Henry Abraham Mitchell (18 January 1887 – 11 June 1947) was an English

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. Mitchell had eight top-10 finishes out of 17 appearances in 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 ...

, his best performance being fourth in 1920. He was runner-up in the 1912 Amateur Championship and won the 1924 Miami Open.

Early life

Mitchell was born in

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

, Sussex on 18 January 1887. He was the illegitimate son of Mary Mitchell. Mary married a Mark Seymour in 1890 and Abe was brought up by his grandparents, George and Sophia Mitchell. Mark and Mary had a son

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

, Abe's half-brother, who also became a successful professional golfer. Mitchell was a fine amateur, and played for England against the Scots in 1910 and won. He won the Golf Illustrated Gold Vase twice in 1910 and 1913, and played in two Open Championships before turning professional in late 1913, attached to Sonning Golf Club in Berkshire.

Golf career

Mitchell won many golf tournaments in Great Britain and toured the United States frequently, winning the 1924 Miami Open, and entered three U.S. Opens. He led at the halfway stage in the 1920 Open Championship before collapsing in the third round, when he shot 84 and finished four shots behind winner George Duncan, who had been 13 shots off the lead after two rounds. In a match held on 26 July 1921, Mitchell and George Duncan were paired in a foursomes match and won against

Chick Evans Charles E. "Chick" Evans Jr. (July 18, 1890 – November 6, 1979) was an American amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans, who won the 1910 Western Open, became the first amateur to win both the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in one year, ...

and Charles Mayo at Edgewater Golf Club in Chicago, Illinois where Mayo was serving as the head professional.

The Open Championship

Mitchell had eight top-10 finishes out of 17 appearances in the Open Championship. In the 1920 Open Championship he had rounds of 74−73−84−76=307 and finished in fourth place. He was leading the tournament on 147 after the first 2 rounds of play, but a third round 84 knocked him out of contention.

The Amateur Championship

He was runner-up in the 1912 Amateur Championship, losing to John Ball on the second extra hole.

Ryder Cup

Mitchell was supposed to be the player-captain of Great Britain's first

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

team in 1927, but was unable to make the voyage to the United States due to

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...

.Ryder Cup History
. rydercup.com He did play on the next three teams in 1929, 1931, and 1933. Mitchell possibly was Samuel Ryder's personal golf instructor from 1925 at Verulam Golf Club, St Albans. The figure on top of the Cup trophy is modeled after Mitchell.Prezioso, Andrew (25 September 2014
Nine things to you know about the Ryder Cup trophy
. rydercup.com

Tooting Bec Cup

Mitchell had the lowest round at the 1933 Open Championship at St Andrews, carding a fine 68, and won the Tooting Bec Cup.

Personal life and death

Mitchell married Dora Deag on 27 November 1920 in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

. He died suddenly in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roma ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

at age 60.

Amateur wins

*1910 Golf Illustrated Gold Vase *1913 Golf Illustrated Gold Vase

Professional wins

*1919 St Andrews Tournament ("Victory Open") (joint winner with George Duncan),

News of the World Match Play The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the ''News of the World'', and was commonly known b ...

*1920 McVitie & Price Tournament (joint winner with James Braid)

, Kent Professional Championship *1921 McVitie & Price Tournament, Glasgow Herald Tournament *1922 Glasgow Herald Tournament, Southern Open (United States, tie with Leo Diegel) *1924 Miami Open (United States) *1925 Daily Dispatch Northern Professional Championship,

Evening Standard Tournament The Evening Standard Tournament was a professional golf tournament played at Moor Park Golf Club near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire in 1925 and 1926 and sponsored by the ''Evening Standard'' newspaper. Abe Mitchell won on both occasions. The event ...

*1926 Evening Standard Target Tournament, Roehampton Invitation *1927 Roehampton Invitation, Daily Mail Tournament, Hertfordshire Open Championship *1928 Roehampton Invitation,

Ryder Tournament The Ryder Tournament was a professional golf tournament played at Verulam Golf Club in St Albans, England and sponsored by Samuel Ryder. The event was held just once, in 1928, and had total prize money of £500. The tournament was played over t ...

(joint winner with Bill Davies) *1929

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 play ...

, Irish Open, Selsdon Park Tournament, Hertfordshire Open Championship *1932

Bristol Evening World Tournament The Bristol Evening World Tournament was a professional golf tournament played at Long Ashton Golf Club near Bristol, England, in May 1932 and sponsored by the ''Bristol Evening World'' newspaper. The event was held just once and was the first im ...

, Hertfordshire Open Championship *1934 Dunlop-Southern Tournament, Addington Foursomes (with Rex Hartley), Hertfordshire Open Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Mitchell only played in The Open Championship, U.S. Open, and The Amateur Championship.'' NT = No tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place Sources: U.S. Open, Open Championship, Amateur Championship – 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913

Team appearances

Amateur *

England–Scotland Amateur Match The England–Scotland Amateur Match was an annual men's amateur golf competition between teams representing England and Scotland. It was played from 1902 to 1931, although the match lapsed between 1913 and 1921. The match continued after 1931 but ...

(representing England): 1910 (winners), 1911, 1912 Professional * Great Britain vs USA (representing Great Britain): 1921 (winners), 1926 (winners) * Seniors vs Juniors (representing the Seniors): 1928 (winners) *

(representing Great Britain):

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholi ...

(winners),

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

(winners) *

England–Scotland Professional Match The England–Scotland Professional Match was an annual men's professional golf competition between teams representing England and Scotland. It was played from 1903 to the start of World War I and was then revived in 1932 and played until the star ...

(representing England): 1932 (winners), 1933 (winners), 1934 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Abe English male golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe People from East Grinstead Sportspeople from St Albans 1887 births 1947 deaths