William Doleman (16 September 1838 – 8 July 1918) was a Scottish amateur golfer. Doleman placed sixth in the 1865 Open Championship. He placed fifth in the

1869 Open Championship The 1869 Open Championship was the tenth Open Championship and was held on 16 September at Prestwick Golf Club. Young Tom Morris won the championship for the second successive time, by 11 strokes from Bob Kirk. Just 14 players entered the Cham ...

and was third in the

1872 Open Championship The 1872 Open Championship was the 12th Open Championship, held 13 September at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Tom Morris Jr. won the Championship for the fourth successive time, by three strokes from runner-up D ...

. He is reputed to have been the first person to have played golf in Canada when he visited as a sailor in 1854. He was a regular competitor in

The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

from its foundation in 1885, making his last appearance at Royal North Devon in 1912 at the age of 73. His brothers John,

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

, and Frank were also golfers. He is best remembered for having seven top-10 finishes in the Open Championship, including a third-place finish in 1872.

Early life

Doleman was born in

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, on 16 September 1838.

Golf career

1865 Open Championship

The 1865 Open Championship was held on 14 September at

Prestwick Golf Club Prestwick Golf Club is a golf course in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is approximately southwest of Scotland's largest city, Glasgow. Prestwick is a classic links course, built on the rolling sandy land between the beach and the hi ...

Andrew Strath Andrew Anderson Strath (1 March 1837 – 23 February 1868) was a Scottish professional golfer who played in the mid-19th century. He won the 1865 Open Championship. In total, he accumulated six top-10 finishes in The Open Championship. Early li ...

won the championship by two shots from

Willie Park, Sr. 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 ...

There were 12 competitors. Strath had the lead after the first round on 55, one stroke ahead of

Willie Dow William Dow (born ) was a Scottish professional golfer. He had six top-10 finishes in the Open Championship. Dow placed third in both the 1861 and 1865 Open Championships. Early life Dow was born in Musselburgh, Scotland, circa 1839. Golf care ...

and Park, and two ahead of

Old Tom Morris Thomas Mitchell Morris (16 June 1821 – 24 May 1908), otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died ...

. Making his debut,

Young Tom Morris Thomas Morris (20 April 1851 – 25 December 1875), better known as Young Tom Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four co ...

scored 60. After two rounds, Park was in the lead with a total of 108 after a round of 52 with Strath a shot behind on 109. Both Dow and Morris dropped out of contention after poor rounds. In the final round, Park scored 56 while Strath took 53 to give him a two stroke victory. Doleman finished in sixth place.

1869 Open Championship

The

was held on 16 September at Prestwick Golf Club. Tom Morris, Jr., sometimes otherwise known as "Young Tom Morris", won the championship for the second successive time, by 11 strokes from

Bob Kirk Robert Kirk (9 March 1845 – 1 December 1886) was a Scottish professional golfer. He was born at St Andrews, Scotland, and died there. His golf career was highlighted by second-place finishes in The Open Championship in 1869 and again in 1878. ...

. Just 14 players entered the Championship. Doleman improved from his effort in the 1865 Open Championship by finishing in the fifth spot. He posted rounds of 60-56-59=175. Tom Morris, Jr. dominated the championship, leading by three strokes after the first round, four after second and eventually winning by 11 strokes. After the first round

Davie Strath David Strath (c. 1849 – 28 January 1879) was a Scottish professional golfer. His golf career was highlighted with a trio of second-place finishes in the 1870, 1873 and 1876 Open Championships. In 1876, he lost the playoff to fellow countryman ...

and Bob Kirk were both three shots behind Morris. Strath was in second place after two rounds but finished with a 60 to finish third behind Kirk who scored 57. Morris's first round included a hole-in-one at the 8th hole and his total of 50 (6-4-4-6-5-5-3-1-6-3-3-4) was only one behind his record of the previous year. In the second round Kirk took four strokes in one bunker (the "Alps"), scoring 10, while in the last round he took three shots in another (the "Cardinal's Nob"). He had four twos over the three rounds.

1872 Open Championship

The

was held 13 September at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire,

. Scottish professional

Tom Morris, Jr. Thomas Morris (20 April 1851 – 25 December 1875), better known as Young Tom Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four con ...

won the Championship for the fourth successive time, by three strokes from runner-up

, having been five shots behind Strath before the final round. He was just old. Doleman played impressively, finishing in third place with rounds of 63-60-54=177. As an amateur, he was not eligible to accept any prize money.

Death and legacy

In 1911 he was living at 8 West Graham Street in Glasgow. Doleman died on 8 July 1918 in

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. He is buried in the lower southmost section of the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian era, Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of St. Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow, Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have ...

Family

He was married to Annie Young who died in 1932 and was buried with him.Doleman grave, Glasgow Necropolis

Results in The Open Championship

''Note: Doleman played only 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

.'' NT = no tournament
? = competed, finish unknown
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doleman, William Scottish male golfers Amateur golfers Golfers from Musselburgh 1838 births 1918 deaths Burials at the Glasgow Necropolis