Spalding Tournament: Golf Winners in British Event

The Spalding Tournament was a golf tournament for professional male golfers, played in the United Kingdom from the mid-1940s into the 1960s. It was won by some big names of that era on the British PGA circuit that was the ancestor of the modern European Tour.

First played: 1946

Last played: 1960

Harry Weetman was the biggest winner with three victories in the event, although two of those were ties when no playoff was held. Dai Rees, one of the tournament's 2-time champs, was also the runner-up three times.

The tournament scoring record of 267 was set by Bobby Locke in his 1950 victory. The largest margin of victory was five strokes, first established by Henry Cotton (over runner-up Rees) in 1947 and matched by Weetman (over Rees) in 1960.

In the 1952 Spalding Tournament, Tom Haliburton carded a total of 126 for the first two rounds. That total was heralded by British newspapers as a "world record for two rounds in a major tournament." He had a 7-stroke lead, but wound up finishing fourth.

Winners of the British Spalding Tournament

1946 — Dai Rees, 300
1947 — Henry Cotton, 288
1948 — Norman Von Nida, 289
1949 — Charlie Ward, 273
1950 — Bobby Locke, 267
1951 — Jack Hargreaves, 281
1952 — (tie) Antonio Cerda, Harry Weetman, 271 (no playoff)
1953 — Bernard Hunt, 273
1954 — Dai Rees, 272
1955 — Cecil Denny, 278
1956 — (tie) Christy O'Connor Sr., Harry Weetman, 276 (no playoff)
1957 — Bernard Hunt, 278
1958 — Frank Jowle, 277
1959 — (tie) Harold Henning, Eric Lester, 278, (no playoff)
1960 — Harry Weetman, 273

Golf courses: Its first three years, the Spalding Tournament was played on The Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. It moved to Worthing Golf Club in England in 1949. In 1954, the tournament moved again, to Moor Park Golf Club in England, where it replaced the Silver King Tournament on both the golf course and the tour schedule.