David James Rees, (31 March 1913 – 15 November 1983) was one of the Britain's leading

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

ers either side of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The winner of many prestigious tournaments in Britain, Europe and farther afield, Rees is best remembered as the captain of 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 which defeated the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Lindrick Golf Club Lindrick Golf Club is a golf club in South Yorkshire, England; it is near Worksop. The club has an 18-hole championship golf course that has hosted many professional and elite amateur tournaments, including the 1957 Ryder Cup, the British Mast ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

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 ...

, in 1957. It was the only defeat which the United States suffered in the competition between 1933 and 1985.

Personal life

Rees was born in Fontegary, near

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He was brought up around golf, with his father being the head professional and his mother a steward at The Leys Golf Club. His family moved to

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...

, where his father had taken up the position of head professional at Aberdare Golf Club. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Rees served as a driver for

Air vice-marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometime ...

Harry Broadhurst :''See also Henry Broadhurst for the trade unionist and politician'' Air Chief Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst, (28 October 1905 – 29 August 1995), commonly known as Broady, was a senior Royal Air Force commander and flying ace of the Second Wor ...

Professional career

Rees began his professional career aged 16 as an assistant to his father at Aberdare Golf Club. He moved to Whitchurch Golf Club near Cardiff and then to Surbiton Golf Club in early 1935. His first post as a full professional was at Hindhead Golf Club in 1938 where he remained until he took over as the professional at South Herts Golf Club in 1946. Like

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 ...

before him, he remained in the position until he died in 1983. Rees won many important tournaments around the world including four

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 ...

s, two

British Masters The Betfred British Masters is a professional golf tournament. It was founded in 1946 as the Dunlop Masters and was held every year up to 2008, except for 1984. Dunlop's sponsorship ended in 1982, and the name sponsor changed frequently there ...

, the Irish, Belgian and

Swiss Open The Omega European Masters is the Swiss stop on professional men's golf's European Tour, and in 2009 it became the first event in Europe to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Founded as the Swiss Open in 1923, the tournament was prefixed with ...

s, and the

South African PGA Championship The South African PGA Championship is one of the most prestigious golf tournaments on the Sunshine Tour. It has most recently been played in September, with a prize fund of . It is currently held at St Francis Links in St Francis Bay. History ...

. Rees never won

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 ...

but finished as runner-up three times, in 1953, 1954 and 1961. He had a good chance of victory in

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

, when he shot a final round 80 to slip into a tie for fourth place. Rees continued to play at a competitive level in his "senior" years, and remained successful, especially in

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

tournaments. He reached the final of the News of the World Match Play twice while in his fifties, in 1967 and again in 1969, on each occasion beating several players almost half his age over 18 holes. He also had some success in

stroke play Stroke play is a scoring system in the sport of golf. In the regular form of stroke play, also known as medal play, the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In a regular stroke play competition, the winner is the ...

tournaments, including a runner-up finish in the

Martini International The Martini International was a men's professional golf tournament that was held from 1961 to 1983. It was hosted by several different golf clubs in England, Scotland and Wales. It was part of the British PGA tournament circuit, which evolved int ...

in 1973 when aged 60. Rees played in nine Ryder Cups in total, and was selected for the aborted 1939 Cup. He had a 7–10–1 win–loss–draw record. Rees captained the Great Britain Ryder Cup team on five occasions, in 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961 and 1967. It was at the 1957 event at Lindrick where Britain scored a 7½–4½ victory to break the United States' stranglehold on the trophy they had held since 1933. Having regained the Ryder Cup in 1959, the United States would not relinquish it again until 1985, by which time the British team had been expanded to include the rest of Europe.

Awards

In 1957, following Britain's triumph in the Ryder Cup, Rees won the

BBC Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just a single award of the same name. Several new awards have been introduced, and cu ...

award, perhaps Britain's best known sports award. He was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

1958 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1958 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lon ...

for services to golf.

Death

In 1983, Rees was involved in a car crash on his way back from watching an

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

football match. He died several months later, aged 70, having failed to recover from his injuries.

Tournament wins

''this list may be incomplete'' *1935 Daily Mirror Assistants' Tournament *1936

, Daily Mirror Assistants' Tournament, Surrey Open Championship *1937

Sunningdale Foursomes The Sunningdale Foursomes is an open foursomes golf tournament contested at the Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire, in March. It was first contested in 1934 and has been held annually since, except between 1940 and 1947. The event is open to all go ...

(with

Stanley Anderson Stanley Anderson (October 23, 1939 – June 24, 2018) was an American character actor who played Drew Carey's father on ''The Drew Carey Show''. Early life Born in Billings, Montana, Anderson attended Garfield Elementary School, Lincoln Junior ...

) *1938

*1939

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 ...

Addington Foursomes The Addington Foursomes was a golf tournament played in Addington Golf Club near Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local governm ...

(with

Alfred Critchley Air Commodore Alfred Cecil Critchley, (23 February 1890 – 9 February 1963) was a military commander, entrepreneur and politician in the United Kingdom. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1934 to 1935. Early life and ...

) *1946

Silver King Tournament The Silver King Tournament was a professional golf tournament played at Moor Park Golf Club near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The event was promoted by The Silvertown Company, manufacturer of the Silver King golf ball. It was held from 1936 to 1 ...

Spalding Tournament The Spalding Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom. It was played annually from 1946 to 1960. The total prize money was £1500 in 1946, £1250 in 1947 and 1948, £1350 from 1949 to 1959 and £2250 in 1960. Th ...

*1947 Penfold Tournament (tie with

Reg Whitcombe Reginald Arthur Whitcombe (10 April 1898 – 11 January 1957) was an English professional golfer. Career Whitcombe began his career at Came Down Golf Club in Dorset and served in the British armed forces during World War I. He was the profess ...

and

Norman Von Nida Norman Guy Von Nida (14 February 1914 – 20 May 2007) was an Australian professional golfer. Early life and amateur career Von Nida was born in Strathfield and grew up in Brisbane. He won the 1932 Queensland Amateur aged just 18. Profess ...

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 ...

, News Chronicle Tournament *1948

Irish Open Irish Open may refer to: *Irish Open (golf), a golf tournament on the European Tour ** Irish Senior Open, a golf tournament on the European Seniors Tour **Ladies Irish Open, a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour * Irish Open (darts), annua ...

*1949

*1950

, News Chronicle Tournament,

Dunlop Masters The Betfred British Masters is a professional golf tournament. It was founded in 1946 as the Dunlop Masters and was held every year up to 2008, except for 1984. Dunlop (brands), Dunlop's sponsorship ended in 1982, and the name sponsor changed ...

*1951 Royal Canberra Professional Purse, New South Wales Jubilee Open,

(tie with

) *1952 Wiseman's Tournament,

*1953

Daks Tournament The Daks Tournament was an important professional golf tournament held in England from 1950 to 1971 and was generally held in early June. 17 of the 22 events were held at the Wentworth Club. Neil Coles Neil Chapman Coles, MBE (born 26 Septem ...

*1954

, Belgian Open, Southern Professional Championship *1956

(tie with

Ken Bousfield Kenneth Bousfield (2 October 1919 – 25 May 2000) was one of the leading British golfers of the immediate post-World War II period. Professional career Bousfield won a number of tournaments on the European circuit in the 1950s and 1960s, inclu ...

) *1958 Dunlop South African Professional Match Play *1959

PGA Close Championship The BMW PGA Championship is an annual men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour. It was founded in 1955 by the Professional Golfers' Association, and originally called the British PGA Championship. History The BMW PGA Championship ...

, Sherwood Forest Foursomes Tournament (with

Dennis Smalldon Dennis Frederick George Smalldon (1926 – 12 September 1959) was a Welsh professional golfer. He was killed in a road traffic accident at the age of 33. Smalldon won the Welsh Professional Championship in 1953, 1956 and 1959 and had won the Sh ...

) *1960 Hammonds-Carling Jubilee Tournament,

Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament The Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament was a pro-am golf tournament played at the Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland. The event was held annually from 1953 to 1966. From 1953 to 1957 it was called the Gleneagles-Saxone Foursom ...

(with W Glennie) *1962

(tie with Bob Charles) *1963

*1966

PGA Seniors Championship The PGA Seniors Championship is a European Senior Tour golf tournament for men aged fifty and above. It was founded in 1957 and became part of the European Senior Tour on its founding in 1992. It was not held in 2016 or 2017 but returned in 201 ...

, Southern Professional Championship *1970 Beefeater Tournament (Bermuda) *1975 Southern Professional Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Rees only played in The Open Championship.''
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1969 and 1971 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain):

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

(captain),

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

(winners, captain),

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

(captain),

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

(captain),

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

(non-playing captain) *

Canada Cup The Canada Cup () was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true world championship that a ...

(representing Wales):

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

*Coronation Match (representing the Ladies and Professionals): 1937 * 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 *

Great Britain–Argentina Professional Match The Great Britain–Argentina Professional Match was a men's team golf competition between teams of six professional golfers from Great Britain and Argentina. It was played on the Lady Dorothy Course at Temple Newsam Golf Club on Monday 5 June 19 ...

(representing Great Britain): 1939 (winners) *

Joy Cup The Joy Cup was an annual men's professional team golf competition between teams representing the British Isles and the Rest of Europe. It was played from 1954 to 1958. The British Isles won all four contests that were played. The trophy was provi ...

(representing the British Isles): 1954 (winners), 1955 (winners), 1958 (winners, captain) *

Slazenger Trophy The Slazenger Trophy was a men's professional team golf competition; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representing the British Commonwealth and Empire. It was played just once, in 1956. Format The cup was contested ...

(representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1956 (winners) *

Amateurs–Professionals Match The Amateurs–Professionals Match was an annual men's team golf competition between teams of golfers from Great Britain and Ireland representing amateurs and professionals. It was played from 1956 to 1960. The Professionals won four of the five c ...

(representing the Professionals): 1956 (winners), 1957 (winners), 1958, 1959 (winners), 1960 (winners) * R.T.V. International Trophy (representing Wales): 1967 (captain) *

Double Diamond International The Double Diamond International was a team golf tournament that was played from 1971 to 1977. It was hosted in England for the first three years, and then in Scotland. From 1974 and 1977 the event was preceded by an individual 36-hole stroke pl ...

(representing Wales): 1971 (captain), 1972 (captain), 1973 (captain), 1975 (captain), 1976 (captain)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Dai Welsh male golfers European Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from the Vale of Glamorgan Road incident deaths in London 1913 births 1983 deaths