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 northeast corner of the county, bord ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

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: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

, 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 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, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

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

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

.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 The Tooting Bec Cup is a trophy currently awarded by the Professional Golfers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland to the association member born in, or with a parent or parents born in, the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland who returns ...

Personal life and death

Mitchell married Dora Deag on 27 November 1920 in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly 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 ...

. He died suddenly in

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

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at age 60.

Amateur wins

*1910

Golf Illustrated Gold Vase The Golf Illustrated Gold Vase was a prestigious amateur golf tournament in England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it cover ...

*1913

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 ...

*1920

McVitie & Price Tournament The McVitie & Price Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom and sponsored by McVitie & Price. The event was held from 1920 to 1922. History 1920 Tournament The 1920 event had prize money of £550 and was playe ...

(joint winner with James Braid)

, Kent Professional Championship *1921

Glasgow Herald Tournament The Glasgow Herald Tournament (also known as the Gleneagles Tournament) was a British golf tournament played at Gleneagles from 1920 to 1927. The 1920 event had prize money of £650, then the largest ever in a British tournament. From 1921 the p ...

*1922

, Southern Open (United States, tie with

Leo Diegel Leo Harvey Diegel (April 20, 1899 – May 5, 1951) was an American professional golfer of the 1920s and early 1930s. He captured consecutive PGA Championships, played on the first four Ryder Cup teams, and is a member of the World Golf Hall o ...

) *1924 Miami Open (United States) *1925 Daily Dispatch Northern Professional Championship, Evening Standard Tournament *1926 Evening Standard Target Tournament, Roehampton Invitation *1927 Roehampton Invitation,

Daily Mail Tournament The Daily Mail Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom. 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 even ...

, Hertfordshire Open Championship *1928 Roehampton Invitation, Ryder Tournament (joint winner with Bill Davies) *1929 Leeds Cup,

, Irish Open, Selsdon Park Tournament, Hertfordshire Open Championship *1932 Bristol Evening World Tournament, 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 (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 (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 – Australian aviator 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 independen ...

(winners) * England–Scotland Professional Match (representing England): 1932 (winners), 1933 (winners), 1934 (winners)

References

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