Ernest Robert Whitcombe (17 October 1890 – 14 July 1971) 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 ...

. Over the course of his career he had nine wins in professional tournaments and was runner-up in the 1924 Open Championship.

Early life

Whitcombe was born in Berrow, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset. He was the eldest of the three Whitcombe brothers who were all successful English

s in the 1920s and 1930s.

Golf career

He was runner-up in the 1924 Open Championship, carding rounds of 77-70-77-78=302, and finished just one shot behind

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional Men's major golf championships, majors is third behin ...

. The excellent 70 in round two was the best score in a single round by any competitor in the top 10. He won the Irish and Dutch Opens in 1928, the

French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...

in 1930 and the Irish Open again in 1935. He also won the 1924

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 ...

Family

His two younger brothers

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and Reg were also professional golfers. Ernest played with his brother Charles in the

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 Catholic ...

and

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 ...

Ryder Cups and all three played together in the 1935 Ryder Cup. His son, Eddie Whitcombe, was also a professional golfer.

World War I

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he joined the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

as a gunner attached to the 16th Division of

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the F ...

. Whitcombe saw combat at Hulluch, Guillemont, Messines and

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

and suffered slight wounds from a machine-gun burst. He was hit by a small piece of shrapnel which became lodged in his left eye—an injury which may have adversely affected his putting in later years. For his war service, he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Death and legacy

Whitcombe died on 14 July 1971 in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England."Mr E. Whitcombe" ''The Times'', 15 July 1971; pg. 18; Issue 58225. He was one of the top English golfers in the period from 1924 through 1937.

Professional wins

:Note: ''This list may be incomplete'' *1920 West of England Professional Championship *1924

*1927

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 ...

*1928 Irish Open, Dutch Open *1930

*1931

*1934 Dunlop-Metropolitan Tournament *1935 Irish Open *1937 News Chronicle Tournament

Results in major championships

''Note: Whitcombe 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

* Great Britain vs USA (representing Great Britain): 1926 (winners) *

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 ...

(representing Great Britain):

(winners),

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

*France–Great Britain Professional Match (representing Great Britain): 1929 (winners) * England–Ireland Professional Match (representing England): 1933 (winners)