Recalling the Daily Telegraph Foursomes Tournament and Its Interesting Format

The Daily Telegraph Foursomes Tournament was played in England in the late 1940s to early 1950s. It had an interesting format: a touring professional partnered with a top amateur. There were 36 pros and 36 amateurs in the field, and they were randomly drawn to form the teams. Then they played foursomes (also known as alternate shot) match play, culminating in an 18-hole championship match.

First played: 1947

Last played: 1951

Two golfers were two-time winners of this tournament, and their first win was in Year 1 as partners: Charlie Ward and Ronnie White. Ward made it two in a row in 1948 (partnered by Gerald Micklem), and White added another win as Reg Horne's partner in 1949.

Bill Cox's win in 1951 (partnered by Walter McLeod) was his only professional golf victory. It happened after he had already turned to broadcasting — he was a commentator on the BBC from the years immediately after World War II until he was replaced by Peter Alliss in 1969.

Winners of the Daily Telegraph Foursomes Tournament

These are the championship matches and scores:

1947 — Charlie Ward (pro)/Ronnie White (amateur) def. Max Faulkner (pro)/Donald Cameron (amateur), 2 and 1
1948 — Charlie Ward (pro)/Gerald Micklem (amateur) def. Fred Daly (pro)/Morton Dykes (amateur), 1-up, 19 holes
1949 — Reg Horne (pro)/Ronnie White (amateur) def. Jimmy Adams (pro)/Leonard Crawley (amateur), 1-up, 19 holes
1950 — Wally Smithers (pro)/Jimmy Bruen (amateur) def. Bill Branch (pro)/Mervyn Jones (amateur), 4 and 2
1951 — Bill Cox (pro)/Walter McLeod (amateur) def. Jimmy Adams (pro)/Charles Lawrie (amateur), 1-up, 19 holes

Golf course: The tournament rotated to different courses in England, five courses in five years. In order, from the first Daily Telegraph Foursomes in 1947, the golf courses were Birkdale Golf Club, Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, Moortown Golf Club, Formby Golf Club and Ganton Golf Club.