The Daily Mail Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The ''Daily Mail'' sponsored the St Andrews Tournament in 1919 and in 1920 continued their sponsorship with the start of the Daily Mail Tournament. The event was dropped after the 1927 tournament and not reinstated until 1936. The event was unusual in that it took place in 1940, after the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The prize money for the 1940 event was just £500, money being raised for the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

A tournament was also played in September 1945, soon after the end of the war, and was informally referred to as the "Victory" tournament. The last event was played in 1950.

1919

The ''Daily Mail'' started their sponsorship by providing £500 for prizes for the St Andrews Tournament played over the Old Course on 25 and 26 May 1919. The event was organised by the PGA. Since there was not enough time to organise qualifying contests the entry was restricted to the 60 leading PGA members in the 1914 Open Championship. The PGA later invited locals

Laurie Ayton, Snr Laurie Ayton Snr (1884 – 27 October 1962) was a Scottish golfer. He was a descendant of William Ayton, one of the eleven founders of St Andrews Golf Club in about 1843. He served as club captain in 1953. He was the son of David Ayton, Sr. His ...

and Andrew Kirkaldy who would not otherwise have qualified. The

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

was not played in 1919 and the tournament was regarded as the most important of the year. This tournament sometimes called the "Victory Open" even though it was restricted to professionals. Ted Ray led after the first day on 150 with two rounds of 75.

Abe Mitchell Henry Abraham Mitchell (18 January 1887 – 11 June 1947) was an English professional golfer. Mitchell had eight top-10 finishes out of 17 appearances in the Open Championship, his best performance being fourth in 1920. He was runner-up in the ...

was second on 151 with

Fred Leach John Frederick Leach (6 March 1878 – 14 April 1908) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of Thomas Leach (1847-1916), and Emma Bunkin Leach ...

Arnaud Massy Arnaud George Watson Massy (; 6 July 1877 – 16 April 1950) was one of France's most successful professional golfers, most notable for winning the 1907 Open Championship. Early life Massy was born in Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. The ...

and Willie Ritchie on 153 and James Batley on 154. The over-night leaders struggled on the second day. Ray took 80 and 85 and finished fourth while Mitchell's 80 and 81 put him on 312.

Harry Vardon Henry William Vardon (9 May 1870 – 20 March 1937) was a professional golfer from Jersey. He was a member of the Great Triumvirate with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. Vardon won The Open Championship a record six times, and also won the ...

and

Sandy Herd Alexander "Sandy" Herd (24 April 1868 – 18 February 1944) was a Scottish professional golfer from St Andrews. He won The Open Championship in 1902 at Hoylake. Early life Born in St Andrews, Scotland, on 24 April 1868, to a golfing family, He ...

had the best scores on the second day. Vardon had rounds of 76 and 77 and a total of 313, good enough for third place, while Herd scored 75 and 78 and a total of 316 gave him a tie for fifth place with Batley. George Duncan scored 78 and 76 and finished on 312 to tie Mitchell. There was no play-off and so Duncan and Mitchell shared the prize money, taking £87 10s each. Vardon took £50 and a bronze medal, Ray £30 and there were prizes down to £5 for 20th place. Since a stroke-play competition had been arranged for the following morning on the Eden Course, and with the field including both Duncan and Mitchell, it was decided that the round would decide the possession of the gold and silver medals. The ''Daily Mail'' also provided £125 in prize money for a tournament played the following day, 27 June, on the Eden Course. 8 players were invited: 4 from England and 4 from Scotland. England were represented by

J.H. Taylor John Henry "J.H." Taylor (19 March 1871 – 10 February 1963) was an English professional golfer and one of the pioneers of the modern game of golf. Taylor is considered to be one of the best golfers of all time. He was a significant golf ...

, Ted Ray and

while Scotland had James Braid, George Duncan,

and

. A medal round was played in the morning with each group being an England/Scotland pairing. Ray had an excellent round of 71 and won by 5 shots, taking the £20 first prize. Taylor had a 76 and took the £15 second prize while Herd and Mitchell scored 77 and shared third place. Mitchell's 77 bettered the Duncan's 79 and he took the gold medal from the St Andrews tournament. Two Scotland against England foursomes were played in the afternoon. Ray and Taylor won their match while Duncan and Braid won the other. The winning players won £7 10s each, the losers £2 10s.

Winners

References

{{Reflist Golf tournaments in the United Kingdom