Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament

The Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament was a pro-am golf tournament played at the Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland. The event was held annually from 1953 to 1966. From 1953 to 1957 it was called the Gleneagles-Saxone Foursomes Tournament. Saxone was a Scottish footwear manufacturer.

Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament
Tournament information
LocationAuchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland
Established1953
Course(s)Gleneagles Hotel
Month playedSeptember/October
Final year1966
Final champion
Alex Caygill and Bernard Cawthray

Detail

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In 1953, 32 professionals were invited who each chose their own amateur partner. The event was played under handicap with the professionals playing off scratch and the amateurs limited to a handicap of 6. Play was over four days with two round played on the third day. The final and 3rd/4th place match were over 18 holes on the fourth day. Total prize money was £3,000.[1]

The 1954 event was severally affected by rain. The first day's play was lost and the first round was played at Carnoustie Golf Links on the second day. The players returned to Gleneagles, where the second and third round were played o the third day and the semi-final and final on the final day. There was a consolation event for those pairs beaten in the first round.

The 1955 event was reduced to three days, using the format used in 1954.

Winners

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Year Winners Country Margin
of victory
Runners-up Winner's
share (£)
Ref
Gleneagles-Saxone Foursomes
1953 Bernard Hunt &
Stewart Ross
  England
  Scotland
2&1   Dai Rees &
G Dixon
500
(pro)
[2]
1954 Bill Branch &
Donald Cameron
  England
  Scotland
1 up   Lambert Topping &
  Jack Taylor
500
(pro)
[3]
1955 Harry Bradshaw &
Joe Carr
  Ireland
  Ireland
4&3   Syd Scott &
  W Sharp
500
(pro)
[4]
1956 John Panton &
W Alexander
  Scotland
  Scotland
2&1   Jimmy Martin &
Joseph Foley-Brickley
500
(pro)
[5]
1957 Eric Brown &
George Will
  Scotland
  Scotland
19 holes   Eric Lester &
A Hill
500
(pro)
[6]
Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes
1958 Donald Swaelens &
Ian McDonald
  Belgium
  Scotland
4&3   Peter Alliss &
  Harold Ridgley
350
(pro)
[7]
1959 Tom Haliburton &
Bill Igoe
  Scotland
  Ireland
7&5   Dave Thomas &
  Alan Thirlwell
350
(pro)
[8]
1960 Dai Rees &
Bill Glennie
  Wales
  Canada
2 up   Ian Smith &
  Harry Bentley
350
(pro)
[9]
1961 Brian Huggett &
Martin Christmas
  Wales
  England
3&1   John Panton &
  D Mackintosh
350
(pro)
[10]
1962 Christy O'Connor Snr &
Noel Fogarty
  Ireland
  Ireland
3&2   Brian Huggett &
  Michael Burgess
350
(pro)
[11]
1963 Peter Butler &
David Kelley
  England
  England
2 up   John Jacobs &
  Joe Carr
350
(pro)
[12]
1964 Ken Bousfield &
Keith Warren
  England
  England
6&5   Malcolm Gregson &
  Michael Burgess
350
(pro)
[13]
1965 Brian Huggett &
Michael Burgess
  Wales
  England
4&3   Tony Coop &
  Ben Crabtree
350
(pro)
[14]
1966 Alex Caygill &
Bernard Cawthray
  England
  England
3&2   Henry Cotton &
  Peter Benka
350
(pro)
[15]

References

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  1. ^ "£3,000 Foursomes". The Birmingham Post. 27 November 1952. p. 10. Retrieved 7 January 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ "Back-markers beaten in both finals – Gleneagles-Saxone Tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 24 October 1953. p. 9.
  3. ^ "Scottish amateur's part in foursomes success – Professional's tribute to Cameron". The Glasgow Herald. 22 October 1954. p. 4.
  4. ^ "Carr and Bradshaw win Saxone foursomes – Amateur's long hitting decisive". The Glasgow Herald. 7 October 1955. p. 4.
  5. ^ "Glenbervie pair's success in foursomes – Panton completes fine year". The Glasgow Herald. 19 October 1956. p. 4.
  6. ^ "Spectacular win for Brown and Will – Gleneagles-Saxone final". The Glasgow Herald. 11 October 1957. p. 4.
  7. ^ "Surprise winners of Gleneagles event – Favourites well beaten". The Glasgow Herald. 6 October 1958. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Back-markers well beaten – Gleneagles final". The Glasgow Herald. 3 October 1959. p. 9.
  9. ^ "Glennie and Rees win foursomes event – Remarkable finish to final". The Glasgow Herald. 1 October 1960. p. 5.
  10. ^ "Christmas continues successful run – Poor weather for foursomes". The Glasgow Herald. 30 September 1961. p. 5.
  11. ^ "Win for O'Connor and Fogarty – first Irish pair to succeed at Gleneagles Hotel". The Glasgow Herald. 27 October 1962. p. 5.
  12. ^ "Butler and Kelley win at Gleneagles Hotel". The Glasgow Herald. 26 October 1963. p. 6.
  13. ^ "Coombe Hill pair's foursomes title – Victory by 6&5 in final". The Glasgow Herald. 24 October 1964. p. 6.
  14. ^ "Gleneagles Hotel foursomes – Victory For Burgess and Huggett in final". The Glasgow Herald. 23 October 1965. p. 5.
  15. ^ "Cotton's challenge ends gallantly". The Glasgow Herald. 29 October 1966. p. 11.