Bio of English Pro Golfer Reg Horne
Full name: Reginald William Horne
Date of birth: July 19, 1908
Place of birth: London, England
Date and place of death: January 5, 1984 in Littlestone-on-Sea, England
His Biggest Wins
- 1945 News of the World Matchplay
- 1948 News Chronicle Tournament*
- 1949 Daily Telegraph Foursomes Tournament (team tournament, partnered with Ronnie White)
- 1952 Silver King Tournament
- 1960 PGA Seniors Championship
Horne in the Majors
Reg Horne never played any of the American majors. And, in part due to the interruption of World War II, he entered the British Open only 10 times. His best finish was tied for second in the 1947 Open Championship; he first played the Open in 1938 and last in 1957. Aside from his joint runner-up in 1947, Horne's best Open finish was tied for 17th in 1950.
More About Reg Horne
While he had entered the 1938 British Open, Reg Horne was not well-known even in England before winning the News of the World Match Play (also known as the British PGA Match Play) in 1945.According to The Encyclopedia of Golf (published 1975), Horne "was scarecely known outside Hampshire, where he was professional at Romsey," prior to that win. But win it he did, beating Percy Alliss, 4 and 3, in the championship at Walton Heath.
Following that victory, Horne moved to Hendon Golf Club in North London, and was the pro there until his retirement in 1972.
Horne's performance in the 1947 British Open began with a 77. But he followed that with rounds of 74, 72 and 71, achieving the uncommon feat of lowering his score in each successive round of an Open.
After opening the final round with a 35 on the front nine, Horne appeared in the pole position. But he scored 5s on the 16th and 17th holes, then three-putted the last green. He finished one stroke behind the winner, Fred Daly.
Also that year, Horne was named to Team Great Britain for the 1947 Ryder Cup, but was not called on to play a match. He was 39 years old at that point.
Horne was runner-up to Max Faulkner at the 1951 British Masters, then won the 1952 Silver King Tournament for his final victory on the British/European circuit. In 1960 came his final tournament success, the British Seniors Championship. Along the way, Horne had several other near-misses, including runner-up at the 1946 Silver King Tournament, 1948 North British-Harrogate Tournament and 1951 KLM Open.
Peter Alliss (whose father, Percy, Horne defeated to win the British Match Play title) said of Horne that he "was thought by his contemporaries to be a far better player in practice rounds than in tournaments." Alliss also called Horne "an excellent striker of the ball."
