Tom Ball

Tom Ball
— Golfer —

Ball, c. 1918
Personal information
Full name Thomas John Ball
Born (1882-06-27)27 June 1882[1]
Hoylake, England
Died 18 February 1919(1919-02-18) (aged 36)
Wimbledon, Surrey, England
Nationality  England
Career
Status Professional
Professional wins 7
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
U.S. Open DNP
The Open Championship 2nd/T2: 1908, 1909
PGA Championship DNP

Thomas John Ball (27 June 1882 – 18 February 1919) was an English professional golfer. Ball placed second in the 1908 Open Championship and tied for second place in the 1909 Open Championship.[2] He won the Belgian Open twice, in 1913 and again in 1914. He was victorious in the 1909 News of the World Match Play tournament.

Golf career

1908 Open Championship

The 1908 Open Championship was held 18–19 June at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Scottish professional James Braid won the Championship for the fourth time, eight strokes ahead of runner-up Ball.[2] Ball's round-by-round scores were 76-73-76-74=299. The primary difference between Ball's score and Braid's was the first round scoring when Braid's superb 70 put him in excellent position to win—which he eventually did. Ball took home £25 for his fine performance.

1909 Open Championship

The 1909 Open Championship was held 10–11 June at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club in Deal, Kent, England. English star J.H. Taylor won the Championship for the fourth time, six strokes ahead of runners-up Ball and James Braid. Ball carded rounds of 74-75-76-76=301—winning £20 in the process—and finished six shots behind the winning score of 295 posted by J.H. Taylor.[2]

Family

Ball's father, William (1856–1926), was a greenkeeper from Hoylake.[3] His brothers Sydney, William Henry (Harry) and Frank were also professional golfers, as was Harry's son Errie.

Death and legacy

Ball died on 18 February 1919 in Wimbledon, Surrey, England.[4] He is best remembered for having three top-10 finishes in the Open Championship, including a second-place finish in 1908.[2]

Tournament wins (7)

Note: This list may be incomplete.

Results in major championships

Tournament 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914
The Open Championship CUT DNP CUT DNP T24 10 2 T2 T12 15 26 T30 WD

Note: Ball played only in The Open Championship.

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = Missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

References

  1. ↑ "The professional golf tournament – Victory of Tom Ball". The Glasgow Herald. 8 Oct 1909. p. 9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3360-5.
  3. ↑ "Death of William Ball". The Times. 24 February 1926. p. 6.
  4. ↑ https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=ball&yearOfDeath=1919&page=3#calendar
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/24/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.