John Fallon (29 April 1913 – 7 December 1985) was a Scottish

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 ...

whose career spanned the years either side of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was born in

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. Although never a winner of a major tournament of note, Fallon often contended with high finishes – he lost the final of the 1954

British PGA Matchplay Championship 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 b ...

, and was perhaps most unlucky that he missed out on a potential

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

that might have been played at

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's four ...

during the war years. He had placed third there in 1939, and then second in 1955, each time by just a handful of strokes. Fallon played on the

1955 Ryder Cup The 11th Ryder Cup Matches were held November 5–6, 1955, at Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. The United States team won its seventh consecutive competition by a score of 8 to 4 points. Format The Ryder Cup is a match ...

team and in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

he was non-playing captain of the Great Britain

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

team.

Professional wins

*1937

Leeds Cup The Leeds Cup is a golf tournament that has been played annually in northern England since 1902. The event is organised by the north region of the Professional Golfers' Association. It is the oldest trophy in professional golf that is still play ...

*1949

*1950

Northern Professional Championship The Northern Professional Championship was a professional golf tournament played in Northern England. The event was generally a regional tournament but from 1923 and 1927 and in 1936 it was an open event with significant prize money. The event w ...

*1956 Stuart C. Goodwin Tournament (tie with Eric Brown)

Results in major championships

''Note: Fallon only played in The Open Championship.''
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain):

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yiji ...

(non-playing captain) *

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 ...

(representing Scotland): 1936, 1937, 1938 * Triangular Professional Tournament (representing Scotland): 1937 * Llandudno International Golf Trophy (representing Scotland): 1938

References

*Alliss, Peter: "The Who's Who of Golf" (1983), Orbis Publishing Ltd, Scottish male golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Sportspeople from Lanark 1913 births 1985 deaths {{Scotland-golf-bio-stub