Wikipedia

Leeds Cup

The Leeds Cup is a golf tournament that has been played annually in northern England since 1902. The event is organised by the north region of the Professional Golfers' Association. It is the oldest trophy in professional golf that is still played for. The Tooting Bec Cup is older, having been first played for in 1901, but is no longer contested.[1]

Leeds Cup
Plaque on Leeds Golf Club clubhouse where the cup was first played
Tournament information
Established1902
Course(s)Leeds Golf Club (2024)
Current champion
Paul Kinnear (2024)

The Leeds Challenge Cup was first contested in May 1902 at Leeds Golf Club. The trophy was presented by Alderman Penrose-Green, Lord Mayor of Leeds and President of Leeds Golf Club to be competed for annually by professional golfers.[2] Harry Vardon was the first winner.[3] 2015 marked the 100th staging of the event.[3]

History

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The Northern Counties Professional Golfers' Association was formed as a result of a meeting in Leeds on 9 January 1902.[4] At a subsequent meeting, also in Leeds, on 24 March it was decided that, subject to certain conditions, it would amalgamate with the London-based Professional Golfers' Association and become the northern section of the new enlarged association.[5] The same meeting also agreed to accept an offer from the Leeds Golf Club to host a tournament on 6 May at which the club would provide a prize.[5]

The tournament was contested over 36 holes of stroke play, on a single day. The winner received the Challenge Cup, a memento and the first of six small prizes. There was also a prize for the first apprentice.[6] It was the third tournament organised by the PGA with the Tooting Bec Cup having been contested in October 1901, followed by a tournament at Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club on 23 April 1902.[7]

The weather on 6 June was wintry and the professionals had to play in a blinding hailstorm which also made putting difficult. 26 professionals entered included three times Open Champions J.H. Taylor and Harry Vardon and Sandy Herd, twice runner-up in the Open. James Braid was absent, having a prior engagement. Vardon won the cup with score of 149, his second round 73 being the best of the day. Herd and Taylor tied for second place on 153. Bertie Snowball, then a young professional at Bradford, won the apprentice prize. 21 of the 26 players returned scores for the two rounds. Mrs Penrose-Green presented the cup to Vardon and Taylor made a short speech thanking the members of the Leeds club.[6]

Winners

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Year Winner Country Venue Score Margin
of victory		 Runner(s)-up Winner's
share (£)		 Ref
1902 Harry Vardon   Jersey Leeds Golf Club 149 4 strokes   Sandy Herd
  J.H. Taylor		 [8]
1903 Ted Ray   Jersey Cleveland Golf Club 147 1 stroke   Harry Vardon [9]
1904 Sandy Herd   Scotland Manchester Golf Club 146 1 stroke   Fred Collins
  Phil Gaudin		 [10]
1905 Sandy Herd   Scotland Bradford Golf Club 145 5 strokes   Fred Leach
  Bertie Snowball		 [11]
1906 George Duncan   Scotland Wallasey Golf Club 154 5 strokes   Wilfrid Reid [12]
1907 Ted Ray   Jersey Ilkley Golf Club 144 1 stroke   Walter Toogood [13]
1908 Tom Ball   England Hesketh Golf Club 148 2 strokes   Bill Leaver
  Tom Watt		 [14]
1909 James Kay   England Harrogate Golf Club 151 1 stroke   Ted Ray [15]
1910 Ted Ray   Jersey Chorlton Golf Club 143 4 strokes   George Cawkwell
  Herbert Riseborough		 [16]
1911 Ted Ray   Jersey Roundhay Golf Club 147 1 stroke   Thomas Renouf [17]
1912 Peter McEwan Jr.   Scotland Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club 154 Playoff
(18 holes)		   George Pulford [18][19]
1913 Walter Hambleton   England Bradford Golf Club 155 Playoff
(9 holes)		   Tom Beck [20]
1914 Thomas Renouf   Jersey Northumberland Golf Club 153 2 strokes   Harry Crapper
  Charles Roberts
  Wilfred Thomson		 [21]
1915–18: No tournament
1919 Ted Ray   Jersey Alwoodley Golf Club 158 Playoff
(9 holes)		   Sam Whiting [22]
1920 Cyril Hughes   England West Lancashire Golf Club 152 2 strokes   Syd Wingate [23]
1921 Arthur Day   England Ganton Golf Club 147 4 strokes   Walter Bourne
  Jimmy Johnstone		 10 [24][25]
1922 Jack Gaudin   Jersey Manchester Golf Club 147 1 stroke   Jerry Bond
  John Jarman
  Tom Walton		 [26]
1923 Jack Gaudin   Jersey Hallamshire Golf Club 141 2 strokes   Archie Compston
  Albert Hallam		 [27]
1924 Willie Robertson   England West Lancashire Golf Club 150 1 stroke   Jack Gaudin
  Cedric Sayner		 [28]
1925 Archie Compston   England Keighley Golf Club 140 11 strokes   Thomas Renouf [29]
1926 Archie Compston   England Harrogate Golf Club 143 Playoff
(18 holes)		   Cyril Fryer 10 [30]
1927 Robert Leather   England Manchester Golf Club 150 4 strokes   Cedric Sayner [31]
1928 D. C. Jones   Wales Oakdale Golf Club (Harrogate) 146 2 strokes   Bill Davies
1929 Abe Mitchell   England North Shore Golf Club 142 1 stroke   Henry Cotton [32]
1930 D. C. Jones   Wales Lytham & St Annes Golf Club 148 1 stroke   Jerry Bond
  Bob Kenyon
  Bob Porter		 [33]
1931 Bill Davies   England Harrogate Golf Club 137 6 strokes   Allan Dailey
  Willie McMinn		 [34]
1932 Bob Kenyon   England North Manchester Golf Club 149 Playoff
(18 holes)		   Fred Taggart [35][36]
1933 Ted Jarman   England Pannal Golf Club 144 Playoff
(18 holes)		   Jock Ballantine [37]
1934 Jack Busson   England Lancaster Golf Club 140 1 stroke   Dick Burton [38]
1935 Frank Jowle   England Moor Allerton Golf Club 147 Playoff
(18 holes)		   John Fallon [39][40]
1936 Ted Jarman   England Morecambe Golf Club 142 3 strokes   Harry Busson
  Norman Sutton		 [41]
1937 John Fallon   Scotland Mere Golf and Country Club 142 1 stroke   Harry Busson
  Bert Gadd		 [42]
1938 Jack Busson   England Temple Newsam Golf Club 140 1 stroke   Alf Bignell
  Harry Busson		 [43][44]
1939 Bill Davies   England Ormskirk Golf Club 139 1 stroke   Syd Scott [45][46]
1940–45: No tournament
1946 Norman Sutton   England Sand Moor Golf Club 140 5 strokes   Jack Busson [47]
1947 Eric Green   England Morecambe Golf Club 135 Playoff
(36 holes)		   Frank Jowle [48][49]
1948 Bill Shankland   Australia Heysham Golf Club 140 1 stroke   Alf Perry [50]
1949 John Fallon   Scotland Reddish Vale Golf Club 137 2 strokes   Bob Kenyon [51]
1950 Syd Scott   England Carlisle City Golf Club 148 Playoff
(18 holes)		   Bob Kenyon [52]
1951 Norman Sutton   England Heysham Golf Club 142 Playoff
(18 holes)		   George Howard [53]
1952 Syd Scott   England Worsley Golf Club 145 3 strokes   Bill Branch
  John Jacobs
  Ben Shelton		 [54]
1953 Syd Scott   England Harrogate Golf Club 137 2 strokes   John Fallon
  Ben Shelton		 [55]
1954 Bill Branch   England Blackpool Park Golf Club 138 1 stroke   John Fallon [56]
1955 Syd Scott   England Huddersfield Golf Club 146 1 stroke   Gary Player [57]
1956 Eric Lester   England Scarcroft Golf Club 136 1 stroke   Syd Scott [58]
1957–58: Not contested
1959 Tom Fairbairn   England Rotherham Golf Club 137 2 strokes   Tony Coop [59]
1960: Not contested
1961 George Parton   England Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club 142 2 strokes   Harold Henning [60]
1962 Hedley Muscroft   England Heysham Golf Club 139 Playoff
(5 holes)		   Malcolm Hill [61]
1963: Not contested
1964 Alex Caygill   England
1965 Tony Coop   England Manchester Golf Club 141 1 stroke   Mack Gunn
  Jack Wilkshire		 [62]
1966 David Naylor   England Manchester Golf Club 141 4 strokes   B Allen [63]
1967 Alex Caygill   England Manchester Golf Club 140 [64]
1968 Bryon Hutchinson   England Manchester Golf Club 140 4 strokes   B Allen
  Fred Boobyer
  Nigel Casson (a)
  Jimmy Hume
  Sandy Wilson		 [65]
1969 Bryon Hutchinson   England Manchester Golf Club 142 1 stroke   Fred Boobyer
  George Tomlinson		 [66]
1970 Hedley Muscroft   England Leeds Golf Club 139 1 stroke   Bryon Hutchinson [67]
1971 Bryon Hutchinson   England Scarcroft Golf Club 135 4 strokes   Mack Gunn [68]
1972 Bryon Hutchinson   England Carlisle Golf Club 138 3 strokes   Alex Caygill
  David Vaughan		 [69]
1973 Alex Caygill   England Pontefract Golf Club 138 4 strokes   Mike Ingham
  Lionel Platts		 [70]
1974: Not contested
1975 David Dunk   England Scarcroft Golf Club 136 4 strokes   Ian Mosey [71]
1976 David Dunk   England Scarcroft Golf Club 144 Playoff   Brian Evans [72]

Source:[73]

In 1912 McEwan beat Pulford 78 to 83 in the playoff, played the following day. In 1913 Hambleton beat Beck 40 to 43 in the playoff, played the same evening. In 1919 Ray beat Whiting 40 to 46 in the playoff, played the same evening. In 1926 Compston beat Fryer 72 to 76 in the playoff, played the same evening. In 1932 Kenyon beat Taggart 71 to 74 in the playoff, played the following day. In 1933 Jarman beat Ballantine 72 to 74 in the playoff, played the following day. In 1935 Jowle beat Fallon 72 to 73 in the playoff, played the following day. In 1947 Green beat Jowle 137 to 139 in the playoff, played the following day. In 1950 Scott beat Kenyon 72 to 76 in the playoff, played the same evening. In 1951 Sutton beat Howard 68 to 75 in the playoff, played the same evening.

The 1904 and 1905 contests were the northern section qualifying events for the News of the World Matchplay. From 1911 to 1914 the cup was awarded to the winner of the northern section qualifying competition for the Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament. From 1920 to 1927 and from 1948 to 1950 the cup was awarded to the winner of the northern section qualifying competition for the Daily Mail Tournament. From 1930 to 1939 and in 1946, 1947, 1951, 1955 and 1961 the cup was awarded to the winner of the northern section qualifying competition for the News of the World Matchplay. From 1952 to 1954 the cup was held in connection with qualifying for the Goodwin Foursomes. In 1956 it was held in connection with qualifying for the Goodwin Tournament and similarly in 1959 for the Sherwood Forest Foursomes Tournament.

In 1937 the event was combined with the 72-hole Northern Professional Championship; the Leeds Cup and qualifying for the News of the World Matchplay being based on the first two rounds. Ties for qualifying places were determined by the third round scores in the Northern Professional Championship.[74] The same system was used in 1946 when the Northern Professional Championship was revived.[75] In 1947 the Northern Professional Championship was reduced to 36 holes and the two events were combined.[76] In 1948 the events were again separated with the Leeds Cup being used for the qualifying for the Daily Mail Tournament, the Northern Professional Championship being used for the News of the World Matchplay qualifying.[77] The Daily Mail Tournament was not held in 1951 and the Leeds Cup was contested, as in 1947, at the same time as the Northern Professional Championship.

References

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  1. ^ "Another PGA medal haul for Rory". PGA. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  2. ^ "History of Leeds Golf Club". Leeds Golf Club Limited. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Moortown to host Leeds Cup". PGA. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Golf". The Times. 10 January 1902. p. 9.
  5. ^ a b "Golf". The Times. 25 March 1902. p. 10.
  6. ^ a b "Golf – Professional competition at Leeds". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 7 May 1902. Retrieved 15 June 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "The London professional association tournament". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 24 April 1902. Retrieved 15 June 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Northern professional tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 7 May 1902. p. 8.
  9. ^ "Professional challenge cup competition". The Times. 16 July 1903. p. 12.
  10. ^ "The professional association". The Glasgow Herald. 14 July 1904. p. 10.
  11. ^ "Professional golfers' association". The Glasgow Herald. 27 July 1905. p. 11.
  12. ^ "Professional tournament at Wallasey". The Glasgow Herald. 11 July 1906. p. 11.
  13. ^ "Leeds challenge cup". The Times. 15 May 1907. p. 11.
  14. ^ "The professional competitions – Northern section". The Glasgow Herald. 14 May 1908. p. 13.
  15. ^ "Professional competition at Harrogate". The Glasgow Herald. 15 May 1909. p. 13.
  16. ^ "Northern professional competition – Victory of E Ray". The Glasgow Herald. 12 May 1910. p. 12.
  17. ^ "Northern competition – Victory of E Ray". The Glasgow Herald. 4 May 1911. p. 12.
  18. ^ "£350 tournament – Qualifying competitions – At Southport". The Glasgow Herald. 25 April 1912. p. 15.
  19. ^ ""Leeds" challenge cup". The Glasgow Herald. 26 April 1912. p. 16.
  20. ^ "Professional golfers' association – Northern section". The Glasgow Herald. 1 May 1913. p. 14.
  21. ^ "Sphere and Tatler competition – Five qualifying competitions – Northern section". The Times. 30 April 1914. p. 15.
  22. ^ "Golf – Professional competition at Leeds". The Glasgow Herald. 1 May 1919. p. 3.
  23. ^ "The £520 tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 22 April 1920. p. 3.
  24. ^ "Golf – The £600 tournament – Northern section". The Times. 21 April 1921. p. 6.
  25. ^ "Golf – The £600 tournament – Northern section". The Glasgow Herald. 21 April 1921. p. 3.
  26. ^ "Golf – The £1000 tournament – Northern section". The Glasgow Herald. 13 April 1922. p. 12.
  27. ^ "The £1000 tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 12 April 1923. p. 15.
  28. ^ "£1000 tournament – Trio of holes in one". The Glasgow Herald. 8 May 1924. p. 3.
  29. ^ "The £1200 tournament – Record play at Keithley". The Glasgow Herald. 2 May 1925. p. 13.
  30. ^ "The £1200 tournament – Northern section". The Glasgow Herald. 22 April 1926. p. 3.
  31. ^ "Northern section". The Glasgow Herald. 28 April 1927. p. 4.
  32. ^ "Mitchell wins Leeds cup". The Glasgow Herald. 6 July 1929. p. 3.
  33. ^ "£1040 tournament – Sectional qualifying rounds – Northern section". The Glasgow Herald. 4 September 1930. p. 3.
  34. ^ "Golf – Davies and McMinn in form – Lead qualifiers in £1040 tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 13 August 1931. p. 3.
  35. ^ "Northern qualifiers for £1040 tourney". The Glasgow Herald. 18 August 1932. p. 10.
  36. ^ "Kenyon wins Leeds cup". The Glasgow Herald. 19 August 1932. p. 10.
  37. ^ "Golf – The "News of the World" tournament". The Times. 31 August 1933. p. 4.
  38. ^ "Keen scoring for Leeds challenge cup". The Glasgow Herald. 2 August 1934. p. 16.
  39. ^ "Northern professionals' competition". The Times. 18 July 1935. p. 7.
  40. ^ "Leeds Cup replay". The Times. 19 July 1935. p. 5.
  41. ^ "£1250 professional tournament – Qualifying surprises in northern section". The Glasgow Herald. 8 September 1936. p. 17.
  42. ^ "Scot wins Leeds Cup – Alliss's task in £1250 tourney". The Glasgow Herald. 19 August 1937. p. 3.
  43. ^ "£1,250 tournament – Alliss and Adams fail to qualify". The Times. 26 August 1938. p. 6.
  44. ^ "Qualifying play surprises – Alliss and Adams fail in £1250 tourney". The Glasgow Herald. 26 August 1938. p. 20.
  45. ^ "£1,250 tournament – W H Davies retains his form". The Times. 25 August 1939. p. 4.
  46. ^ "Open golf champion fails to qualify – Adams and Fallon on same mark". The Glasgow Herald. 25 August 1939. p. 20.
  47. ^ "N Sutton leads golf qualifiers". The Glasgow Herald. 1 August 1946. p. 6.
  48. ^ "Green and Jowle tie at Morecambe". The Guardian. 29 August 1947. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  49. ^ "E. Green (Hurst Park)". The Guardian. 30 August 1947. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  50. ^ "Shankland wins cup". The Guardian. 23 April 1948. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  51. ^ "J. Fallon leads the qualifiers". The Guardian. 29 April 1949. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  52. ^ ""Daliy Mail" group qualifiers". The Guardian. 2 April 1950. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  53. ^ "Sutton's play-off win". The Glasgow Herald. 20 July 1951. p. 6.
  54. ^ "Qualifiers for Sheffield". The Guardian. 30 May 1952. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  55. ^ "Scott keeps his lead". The Guardian. 30 May 1953. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  56. ^ "Leeds Cup for Branch". The Guardian. 4 June 1954. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  57. ^ "Scott again wins Leeds Cup". The Guardian. 28 July 1955. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  58. ^ "Leeds Cup for Lester". The Guardian. 17 August 1956. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  59. ^ "Fairbairn wins a long last". The Guardian. 14 August 1959. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  60. ^ "Surprise winner". The Glasgow Herald. 22 August 1961. p. 5.
  61. ^ "Play-off decides". The Glasgow Herald. 29 June 1962. p. 11.
  62. ^ "Coop keeps going to victory". The Guardian. 20 August 1965. p. 6.
  63. ^ "Naylor's splendid rounds". The Guardian. 30 July 1966. p. 12.
  64. ^ "Caygill does it". The Guardian. 29 July 1967. p. 11.
  65. ^ "Victory well earned". The Guardian. 27 July 1968. p. 14.
  66. ^ "Hutchinson retains Leeds Cup". The Guardian. 7 August 1969. p. 15.
  67. ^ "Muscroft makes up lost ground". The Guardian. 3 October 1970. p. 19.
  68. ^ "Melling slips to third". The Guardian. 29 May 1971. p. 17.
  69. ^ "Hutchinson retains Leeds Cup". The Guardian. 6 May 1972. p. 17.
  70. ^ "Caygill leaves Yorks in style". The Guardian. 5 May 1973. p. 21.
  71. ^ "Double for Dunk". The Guardian. 22 August 1975. p. 19.
  72. ^ "Dunk keeps cup". The Guardian. 6 August 1976. p. 18.
  73. ^ "The Leeds Cup winners". Leeds Golf Club. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  74. ^ "Northern title retained – Alliss wins professional championship". The Glasgow Herald. 20 August 1937. p. 7.
  75. ^ "Sutton wins Northern championship". The Glasgow Herald. 2 August 1946. p. 6.
  76. ^ "Test for our Ryder Cup nominees". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 27 August 1947. Retrieved 28 June 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  77. ^ "Perry's success". The Guardian. 27 August 1948. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
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