James Benjamin Batley (1876–1964) 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 ...

. His main successes came in foursomes events, winning the 1909

London Professional Foursomes Tournament The London Professional Foursomes Tournament was a professional golf tournament played annually from 1907 to 1911. In 1909 the southern section of the PGA took over the organisation of the event which was called the Southern Professional Foursomes ...

and the 1914

Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament The Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament was a professional golf tournament played annually from 1911 to 1914. Total prize money was £350 provided by the owners of ''The Sphere'' and ''The Tatler''. The winners received individual silver troph ...

. He played for England in the 1912

England–Scotland Professional Match The England–Scotland Professional Match was an annual men's professional golf competition between teams representing England and Scotland. It was played from 1903 to the start of World War I and was then revived in 1932 and played until the star ...

Golf career

In 1909 Batley won the

, playing with William Horne. The 36-hole final against

James Bradbeer Cuthbert James Hunt Bradbeer (1880 – 18 August 1937) was an English professional golfer who played in the early 20th century. His best finish in a major championship was a tie for seventh in the 1913 Open Championship held on 23–24 June at R ...

and

George Charles Sir George Frederick Lawrence Charles (7 June 1916 – 26 July 2004) was a trade unionist, politician, founder of the Saint Lucia Labour Party and Chief Minister of Saint Lucia (1 January 1960 – 22 April 1964). He is a recipient of Saint Lucia's ...

was played at

Walton Heath Golf Club Walton Heath Golf Club is a golf club in England, near Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey, southwest of London. Founded in 1903, the club comprises two 18-hole golf courses, both of which are well known for having heather covering many of the areas ...

on 26 May and resulted in a convincing win for Batley and Horne by a score of 11&10. He was runner-up in the 1913

Tooting Bec Cup The Tooting Bec Cup is a trophy currently awarded by the Professional Golfers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland to the association member born in, or with a parent or parents born in, the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland who returns ...

. He had finished joint leader in the southern section qualifying competition for the

with

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 ...

, played at

Fulwell Golf Club Fulwell Golf Course, operated by Fulwell Golf Club, is a golf course and centre comprising an 18-hole course located in Fulwell in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, west London. It is adjacent to the 9 hole Twickenham Golf Course, cu ...

Rowland Jones Rowland Jones (1722–1774) was a Welsh lawyer and philologist of radical linguistic views. Life He was the second son of John Williams of Bachellyn, Llanbedrog, Carnarvonshire, where he was born. He spent some time as clerk in the office of hi ...

and Ted Ray had similarly been joint leaders at Denham Golf Club, where the remaining half of the section played. A playoff between the four players would determine the winner of the Tooting Bec Cup. The playoff did not take place for nearly a year, being played on 14 April 1914 at

Thorpe Hall Golf Club Thorpe is a variant of the Middle English word ''thorp'', meaning hamlet or small village. Thorpe may refer to: People * Thorpe (surname), including a list of people with the name Places England * Thorpe, Cumbria *Thorpe, Derbyshire * Thorpe ...

. 18 holes were played and resulted in another tie. Batley and Ray scoring 74, with Jones on 77 and Vardon on 78. There was then a further playoff on 20 April 1914 at

Old Fold Manor Golf Club Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

. Again 18 holes were played, Ray winning with a score of 74 to Batley's 76. In 1914 he won the

in partnership with

Len Holland Leonard Holland (born c. 1888) was an English professional golfer. He finished in the top-10 in the Open Championship in 1920 and 1924. He was brought up in Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk and was later professional at Northamptonshire County Golf Club ...

, beating the Scottish pair of C McIntosh and George Smith 5&4 in the final. Batley was Chairman of the PGA in 1928–29 and was a selector for the

1929 Ryder Cup The 2nd Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Moortown Golf Club in Leeds, England. It was very cold, with hail and at one point heavy snow on the greens. About two thousand spectators saw America gain a narrow lead after the foursome matches bef ...

team.

Professional wins

*1909

(with William Horne) *1914

(with

)

Results in major championships

''Note: Batley only played in The Open Championship.''
WD = withdrew
? = finish unknown
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

(representing England): 1912 (tie)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batley, James English male golfers People from Bethnal Green 1876 births 1964 deaths