Aubrey Basil Boomer (1 November 1897 – 2 October 1989) was a professional golfer who played in the early 20th century. Boomer had three top-10 finishes in the Open Championship. He was a frequent competitor in the French Open and won the event five times.

Aubrey Boomer
Boomer, c. 1915
Personal information
Full nameAubrey Basil Boomer
Born(1897-11-01)1 November 1897
Grouville, Jersey
Died2 October 1989(1989-10-02) (aged 91)
Brussels, Belgium
Sporting nationality Jersey
Career
StatusProfessional
Professional wins23
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenT31: 1927
The Open ChampionshipT2: 1927

Early life edit

Boomer was born on 1 November 1897[1] and grew up in Jersey. His father George was a school teacher in Grouville and had, in 1902, designed the La Moye Golf Club. Aubrey's brother Percy (1885–1949) was also a professional golfer.

Golf career edit

Ryder Cup edit

Boomer played in the first two Ryder Cup matches. In the 1927 Ryder Cup contested at Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts the British team was defeated 9½–2½. At his death he was the last surviving member of the 1927 British team, although he was out-lived by Gene Sarazen.[2]

French Open edit

Boomer won the French Open five times—in 1921, 1922, 1926, 1929, and 1931. In the 1921 French Open, Boomer won in a playoff against Arnaud Massy, his former golf teacher. Massy picked up his ball on the 34th hole after being 8 shots behind after 33 holes. Massy had been 3 shots up after 9 holes.[3] In his 1929 victory he beat the St Cloud course record with a score of 61. Horton Smith was second with Gene Sarazen third.

In the 1922 French Open he beat the La Boulie course record, scoring 65 in the third round. Boomer won by 9 strokes from Eugène Lafitte, setting a record score for any national championship.[4]

Belgian Open edit

Boomer twice finished second in the Belgian Open, in 1920 and 1924. In the 1924 tournament he came second on 146. Walter Hagen won with a score of 143. In 1926, one of his best years, he finally broke through and won the event.

1924 Open Championship edit

The 1924 Open Championship was held 26–27 June at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. Walter Hagen won the second of his four Open Championships, one stroke ahead of runner-up Ernest Whitcombe.[5][6] Boomer finished tied for sixth place in the event.

1927 Open Championship edit

The 1927 Open Championship was held 13–15 July at the Old Course at St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. Amateur Bobby Jones successfully defended the title with a six-stroke victory, the second of his three victories at the Open Championship. Boomer and Fred Robson tied for second place, six shots back.

Death edit

He suffered a stroke in Cannes[2] and died later in Brussels on 2 October 1989.[1]

Tournament wins edit

This list may be incomplete

Source: [7]

Results in major championships edit

Tournament 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938
U.S. Open T31 T36 CUT
The Open Championship T26 T17 T6 T26 CUT T2 T6 T15 T21 T18 CUT T12 T15 T32 CUT

Note: Boomer never played in the Masters Tournament nor the PGA Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances edit

  • Great Britain vs USA (representing Great Britain): 1926 (winners)
  • Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain): 1927, 1929 (winners)
  • France–Great Britain Professional Match (representing Great Britain): 1929 (winners)

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Aubrey Boomer - British member of the first Ryder Cup team". The Times. 14 October 1989. p. 12.
  2. ^ a b "Deaths - Boomer, Aubrey". The Times. 10 October 1989. p. 19.
  3. ^ "French Open golf championship - Victory of Boomer". The Times. 2 July 1921. p. 7.
  4. ^ "Golf - Boomer's wonderful score". The Times. 29 June 1922. p. 13.
  5. ^ Prew, Robert J. (28 June 1924). "Hagen scores 301 to win British Open golf title". Milwaukee Sentinel. Universal Service. p. 9. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Hagen wins British title by one stroke". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. 28 June 1924. p. 6. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  7. ^ Huggins, Percy, ed. (1973). The Golfer's Handbook. p. 363.