Frank Ball (born ) 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 ...

who played in the early 20th century. He tied for third place in the 1924 Open Championship.

Early life

Ball was born circa 1892 in

West Kirby West Kirby () is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. In the north west of the Wirral Peninsula and at the mouth of the River Dee, the town is contiguous with Hoylake. It lies within the historic county bo ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

(now

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, to William Henry Ball and Hannah Silcock Roscoe. He had four brothers and four sisters. His birthplace was but a short distance south of the

Royal Liverpool Golf Club The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a golf club in Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club. It received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of Prince Arth ...

Hoylake Hoylake () is a coast, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee, Wales, River Dee meets the Irish Sea. At the 2021 United K ...

. Frank's father, William (1856–1926), was a greenkeeper from

. Frank's brothers

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

, Sydney, William Henry (Harry) were also professional golfers, as was Harry's son Errie.

Golf career

In 1923 Ball reached the final of two important tournaments within a month. In late-June he lost to

Arthur Havers Arthur Gladstone Havers (10 June 1898 – 27 December 1980)"Mr A.G. Havers. ''The Times'', 29 December 1980; p. 12; Issue 60812."Deaths – Havers. ''The Times'', 31 December 1980; p. 22; Issue 60814. was an English professional golfer. Havers wo ...

in the

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 ...

but in mid-July he won the Broxbourne Tournament beating

James Sherlock James Sherlock is an Irish conductor and pianist. He read music at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was organ scholar. He continued music studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Joan Havill and Conducting at the Sibelius Ac ...

. The 1924 Open Championship was held 26–27 June at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. The American golfer

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 ...

won the second of his four Open Championships, one stroke ahead of runner-up Ernest Whitcombe. Ball finished in a tie for third place with

Macdonald Smith Macdonald "Mac" Smith (March 18, 1890 – August 31, 1949) was one of the top professional golfers in the world from about 1910 into the mid-1930s. He was a member of a famous Scottish golfing family. Smith is regarded, based on his results, as o ...

. He sailed from

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

on 29 October 1926 aboard RMS ''Andania'' to find new opportunities in America and quickly found work at the

East Lake Golf Club East Lake Golf Club is a private golf club 5 miles east of downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1904, it is the oldest golf course in the city. East Lake was the home course of golfer Bobby Jones (golfer), Bobby Jones and much of its clubh ...

in Atlanta, Georgia. His career and whereabouts after moving to Atlanta is somewhat of a mystery.

Death

Ball's date of death is unknown.

Professional wins (3)

*1923 Broxbourne Tournament, Kent Professional Championship *1924 Kent President's Cup

Results in major championships

''Note: Ball only played in The Open Championship and the U.S. Open.''
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Frank English male golfers 1890s births Year of birth uncertain Year of death missing