The President's Putter is an annual golf competition contested between former and current Blues golfers from

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

and Cambridge universities. The event is held every January at the

Rye Golf Club The Rye Golf Club is a semi-private, municipally-owned country club in Rye, New York, and one of five constituent properties of the National Historic Landmark Boston Post Road Historic District. The centerpiece of the parcel is an 1854 Gothic ...

Rye, East Sussex is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederati ...

with the first tournament held in 1920. Those eligible to play are current and former alumni of the universities who are members of the Oxford & Cambridge Golfing Society, thus the golfers are usually amateurs and ages may vary between 20 and 70+ years. The tournament is played by scratch match play and the winner receives a silver medal in exchange for his or her winning ball, i.e. the ball with which he or she last played in the final - this ball is then attached to the Putter by means of a silver band and a silver chain. The 3 different Putters bearing the winners' golf balls are on permanent display in the clubhouse at Rye GC. Past winners include five time tournament winner

Roger Wethered Roger Henry Wethered (3 January 1899 – 12 March 1983) was an English amateur golfer, and the brother of female golfer Joyce Wethered. Early life Born in Surrey, Wethered was the only son of Herbert Newton Wethered and his wife Marion Emmel ...

, Cyril Tolley and Charlie Rotheroe. Rotheroe won his third tournament in 2008. The cricketer,

Iain Henderson William Iain Henderson (born 21 February 1992) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays lock for Ulster, Ireland, and the British and Irish Lions. He has been the captain of Ulster since the 2019, and first captained Ireland in 2021 ...

, is a two-time winner. The President's Putter itself was first given to the Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society by John Low and it originally belonged to Hugh Kirkaldy. When this Putter was "full" and could accommodate no more balls, a second Putter was introduced; this belonged to

Laurie Auchterlonie Lawrence Auchterlonie (8 December 1867 – 20 January 1948) was a Scottish professional golfer, a native of St Andrews. In 1902, representing the Glen View Club, he won the eighth U.S. Open at Garden City Golf Club in Garden City, New York. Ea ...

. The third and current Putter was brought into use in 1983 and was made by

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 ...

winner

Willie Park, Snr. William Park Sr. (30 June 1833 – 25 July 1903) was a Scottish professional golfer. He was a 4-time winner of the Open Championship. Early life Park was born in Wallyford, East Lothian, Scotland. Like some of the other early professional gol ...

References

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External links

Rye Golf Club website
Amateur golf tournaments in the United Kingdom 1920 establishments in the United Kingdom Recurring sporting events established in 1920 January sporting events Sport in East Sussex