Horace Rawlins
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Horace Thomas Rawlins (5 August 1874 – 22 January 1935) was an English professional
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 ...
er who won the first U.S. Open Championship in
1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...
.


Early life

Rawlins was born at
Shanklin Shanklin () is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on Sandown Bay. Shanklin is the southernmost of three settlements which occupy the bay, and is close to Lake, Isle of Wight, ...
on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
,
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 ...
, the son of Thomas Horatio and Sarah Maria Rawlins. Thomas Horatio Rawlins had married Sarah Maria Brown in
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
in 1871. Rawlins had an older sister and two younger brothers; all of whom were born in India. Sarah was widowed by the time of the 1891 census and returned to the Isle of Wight, living in
Brading The ancient 'Kynges Towne' of Brading is the main town of the civil parishes in England, civil parish of the same name. The ecclesiastical parish of Brading used to cover about a tenth of the Isle of Wight. The civil parish now includes the to ...
. In 1891 Horace and his younger brother Harry are described as golf caddies. The Royal Isle of Wight Golf Club was situated nearby.


Golf career

Rawlins was one of a number of near-contemporaries who learnt their golf at the now-defunct Royal Isle of Wight Golf Club and went on to become successful professional golfers. The group included Rowland Jones, the cousins
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and Walter Toogood, as well as his brother, Harry Rawlins. Rawlins became the club professional at the Mid-Herts Golf Club when it opened in 1893. He played in a professional event at
Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...
Golf Club in June 1894 but finished well out of the prizes. Rawlins later moved to Raynes Park. In early 1895 Rawlins travelled to the
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to take up a position at
Newport Country Club Newport Country Club, is a historic private golf club in the northeastern United States, located in Newport, Rhode Island. Founded in 1893, it hosted both the first U.S. Amateur Championship and the first U.S. Open in 1895. History Theodor ...
in
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
. The club hosted the inaugural U.S. Open on 4 October 1895, and he was one of 11 players to participate. Playing in just his third tournament, Rawlins shocked the more established
Willie Dunn William Lawrence Dunn (August 14, 1941 – August 5, 2013) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, film director and politician. Born in Montreal, he was of mixed Mi'kmaq and Scottish/Irish background. Dunn often highlighted indigenous issues in his ...
, winning the title by two strokes over 36 holes. The first U.S. Open was a one-day event played immediately after the three-day
U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...
, which received much more attention at the time. Rawlins won $150 plus a $50 gold medal and the Open Championship Cup, which went to his club. Rawlins returned to England in late 1895 and took a position at Crowborough Beacon under the professional Arthur Jackson for the winter. A match was arranged between Rawlins and James Braid on 7 March 1896 at Crowborough, Braid winning 5&3. Rawlins returned to America soon afterwards, moving to Sadaquada Golf Club near
Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...
. Rawlins finished second in the 1896 U.S. Open, played on 18 July at
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is a links-style golf club located in an unincorporated area of the Town of Southampton on Long Island, New York, situated between the Peconic Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Founded in 1891, it is one of the oldest golf ...
. Rawlins was also involved in
golf course design A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". T ...
, having in 1910 done some work on The Springhaven Club course in
Wallingford, Pennsylvania Wallingford is an unincorporated community in Nether Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1687, it is named for Wallingford, England. In 2007, Wallingford was named by ''Money Magazine'' as the ninth b ...
, which was originally laid out by
Ida Dixon Ida Elizabeth Dixon (December 25, 1854 – November 22, 1916) was an American socialite and golf course architect from Pennsylvania. She was the first female golf course architect in the United States and perhaps in the world. She designed th ...
in 1904. After settling permanently in England in 1913 Rawlins seems to have played little golf. His only known appearance was as an unattached professional in the 1919 "Victory" tournament of the Southern Section of the PGA. Played at Walton Heath on 14 May, Rawlins scored 88 and 89 and finished well down the field.


Private life

Rawlins married Cicely Margaret Wright at St Saviour,
Shanklin Shanklin () is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on Sandown Bay. Shanklin is the southernmost of three settlements which occupy the bay, and is close to Lake, Isle of Wight, ...
in early 1911. Cicely had been born in
Great Chesterford Great Chesterford is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The village is north from Bishop's Stortford, south from Cambridge and about northwest from the city and Essex county town of Chelmsford. The Ick ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
in 1878. Horace and Cicely travelled to the United States in April 1911 and April 1912 and spent the summer there. Their first child, Robert Cecil, was born in England in 1913, followed by Clifford Horace in 1916 and there is no indication that Rawlins returned to the United States after 1912. Rawlins' mother, Sarah Maria, died in
Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow, London, Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont, Harrow, Belmont and Kenton, London, Kenton, ...
on 7 June 1914 aged 73 at which time Rawlins was described as a "
draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...
". Rawlins died on 22 January 1935 in Greenlands Nursing Home in
Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...
, now part of the site of the
Royal Berkshire Hospital The Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) is an NHS hospital in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It provides acute hospital services to the residents of the western and central portions of Berkshire, and is managed by the Royal ...
. He had been living in
Barkham Barkham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England, located around southwest of the town of Wokingham. History Barkham dates back to 951, when a Saxon thane gave ''Bloreham'' to the monks of Abingdon Abb ...
near
Wokingham Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a populati ...
and was buried there at the parish church of St. James. His gravestone reads "In ever loving memory of Horace Thomas Rawlins who passed peacefully away January 22nd 1935 aged 60 years Thy will be done". Cicely died in early 1964 in
Parkstone Parkstone is an area of Poole, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It is divided into 'Lower' and 'Upper' Parkstone. Upper Parkstone – "Up-on-'ill" as it used to be known in ...
,
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
, aged 85.


Major championships


Wins (1)


Results timeline

''Note: Rawlins only played in the U.S. Open. CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place


References


External links


USGA
– Horace Rawlins
Mid Herts Golf Club
− Who was Horace Rawlins? {{DEFAULTSORT:Rawlins, Horace English male golfers British golf course architects Winners of men's major golf championships People from Shanklin 1874 births 1935 deaths