	5 strokes	Bernard Hunt	500	Moortown	[8]
1959	Norman Drew	281	4 strokes	Peter Alliss Harold Henning Peter Thomson	500	Sand Moor	[9]
1958	Eric Brown & Harold Henning	280	Tie	Shared title	500 & 250 (shared)	Moortown	[10]
1957	Peter Thomson	264	15 strokes	Harry Bradshaw	500	Sand Moor	[11]
1956	Ken Bousfield & Dai Rees	281	Tie	Shared title	500 & 250 (shared)	Moortown	[12]
1955	Antonio Cerdá	276	3 strokes	Harry Weetman	500	Sand Moor	[13]
1954	John Panton	284	1 stroke	Ken Bousfield Bernard Hunt	500	Moortown	[14]
1953	Flory Van Donck	278	1 stroke	Harry Bradshaw	500	Sand Moor	[15]
1952	Dai Rees	283	1 stroke	Henry Cotton Syd Scott		Moortown	[16]
1951	Dai Rees & Norman Von Nida	281	Tie	Shared title	300 & 150 (shared)	Moortown	[17]
1950	Dai Rees	276	8 strokes	Arthur Lees		Sand Moor	[18]
1949	Sam King	6 & 5		Walter Lees		Moortown	[19]
1948	Charlie Ward	275	3 strokes	Norman Von Nida		Moortown	[20]
1947	Norman Von Nida & Henry Cotton	277	Tie	Shared title	200 & 100 (shared)	Moortown	[21]
1946	Bobby Locke	283	7 strokes	A G Matthews Dai Rees		Moortown	[22]
1945	Archie Compston	148	5 strokes	Bill Cox		Moortown	[23]
1944	Sam King	133	6 strokes	Bill Shankland		Roundhay	[24]
1940–43: No tournament due to World War II
1939	Dai Rees	37 holes		Jack Hargreaves	150	Temple Newsam	[25]
1938	Alf Perry	8 & 6		Vernon Greenhalgh		Leeds	[26]
1937	Arthur Lacey	2 & 1		John Fallon		Moortown	[27]
1936	Dick Burton	3 & 2		A G Matthews		Temple Newsam	[28]
1935	Henry Cotton	3 & 2		Percy Alliss	150	Sand Moor	[29]
1934	Alf Padgham	37 holes		Sid Brews		Moortown	[30]
1933	Arthur Lacey	2 & 1		Alf Padgham		Temple Newsam	[31]
1932	Bert Hodson	39 holes		Fred Robson		Moortown	[32]
1931	Ernest Whitcombe	39 holes		Tom Barber		Sand Moor	[33]
1930	Herbert Jolly	3 & 1		Owen Sanderson	200	Headingley	[34]
1929	Joe Turnesa	37 holes		Herbert Jolly	200	Moortown	[35][36]
1928	Charles Whitcombe	3 & 2		Herbert Jolly		Moortown	[37]
1927	Ernest Whitcombe	9 & 8		Herbert Jolly		Headingley	[38]
1926	Charles Whitcombe	9 & 8		Moses O'Neill		Moortown	[39]
1925	Len Holland	3 & 2		James Ockenden		Moortown	[40]
1924	Fred Robson	37 holes		Archie Compston		Headingley	[41]
1923	Herbert Jolly	2 up		Walter Hagen	200	Headingley	[42][43]

Records

• Most wins:

  5 – Dai Rees (2 shared)

  3 – Peter Thomson

• Lowest aggregate score (72-hole stroke play):

  264 – Peter Thomson (1957)

• Largest margin of victory (72-hole stroke play):

  15 strokes – Peter Thomson (1957)

• Largest margin of victory (36-hole match play final):

  9 and 8 – Charles Whitcombe (1926), Ernest Whitcombe (1927)

Venues

Course	Times hosted	First year	Last year
Moortown Golf Club	19	1925	1963
Sand Moor Golf Club	9	1931	1962
Headingley Golf Club	4	1923	1930
Temple Newsham Golf Club	3	1933	1939
Leeds Golf Club	1	1938	1938
Roundhay Golf Club	1	1944	1944