Bert Hodson (1905–1971) was a Welsh

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 ...

who played in the early 20th century. Hodson's best performances in major championships came in the

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

and

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

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 ...

s when he was tied for seventh place in each event. Hodson played on the Great Britain

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

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 ...

Early life

Hodson was born in

Rogerstone Rogerstone (, meaning "Black house") is a large village and community (parish) in Newport, Wales. The area is governed by Newport City Council. The village falls within the ancient parish of Bassaleg and historic county of Monmouthshire. ...

Newport, Wales Newport ( ) is a city and Principal areas of Wales, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. The population grew considerably between the 2011 and the 2021 Unit ...

in 1905. He started his career in golf as a caddie at Newport Golf Club and later became the head professional at

Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Londo ...

, Essex, England. While at Chigwell he was the mentor and teacher of

Michael Bonallack Sir Michael Francis Bonallack, Order of the British Empire, OBE (31 December 1934 – 26 September 2023) was an English amateur golfer who was one of the leading administrators in world golf in the late 20th century. Early life Bonallack wa ...

. His younger brother Tim was the professional at Tredegar Park.

Golf career

Hodson played in the 1926 Welsh Professional Championship at Harlech where he finished fifth. Bert Weastell won the championship by 12 strokes. In 1927 at Tenby he was a shot behind Ernest Kenyon at the end of the first day but won with a score of 290. He won the Welsh Professional Championship a second time in 1929.

1927 Open Championship

The

1927 Open Championship The 1927 Open Championship was the 62nd Open Championship, held 13–15 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Amateur Bobby Jones successfully defended the title with a dominating six-stroke victory, the second of his three victorie ...

was the 62nd Open Championship, held 13–15 July at the

Old Course at St Andrews The Old Course at St Andrews, also known as the Old Lady or the Grand Old Lady, is considered the oldest golf course in the world. It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links ...

St Andrews, Scotland St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

. Amateur Bobby Jones successfully defended the title with a dominating six stroke victory, the second of his three victories at the Open Championship. Hodson finished T7 and carded rounds of 72-70-81-74=297 and won £10. In September 1927 Hodson was one of twelve young professionals invited by

Samuel Ryder Samuel Ryder (24 March 1858 – 2 January 1936) was an English businessman, entrepreneur, golf enthusiast, and golf promoter. He originated the idea of selling garden seeds in "penny packets" and built a very successful business on the concept ...

to play in a tournament at Verulam, St Albans. He finished joint-winner with Jack Smith. Hodson was also involved in a "Seniors" v "Juniors" match organised by Ryder at Verulam in April 1928. He played for the juniors, losing his match against

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 ...

4 and 3. Hodson moved from Newport Golf Club to Chigwell, Essex, starting his new position on 1 August 1929. Hodson remained at Chigwell until 1950 when he was replaced by

Eddie Whitcombe Ernest Edward Whitcombe (31 March 1913 – 16 January 1997) was an English professional golfer. He was the son of Ernest Whitcombe and was always known as Eddie. In the 1937 Daily Mirror Assistants' Tournament, Whitcombe was tied after 72 hol ...

1934 Open Championship

Hodson finished T7 in the

1934 Open Championship The 1934 Open Championship was the 69th Open Championship, held 27–29 June at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located ...

held 27–29 June at

Royal St George's Golf Club The Royal St George's Golf Club is a golf club located in Sandwich, Kent, England. It is one of the courses on The Open Championship rota, and the only one in South East England. It has hosted 15 Open championships, the first in 1894 when it b ...

Sandwich, England Sandwich is a town and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, south-east England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour and has a population of 4,985. Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval build ...

. The English linksman Henry Cotton dominated the championship, leading wire-to-wire on his way to a five stroke win and his first of three Open titles. Hodson fired rounds of 71-74-74-76=295 and won £17 10s.

Ryder Cup

Hodson was a member of the

Great Britain

team.

Tournament wins

:''Note: This list may be incomplete'' *1927

Welsh Professional Championship The Welsh Professional Championship was a professional snooker tournament which was open only for Welsh players. It was the first of the four home countries to revive its national professional championship on a regular basis. History The cha ...

, Young Professionals' Tournament (joint winner with Jack Smith) *1929

*1932

Yorkshire Evening News Tournament The Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was a professional golf tournament that was held in the Leeds area of Yorkshire, England between 1923 and 1963. It was a fixture on the British PGA tournament circuit, which would later become the European To ...

Results in major championships

''Note: Hodson only played in the U.S. Open and The Open Championship.''
NT = No tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain):

* Seniors vs Juniors (representing the Juniors): 1928 *

England–Ireland Professional Match The England–Ireland Professional Match was an annual men's professional golf competition between teams representing England and Ireland. It was played in 1932 and 1933 before the Irish Open. The matches followed the same form as the England– ...

(representing England): 1933 (winners) * Triangular Professional Tournament (representing Wales): 1937 *

Llandudno International Golf Trophy The Llandudno International Golf Trophy was a professional team match play golf tournament that was played at the Maesdu Golf Club from 28 to 30 September 1938. The tournament was contested between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. It was int ...

(representing Wales): 1938

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodson, Bert Welsh male golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe 1905 births 1971 deaths