Thomas Peter Dobson (26 December 1903 – 1 September 1968) 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 ...

. He won the

Scottish Amateur The Scottish Amateur is the national amateur match play golf championship of Scotland. It has been played since 1922 and is organised by the Scottish Golf Union. It is a "closed" event with entry currently restricted to those who were either bo ...

in 1925. As a professional he represented Scotland on many occasions in the 1930s.

Early life

Dobson was born in

Gullane Gullane ( or ) is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twel ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

in late 1903. His father was a starter at the golf course there.

Golf career

Dobson was employed as a greenkeeper, and later a foreman greenkeeper, at

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for T ...

. Despite his employment he remained an amateur and in 1925 he won the

, an event which had only started in 1922. He defeated John Caven at the 22nd hole in his semi-final and then beat

Willis Mackenzie Willis may refer to: Places United States * Willis, Florida, an unincorporated community * Willis, Kansas, a city * Willis, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Willis, Nebraska, an unincorporated community * Willis, Oklahoma, an unincorpor ...

3&2 in the final. Both Caven and Mackenzie had played in the 1922 and 1923

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...

matches. Dobson turned professional late in 1925, becoming the professional at

East Renfrewshire Golf Club East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact ...

Newton Mearns Newton Mearns ( ) is a suburban town and the largest settlement in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the A77 road, main road to Ayrshire, above sea level. It has a population of approximately 26,993, stre ...

, south-west of Glasgow. He was runner-up in the Scottish Professional Championship in 1929 and 1931, and also runner-up in the

Northern Open The Northern Open is a golf tournament played annually in Scotland since 1931. For some years it was one of only two 72-hole tournaments on the "Tartan Tour", the PGA Tour in Scotland's schedule, the other being the Scottish PGA Championship, bu ...

in 1936. When the professional internationals were restarted in 1932, Dobson was a regular for the Scottish team, playing in all the internationals up to the war, except for the 1938 England match at

Royal St George's Golf Club 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 ...

, where he withdrew from team. He played a number of times 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 ...

. In

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

, he was tied for 7th at the halfway stage but rounds of 85 and 83 on the final day dropped him to 51st of the 54 who had made the cut.

Death

Dobson died on 1 September 1968 in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, aged 65.

Amateur wins

*1925

Results in major championships

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

Team appearances

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): 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937 *

Ireland–Scotland Professional Match The Ireland–Scotland Professional Match was an annual men's professional golf competition between teams representing Ireland and Scotland. It was played from 1932 to 1936. The match was played on a single day with 10 players in each team who play ...

(representing Scotland): 1932 (tie), 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936 * Triangular Professional Tournament (representing Scotland): 1937 (winners) *

Llandudno International Golf Trophy The Llandudno International Golf Trophy was a professional team match play golf tournament that was played at the Maesdu Golf Club from 28 to 30 September 1938. The tournament was contested between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. It was int ...

(representing Scotland): 1938

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Tom Scottish male golfers Golfers from East Lothian 1903 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Scottish sportsmen