John "Jack" Dowling (August 6, 1890 – October 24, 1931) was an American

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 ...

. He had two top-10 finishes in major championships: a tie for seventh in the 1912 U.S. Open and a quarterfinal loss (tie for fifth) in the inaugural

1916 PGA Championship The 1916 PGA Championship was the first PGA Championship, which is now considered one of golf's major championships. It was held October 10–14 at Siwanoy Country Club in Eastchester, New York, just north of New York City in Jim Barnes defe ...

. He won the 1921

Westchester Open The Westchester Open is a golf tournament organized by the Westchester Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1920 at member clubs in New York or Connecticut. It was considered a PGA Tour event in the 1920s and 1930s. History In 197 ...

and finished third in the same event in 1920. He died suddenly of a massive heart attack in 1931 at the age of 41, cutting short a promising life and career.

Early life

Dowling was born August 6, 1890, in

Glen Cove, New York Glen Cove is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, New York (state), New York, United States. The city's population was 28,3 ...

. He served as the assistant professional at Nassau Country Club in 1910 and was later the head professional at

Scarsdale Golf Club Scarsdale Golf Club is a private golf club located in Hartsdale, New York. History The club contains the Scarsdale Golf Course, founded in 1898, which was designed by famed golf course architect A. W. Tillinghast. Additionally, the club ground ...

in Hartsdale, New York, before moving on to

Engineers Country Club Engineers Country Club is a historic country club located in Roslyn Harbor, New York, on the historic Gold Coast (Long Island), Gold Coast on the north shore of Long Island, New York, Long Island. History Founded as a Jewish country club, the clu ...

in Roslyn, New York.

Golf career

He grew up to be a small, wiry man who weighed only 118 pounds. In 1931, his golf swing was described by writer Ralph Trost of the ''

Brooklyn Daily Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

'' as "vivid ... it was a full, powerful, complete lash at the ball". Trost further elaborated on Dowling's appearance as being "thin as the proverbial rail and almost gaunt-looking".

1911 Eastern PGA Four-Ball Tournament

In the Eastern Professional Golfers Association Four-Ball Tournament held at Rumson Country Club,

Rumson, New Jersey Rumson is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,343, a ...

, on August 9, 1911, Dowling was paired with

Jack Hobens John Owen "Jack" Hobens (25 October 1880 – 25 March 1944) was a Scottish-American professional golfer. He was born in Dunbar, Scotland, to Thomas Hoben and Elizabeth (Annie) Owen. He learned the game of golf by starting out as a caddie. Jack h ...

. They won the event easily by posting a round of 68 and beat the second place team of Jack Jolly and Tom Anderson, Jr. who carded a round of 74. The winners received a gold medal and $125 in prize money.

1912 U.S. Open

The 1912 U.S. Open was the 18th

U.S. Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

, held August 1–2 at the

Country Club of Buffalo A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, or de ...

Amherst, New York Amherst () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Erie County, New York, Erie County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. ...

, a suburb east of

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

. The course is now Grover Cleveland Golf Course, owned by Erie County. The Country Club of Buffalo relocated several miles east in 1926 to Williamsville. 20-year-old John McDermott successfully defended his U.S. Open title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Tom McNamara. Dowling carded rounds of 76-79-76-74=305, finished tied for seventh place, and won $45.

1916 PGA Championship

The

was the first

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

and is now considered to be one of

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 ...

's major championships. It was played from October 10–14 at the

Siwanoy Country Club Siwanoy Country Club is a country club located in Eastchester, New York. The club hosted the first PGA Championship in 1916, which was won by Jim Barnes. History Siwanoy Country Club of Mount Vernon was incorporated on May 20, 1901 at the W ...

Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the Adminis ...

, just north of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Dowling opened play in the tournament with a first round bye. In round two he defeated Emmett French 1 up on the first hole of a playoff (37th hole) but lost in the third round (quarterfinals) to

Willie MacFarlane William Macfarlane (29 June 1889 – 15 August 1961) was a Scottish professional golfer. Early life Macfarlane was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. Professional career Like many British golfers of his era, he took a position as a club profess ...

in a stubbornly contested match by the close score of 2 and 1. Dowling had managed to gain entry into the tournament when a west coast player defaulted. To fill the open spot, the PGA held a playoff between Dowling and

Clarence Hackney Clarence W. Hackney (March 10, 1894 – January 4, 1941) was a Scottish-American professional golfer. Early life Hackney was born in Carnoustie, Scotland. He emigrated to the United States in 1913 and became a U.S. citizen in 1921. Golf career ...

, the result of which was 72-75=147 for Dowling and a 165 total for Hackney.

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 ...

was to have been the third player competing for the open spot but he showed up late after the other two players had finished and was disqualified.

Red Cross four-ball match

Dowling, who was paired with Tom McNamara in a match held on September 15, 1918, at Scarsdale Golf Club, defeated

Chick Evans Charles E. "Chick" Evans Jr. (July 18, 1890 – November 6, 1979) was a prominent American amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans, who won the 1910 Western Open, became the first amateur to win both the U.S. Open (golf), U.S. Open and U. ...

(national amateur and open champion), and Bobby Jones, in an

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

four-ball match by the score of 1 up. The proceeds from the match were donated to the Red Cross for its war-time efforts 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 ...

. Dowling took full advantage in winning the match since the event was contested on his home course.

Death

On October 24, 1931, he played 36 holes of golf at

in Roslyn, New York. After the two rounds were concluded, he went to his mother's house in nearby

, where he suffered an acute

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and died at age 41. The bus he was riding in after leaving the golf course had struck and killed a 7-year-old boy.

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (1)

*1921

Other wins (1)

*1911 Eastern PGA Four-Ball Tournament

Results in major championships

''Note: Dowling played only in the U.S. Open and PGA Championship.'' NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" Indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Jack American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Sportspeople from Glen Cove, New York 1890 births 1931 deaths