James Douglas Edgar

James Douglas Edgar (30 September 1884 – 8 August 1921) was an English professional golfer and golf writer.

James Douglas Edgar
Edgar preparing to hit a shot (c. 1910)
Personal information
Full nameJames Douglas Edgar
Born(1884-09-30)30 September 1884
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Died8 August 1921(1921-08-08) (aged 36)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Sporting nationality England
Career
StatusProfessional
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins4
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
Other1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentNYF
PGA Championship2nd: 1920
U.S. OpenT20: 1920
The Open ChampionshipT14: 1914

Early life

Edgar was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He won the French Open in 1914. He coached the young player Tommy Armour, who became a prominent professional after 1920; Armour later praised Edgar as having helped him the most. The legendary Harry Vardon stated that Edgar was on his way to becoming a player who could surpass everyone.[1]

Golf career

Edgar emigrated to the United States in April 1919, following World War I. He was the head professional at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta. Edgar played frequently with the young Bobby Jones at the Atlanta Athletic Club (the site of today's East Lake Golf Club) from 1919 to 1921. He mentored and coached Jones during this period as well. Jones developed into one of the dominant golfers of the 1920s.[2] Edgar was a friend of Alexa Stirling and gave her golf lessons while he was the professional at Druid Hills.[3]

Edgar won the Canadian Open in 1919 at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club by a record 16 strokes (a winning margin which still stands for a PGA Tour event),[4] with Jones and Jim Barnes tying for second,[5] and came back the next year to win that title again. He lost the 1920 PGA Championship, one of golf's majors, in a match play final to Jock Hutchison. During 1919–20, Edgar was among the top players in the world.

Edgar wrote a golf book entitled The Gate to Golf, based on his discoveries made in England. Edgar had an ailing hip which he could not turn freely. Through experimentation, he found that a restricted hip turn still allowed a repeatable swing with excellent power and control. This book proved to have significant impact on golf instruction, right up to the present time.[2]

Death

Edgar's death was mysterious. He was found late at night on an Atlanta street, bleeding heavily from a deep wound in his leg, and died in the street before any trained help could arrive.[3] The case was turned over to police but never solved. He left a wife and two children in England. In an article published in Sports Illustrated in April 2010, writer Steve Eubanks wrote that Edgar was having an affair with a married Atlanta woman, and that this likely played a central role in Edgar's death.[2] Eubanks' article was an excerpt from his book To Win and Die in Dixie, a biography of Edgar published later that year. Edgar was buried in Westview Cemetery in Atlanta.[3]

Tournament wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (3)

Other wins (1)

this list may be incomplete

Results in major championships
Tournament 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921
U.S. Open NT NT T21 T20
The Open Championship CUT CUT 43 T50 T26 T38 T47 T20 T39 T14 NT NT NT NT NT T26
PGA Championship NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NYF NT NT QF 2

Note: The Masters Tournament was not founded until 1934.

  Top 10
  Did not play

NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

See also

References
  1. Eubanks
  2. Eubanks, Steve (5 April 2010). "Gone with the Swing". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 112, no. 156. Archived from the original on 16 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  3. Rylands, Traci (17 January 2014). "Atlanta's Other Golf Great: The Mysterious Death of J. Douglas Edgar". Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  4. Kelley, Brent. "Largest Margin of Victory on the PGA Tour". About.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  5. "Barnes Has Close Call In Tourney: Sunset Hill Golfer Hard Pressed to Defeat Otto Hackbarth by 3 and 2: Stages Great Comeback" (PDF). The New York Times. New York. 18 September 1919. p. 11. Retrieved 18 December 2015.

Books
  • Elliott, Len; Kelly, Barbara (1976). Who's Who in Golf. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House. p. 57. ISBN 0-87000-225-2.
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