William Rufus Clyde Stewart (27 September 1893 – 23 April 1964) was an Australian professional golfer. He won the 1927

Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...

and the 1929 Australian Professional Championship. In 1928 he travelled to Britain and America, playing in the

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 ...

and the U.S. Open. He also travelled to Europe in 1931, again playing in the Open Championship.

Early life

Stewart was born in

Alberton, South Australia Alberton is a metropolitan suburb in the west of Adelaide, South Australia, about 20 minutes drive from the city. Part of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, it is bordered by the suburbs of Rosewater, South Australia, Rosewater, Queenstown, Sout ...

but when he was young the family moved to Seaton. Adelaide Golf Club moved near to where he lived in 1906 and Stewart became a caddie at the club. Stewart was initially associated with Adelaide Golf Club but later became the professional at the old Glenelg Golf Club, at North Adelaide Golf Course and then the first professional at Kooyonga Golf Club, which opened in 1923.

Professional career

Stewart played in his first

in September 1909, at Royal Melbourne. He finished 36 strokes behind the winner but was the second South Australian, 4 strokes behind

James Scott James Scott may refer to: Entertainment * James Scott (composer) (1885–1938), African-American ragtime composer * James Scott (director) (born 1941), British filmmaker * James Scott (actor) (born 1979), British television actor * James Scott (Sh ...

, the Adelaide professional. The 1910 Open was held at Stewart's home club, Adelaide Golf Club, the first time it had been held in South Australia. A 36-hole event for professionals was held on the day before the Open started, Stewart finishing second behind

Dan Soutar Daniel Gordon Soutar (3 December 1882 – 30 November 1937) was a professional golfer who played a significant role in the development of Australian golf. He was a native of Scotland who brought his expertise and dedication to the sport, impactin ...

. In the Open itself he finished tied for 8th place, the third professional and the leading South Australian. Stewart didn't travel to Sydney for 1911 Open but played again at Royal Melbourne in 1912. He was third after the first day but finished in a tie for 7th place. The 1913 Open was again played at Royal Melbourne. Stewart was tied for second place after the first day. He needed a 5 at the final hole to finish third and take the £10 prize as the leading professional. However he took 9 and finished 6th, 3 strokes behind Dan Soutar. Two 36-hole professional events were played on the Royal Melbourne course after the Open, Stewart finishing joint runner-up in the first and runner-up in the second, behind Soutar on both occasions. Stewart resumed his playing career after

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 ...

. He finished tied for 6th place in the 1920

, tied for 4th place in 1921, 6th in 1923 when it returned to Adelaide and 5th in 1925. He also reached the final of the professional tournament played after the 1923 Open, losing to

Fred Popplewell Frederick Popplewell (12 June 1887 – 5 July 1966) was an Australian professional golfer. He won the Australian Open twice, in 1925 and 1928. Early life Popplewell became as assistant at Royal Sydney Golf Club in about 1903. He was briefly em ...

. In 1924 he qualified as the South Australian representative in the

Sun Tournament The Sun-Herald Tournament was a golf tournament held in Australia from 1924 to 1926. It was the first Australian tournament with significant prize money and was run along the lines of the British News of the World Match Play. The first event in 192 ...

in Sydney, although he lost to Walter Clark in the first round. 1926 saw him come closer to success. He was runner-up and the leading professional in the Australian Open, and then lost in the semi-final of the professional tournament to Ted Smith, at the fifth extra hole. Later in the year he was joint runner-up, behind Smith, in the Victorian Professional Championship. Stewart had his biggest success in 1927, winning the

at Royal Melbourne.

Harry Sinclair Harry Alan Sinclair (born 1959) is a New Zealand film director, writer and actor. In his early career he was an actor and member of The Front Lawn, a musical theatre duo. He went on to write and direct several short films, a TV series and th ...

led after the first day with Stewart one of four players in second place, 3 strokes behind. Stewart had a third round of 72, to Sinclair's 78, to lead the field, and a final round of 75 gave him victory by 2 strokes from Sinclair. Later in the year he won the inaugural South Australian Professional Championship, 5 strokes ahead of Fergus McMahon. Following his Australian Open win, Stewart was sponsored to play in the 1928 Open Championship at

Royal St George's The Royal St George's Golf Club is a golf club located in Sandwich, Kent, England. It is one of the courses on The Open Championship rota, and the only one in South East England. It has hosted 15 Open championships, the first in 1894 when it b ...

. He was accompanied by Howard Brown who acted as his manager. Brown was the owner of Brown Brothers, a chair manufacturer. They arrived in Britain in early-April and left for America in early-June. Stewart's first event was the Roehampton Invitation Tournament, where he failed to reach the match-play stage. The Open Championship was played from 9 to 11 May with qualifying on 7 and 8 May. 113 players qualified with Stewart tying for 6th place. In the championship itself he had rounds of 79 and 75 to make the cut. However, on the final day he had rounds of 82 and 79 and finished tied for 37th place. He then played in the

Yorkshire Evening News Tournament The Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was a professional golf tournament that was held in the Leeds area of Yorkshire, England between 1923 and 1963. It was a fixture on the British PGA tournament circuit, which would later become the European To ...

where he qualified for the match-play stage but lost in the last-16. He then played in the Irish Open at Royal County Down at the end of May, finishing with a score of 313. After travelling to the United States, he played in the 1928 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields near Chicago, scoring 80 and 83 and missing the cut. He then competed in the Mid-American Open at Lakewood Golf Club in Kansas City at the end of June, finishing in 13th place, and returned to Australia in mid-August. The 1928

was played in early-September at Royal Sydney. Stewart started with a 78 but recovered to finish runner-up, a stroke behind

. Later in 1928 he lost in the final of the South Australian Professional Championship to Fergus McMahon but won the Victorian Professional Championship, two ahead of Billy Bolger. Stewart continued his good form in 1929. He reached the final of the Victorian Professional Championship, but lost 6&5 to Reg Jupp. He made a bad start in the Australian Open at Royal Adelaide, but recovered to finish joint runner-up behind

Ivo Whitton Ivo Harrington Whitton (9 December 1893 – 2 July 1967) was an Australian amateur golfer, who, along with Greg Norman, is the only Australian to have won the Australian Open five times (1912, 1913, 1926, 1929 and 1931). Early life Whitto ...

, as he had been in 1926. The following week he won the Australian Professional Championship beating Ernie Bissett 8&7 in the final. Later in the year he again lost the final of the South Australian Professional Championship to McMahon. In 1930, Stewart was again runner-up in the

, the fifth year in a row that he was either winner or a runner-up. The following week he was again runner-up, losing in the final of the Australian Professional Championship. In 1931 Stewart won the Spalding Australian Professional Overseas Championship, the main prize being an expenses-paid trip to play in the 1931 Open Championship at

Carnoustie Carnoustie (; ) is a town and former police burgh in the subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the UK census 2011, 2011 census, Carnoustie had a population of ...

. He won the South Australian 72-hole qualifying stage at Kooyonga in late-February by 15 strokes with a score of 287. The final stage was at Victoria Golf Club in mid-March with the five state winners competing over 72 holes. Stewart won by 6 strokes from George Naismith, the Victorian representative. Stewart left Australia in early-April, arriving in England in early-May. He played in the Dunlop-Southport Tournament, where he finished with a score of 311, and then the

, where failed to qualify for the match-play stage. He then played in an unusual "approaching and putting championship", finishing 9 strokes behind the winner. As in 1928, Stewart successfully qualified for the Open Championship and made the cut, finishing with a score of 315, in a tie for 47th place. He left England in mid-June after playing in the

French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...

and returned to Adelaide in late-July. Stewart continued to win in South Australia, eventually winning the South Australian Professional Championship six times. He also won the South Australian Close Championship in 1934 and the South Australian Dunlop Cup twice. In 1934 he was selected as one of the six-man Australian team to play the United States in the inaugural Lakes International Cup. The Australians lost heavily, losing all 9 matches.

Later life

Stewart retired as professional at Kooyonga in the late 1940s, being replaced by Jim Mills. A testimonial was organised for him in 1946 and 1947. He died on 23 April 1964.

Professional wins

*1927

Results in major championships

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

Team appearances

* Lakes International Cup (representing Australia): 1934 * Vicars Shield (representing South Australia): 1930 (winners), 1931 (winners), 1932, 1933, 1935 (winners), 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1946

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Rufus Australian male golfers Golfers from Adelaide 1893 births 1964 deaths Sportsmen from South Australia 20th-century Australian sportsmen