Midland Professional Championship

The event was originally organised by the Midland Professional Golf Club, an early professional golfers' association. The club held its first meeting at Edgbaston golf club on 9 December 1897.[1] A 36-hole stroke-play tournament was held, 25 professionals competing, followed by a business meeting at which officers were elected.[2] Thomas Whare, the North Warwickshire professional, won with a score of 155, two strokes ahead of David Duncan and Frank Wingate. The initial plan was to hold four meetings a year.[3] The second tournament was held at the Sutton Coldfield club in February 1898 and was won by Tom Williamson with a score of 162.[4] At a meeting following the event it was decided to hold a Championship meeting at Harborne on 12 May, to be played over 54 holes.[5]

The first championship meeting, in 1898, took an unusual form. There was a 36-hole tournament, which determined the distribution of the cash prizes. The leading 12 players then competed over a further 18 holes, the leading score over the 54 holes decided the championship with the runner-up also receiving a gold medal.[6] The 36-hole stage was won by Sydney Wingate, with a score of 157, with Thomas Whare two strokes behind. A number of the leading 12 did not complete in the third round of the day. Wingate was paired with David Brown, the 1886 Open Champion, for the final round. Brown scored 35 for the first nine, to Wingate's 41, to lead by a stroke. Both took 41 for the second nine to give Brown a one stroke win over Wingate, with George Cawsey a further shot behind.[7][8][9] Two further events were held in 1898, at Bulwell in August and at Olton in November. Harry Vardon was present at Olton and played a 9-hole foursomes after the tournament. Also at Olton, Edward Chance took over as president of the club.[10][11]

The Midland Professional Golf Club again held four tournaments in 1899, in February at Kings Norton, in May at Sandwell Park, in September at Robin Hood and in November at Handsworth. The championship was contested at Sandwell Park but, unlike 1898, it was played as a 36-hole event like the other tournaments. Alfred Toogood won the championship. by a stroke from James Sherlock.[12] In 1900 the schedule was reduced to two, a championship meeting in April and an open meeting in October, open to professionals from outside the Midland region. Tom Williamson won the championship, two strokes ahead of George Cawsey.[13] The same format was used in 1901 with James Sherlock winning the championship, four strokes ahead of Cawsey.[14]

In early 1902 the Midland Counties Competition, an organisation that ran some important amateur competitions in the Midlands and a predecessor of the current Midland Golf Union, passed a resolution recommending that clubs in the region subscribe a maximum of two guineas towards prize money in the two Midland professional tournaments. A sub-committee with Edward Chance as chairman, was created to organise the distribution of prize money.[15] The initiative proved successful and helped fund the events. Also in 1902 the Midland Professional Golf Club amalgamated with the Professional Golfers' Association, which had been formed in 1901, becoming the Midland section of the PGA.[16] Tom Williamson won the April event for a second time.[17] The open autumn tournament saw Harry Vardon, JH Taylor, and James Braid competing and was won by JH Taylor.[18]

The 1903 championship was won for a second time by James Sherlock, nine strokes ahead of the field. Sherlock was presented with a silver cup donated by Edward Chance.[19] The "Chance Cup" became associated with the championship until the 1920s, although when it was first presented is unclear. 1903 also saw the first News of the World Match Play tournament, the first national event organised by the PGA. Each section was allocated a number of places in the final stage, the Midland section having 5 of the 32 places available. The autumn event acted as the qualifying event.[20] A new trophy, the "Midland Challenge Cup", was purchased for the autumn competition.[21]

Alfred Lewis won in 1904, a stroke ahead of James Sherlock. Tom Williamson and his brother Harry because of the sudden death of their mother.[22] 1905 saw the first tie in the championship, between James Sherlock and Tom Williamson, both on 159. It was decided that the championship would be decided based on their performances at the autumn meeting.[23] Williamson won the autumn tournament, thus winning both the Midland Challenge Cup and the Chance Cup.[24] Sherlock and Williamson were absent from the 1906 championship and the tournament was won by Jack Fulford.[25] Williamson won the championship in 1907 and 1909 and was runner-up to George Cawsey in 1908.[26][27][28] Edward Veness won in 1910, ahead of Jack Oke, with Williamson in third place.[29]

1911 saw the introduction of a second event for which sectional qualification was required. the Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament. Qualification was based on individual stroke-play, qualifiers being drawn randomly into pairs for the finals stage. The Midland section was allocated 9 of the 64 places. The Midland section took the opportunity to switch the events; the Midland Challenge Cup being played as an open event in April, serving as the qualifying for the Sphere and Tatler Foursomes in May, while the championship and Chance Cup were played as a closed event in the autumn and acted as qualification for the News of the World Match Play.[30][31] The reversal of the events caused some confusion in the press. Tom Williamson won the championship.[32] The 1912 championship resulted in a tie between George Buckle and Harry Cawsey.[33] They had a playoff the following morning but were still tied after both scored 76. They then played a further 18 holes in the afternoon which Buckle won, scoring 79 and Cawsey's 82.[34] George Tuck won the championship in 1913 while the 1914 tournament was cancelled for the start of World War I.[35]

The championship restarted in 1919, acting again as qualification for the News of the World Match Play. 10 places were available instead of the pre-war 5, the main event have been extended from 32 players to 64. Bert Weastell and Len Holland tied on 149, Weastell winning the 9-hole playoff, played the same evening.[36] Although the Sphere and Tatler Foursomes was not revived after the war, another event, the Daily Mail Tournament, replaced it in the calendar and also involved sectional qualifying. The Midland Challenge Cup continued to be played in April while the championship continued to be played in September. In 1920 there was a three-way tie between Tom Williamson, George Buckle and Dick Wheildon.[37] The following day there was a 36-hole playoff but Williamson and Wheildon were still tied and only after a further 9-hole playoff did Williamson win.[38] In 1921 it was reported that the professionals were keen to separate the championship from the News of the World qualifying, and an extra event was organised in July for the qualifying.[39] However the experiment was not repeated and from 1922 the September event reverted to covering both the championship and the qualifying. There was a surprise winner in 1921 when Willie Robertson won.[40] However Tom Williamson won again in 1922 for what was to be the final time.[41]

George Buckle, the 1912 champion, won in 1923 beating Ernest Hanton in the 18-hole playoff, played the following day.[42] There was a four-way tie in 1924, Jack Bloxham winning the 18-hole playoff by two strokes.[43] Buckle won for the third time in 1925, this time by three strokes.[44] Ted Douglas, who had spent many year in New Zealand, won in 1926.[45] In 1927 Tom Barber and Archie Compston tied on 147.[46] Compston left immediately after the championship to play in the German Open and did not turn up for the playoff on the following day, Barber being awarded the championship by default.[47]

The Daily Mail Tournament was not played from 1928 to 1935 and the opportunity was taken to separate the News of the World Match Play qualifying from the championship. The Midland Challenge Cup was awarded to the winner of the News of the World qualifying event, as was the case before 1911. In 1928 this was held in June with the championship in September but from 1929 the order was reversed, with the championship played in the early part of the year and the News of the World qualifying in September. There was a 5-way tie in the 1928 championship.[48] Frank Weston won the 18-hole playoff the following day by two strokes.[49] There was another playoff in 1929. George Buckle beat Tom Green by two strokes, for his fourth championship win.[50] Green won a stroke in 1930 and retained the title in 1931, winning by four strokes.[51][52] In 1932 Tom Barber won the title for a second time after a three-way playoff.[53] Charlie Ward won the title in 1933 by two strokes from Barber and Algy Holton.[54]

From 1934 to 1937 Dunlop sponsored a number of regional events. In most cases these were new events but for the Midland region they sponsored the existing Midland Professional Championship. Charlie Ward retained the title in 1934.[55] Bill Firkins won in 1935, while Bill Branch won by seven strokes in 1936 and Freddie Beck won in 1937.[56][57][58] Except in 1935, when the event was not held, the winner gained entry to the end-of-season limited-field Dunlop-Metropolitan Tournament. Herbert Manton won the championship by four strokes in 1938.[59] The Daily Mail Tournament had restarted in 1935. Sectional qualifying was initially separate from the championship but in the 1939 the two were combined. The event was over two days and was won by Bill Martin.[60]

The championship restarted in September 1946, also acting as qualifying for the News of the World Match Play. However, from 1947 it returned to an early season event. Walter Lees won in 1946 with his older brother Arthur Lees winning in 1948 and 1949.[61][62] Charlie Ward, the 1933 and 1934 champion, won three more times in the 1950s, in 1950, 1953 and 1955, and for a sixth time in 1963.[63] Another multiple winner was Jack Hargreaves, who won in 1952 and 1960.[64] Sectional qualifying for the News of the World ended in 1961 and from 1962 was replaced by local qualifying immediately before the event. The 1965 championship was reduced to 27 holes after early morning delays meant that it proved impossible for the entire field to complete 36 holes in a single day.[65] From 1966 the event was played over two days. Stuart Murray was the most successful golfer in the 1960s, winning three times, in 1964, 1967 and 1968.[66]

Brian Waites won four times in the 1970s, in 1972, 1977, 1978 and 1979. He won in 1977 in a sudden-death playoff, the first in the championship's history, and in a second playoff in 1979.[67][68] Uniroyal sponsored the event from 1970 to 1977.

Year	Winner	Score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Venue	Ref
Midland Professional Championship
1898	David Brown	238	1 stroke	Sydney Wingate	Harborne	[8]
1899	Alfred Toogood	167	1 stroke	James Sherlock	Sandwell Park	[12]
1900	Tom Williamson	157	2 strokes	George Cawsey	Derbyshire	[13]
1901	James Sherlock	156	4 strokes	George Cawsey	Atherstone	[14]
1902	Tom Williamson	152	1 stroke	Alfred Lewis	Bilston	[17]
1903	James Sherlock	152	9 strokes	George Cawsey Laurence Gourlay Willie Lewis	Cleeve Hill	[19]
1904	Alfred Lewis	153	1 stroke	James Sherlock	Sutton Coldfield	[22][69]
1905	Tom Williamson	159	Playoff[lower-alpha 1]	James Sherlock	Harborne	[23][24][70]
1906	Jack Fulford	153	1 stroke	William Jeffries	Derbyshire	[25]
1907	Tom Williamson	151	1 stroke	George Cawsey George Coburn	Robin Hood	[26][71]
1908	George Cawsey	150	2 strokes	Tom Williamson	Notts	[27][72]
1909	Tom Williamson	145	4 strokes	Frank Coltart	Leicestershire	[28][73]
1910	Edward Veness	151	2 strokes	Jack Oke	Stourbridge	[29][74]
1911	Tom Williamson	153	1 stroke	Jack Bloxham George Tuck	Ladbrook Park	[32][75]
1912	George Buckle	150	Playoff[lower-alpha 2]	Harry Cawsey	Seacroft	[33][34]
1913	George Tuck	153	1 stroke	George Buckle	Little Aston	[35]
1914–1918: No tournament
1919	Bert Weastell	149	Playoff[lower-alpha 3]	Len Holland	Sandwell Park	[36]
1920	Tom Williamson	151	Playoff[lower-alpha 4]	George Buckle Dick Wheildon	Moseley	[37][38]
1921	Willie Robertson	144	1 stroke	George Buckle	Robin Hood	[40]
1922	Tom Williamson	144	1 stroke	Len Holland	Copt Heath	[41]
1923	George Buckle	138	Playoff[lower-alpha 5]	Ernest Hanton	Edgbaston	[76][42]
1924	Jack Bloxham	146	Playoff[lower-alpha 6]	George Buckle Len Holland George Tuck	Olton	[77][43]
1925	George Buckle	144	3 strokes	Jim Morris George Tuck Tom Williamson	Walmley	[44]
1926	Ted Douglas	144	1 stroke	Tom Barber	Finham Park	[45]
1927	Tom Barber	147	Playoff[lower-alpha 7]	Archie Compston	Harborne	[46][47]
1928	Frank Weston	149	Playoff[lower-alpha 8]	Moses O'Neill Charles Pixton Tom Richards Dick Wheildon	Handsworth	[48][49]
1929	George Buckle	144	Playoff[lower-alpha 9]	Tom Green	North Worcestershire	[78][50]
1930	Tom Green	144	1 stroke	Michael Bingham Tom Williamson	Copt Heath	[51]
1931	Tom Green	139	4 strokes	Bill Firkins Bob Pemberton	Castle Bromwich	[52]
1932	Tom Barber	143	Playoff[lower-alpha 10]	James Adwick Bert Gadd	Henbury	[53]
1933	Charlie Ward	145	2 strokes	Tom Barber Algy Holton	Little Aston	[54]
Dunlop-Midland Professional Championship
1934	Charlie Ward	143	2 strokes	Bill Martin Tom Richards Willie Robertson	Olton	[55]
1935	Bill Firkins	150	1 stroke	Bill Hancock Norman Roffe	Little Aston	[56]
1936	Bill Branch	137	7 strokes	Freddie Beck	Sandwell Park	[57]
1937	Freddie Beck	141	1 stroke	George Buckle	Harborne	[58]
Midland Professional Championship
1938	Herbert Manton	139	4 strokes	Jack Hargreaves Jack Loach	Beau Desert	[59]
1939	Bill Martin	145	5 strokes	Norman Roffe George Johnson	Woodhall Spa	[60]
1940–1945: No tournament
1946	Walter Lees	140	4 strokes	Jack Cawsey Leslie Cliffe	Sandwell Park	[61]
1947	Ken Adwick	144	1 stroke	Bill Branch Charlie Ward	North Shore	[79]
1948	Arthur Lees	143	Playoff[lower-alpha 11]	Tom Hassall	Trentham	[80][81]
1949	Arthur Lees	136	1 stroke	Charlie Ward	Blackwell	[62]
1950	Charlie Ward	138	Playoff[lower-alpha 12]	Jack Hargreaves	Moor Hall	[82]
1951	Ron Moses	145	Playoff[lower-alpha 13]	Bert Williamson	Sandwell Park	[83][84]
1952	Jack Hargreaves	143	Playoff[lower-alpha 14]	Charlie Ward	Copt Heath	[85][86]
1953	Charlie Ward	143	Playoff[lower-alpha 15]	Jack Hargreaves Edgar Noke	Harborne	[87][88]
1954	Alan Cunningham	142	1 stroke	Frank Jowle	Olton	[89]
1955	Charlie Ward	142	3 strokes	Frank Jowle	South Staffordshire	[63]
1956	Bob Hastelow	137	Playoff[lower-alpha 16]	Charlie Ward	Robin Hood	[90][91]
1957	David Snell	145	1 stroke	George Maisey Ralph Moffitt	Seacroft	[92]
1958	Jack Cawsey	141	1 stroke	Tony Grubb Frank Jowle Charlie Ward	Hawkstone Park	[93]
1959	George Maisey	140	1 stroke	Ralph Moffitt	Luffenham Heath	[94]
1960	Jack Hargreaves	137	4 strokes	Peter Butler Bryon Hutchinson	Ladbrook Park	[64]
1961	Peter Butler	142	Playoff[lower-alpha 17]	George Johnson	Hawkstone Park	[95][96]
1962	Tony Rees	141	1 stroke	Peter Butler Ralph Moffitt	Luffenham Heath	[97]
1963	Charlie Ward	139	2 strokes	Peter Butler	Edgbaston	[98]
1964	Stuart Murray	139	1 stroke	Peter Butler Ralph Moffitt Don Smart David Talbot	Rushcliffe	[99]
1965	Sean Hunt	102[lower-alpha 18]	2 strokes	Don Smart John Wiggett	Hawkstone Park	[65]
1966	John Anderson	143	3 strokes	David Lait Ted Large	Coxmoor	[100]
1967	Stuart Murray	143	Playoff[lower-alpha 19]	John Anderson	Whittington Barracks	[101][102]
1968	Stuart Murray	143	3 strokes	Maurice Bembridge	Olton	[66]
1969	Terry Squires	144	1 stroke	Peter Butler David Snell Brian Waites	Shifnal	[103]
Uniroyal Midland PGA Championship
1970	David Llewellyn	138	2 strokes	Bob Johnson	Moor Hall	[104]
1971	Bob Beattie	142	1 stroke	Maurice Bembridge	South Staffordshire	[105]
1972	Brian Waites	138	3 strokes	Eamonn Darcy	Kedleston Park	[106]
1973	Richard Livingston	140	Playoff[lower-alpha 20]	David Snell	Handsworth	[107][108]
1974	Mike Gallagher	137	2 strokes	Ted Large David Llewellyn Brian Waites	Stratford-on-Avon	[109]
1975	Hugh Boyle	144	1 stroke	Terry Squires	Peterborough Milton	[110]
1976	Paul Herbert	138	5 strokes	Paul Bottell Tony Grubb Ian Richardson	Longcliffe	[111]
1977	Brian Waites	138	Playoff[lower-alpha 21]	Phil Weaver	Coxmoor	[67]
Midland PGA Championship
1978	Brian Waites	135	5 strokes	Ian Richardson Phil Weaver	Ladbrook Park	[112]
1979	Brian Waites	143	Playoff[lower-alpha 22]	David Steele	Lincoln	[68]
1980	David Vaughan	141	2 strokes	Brian Waites	Barnham Broom	[113]
1981	David Stewart	140	2 strokes	Richard Livingston	Burton-on-Trent	[114]
1982	Pip Elson	136	4 strokes	David Dunk	Staverton Park	[115]
1983	Tony Minshall	144	2 strokes	Bob Larratt	Staverton Park	[116]
1984	Mark Mouland	136	Playoff[lower-alpha 23]	Steve Marr	Staverton Park	[117]
1985	Kevin Hayward	142	Playoff[lower-alpha 24]	Andy Griffiths	Staverton Park	[118]
1986	Tony Skingle	70[lower-alpha 25]	Playoff[lower-alpha 26]	Philip Hinton Phil Weaver	Sutton Coldfield	[119]
1987	Ross McFarlane[lower-alpha 27]	272	4 strokes	Mark Mouland	Staverton	[120]
1988	Graham Farr	276	3 strokes	Jim Rhodes	Kings Norton	[121]
1989	Joe Higgins	138	4 strokes	Graham Farr	Forest of Arden	[122]
1990	Gary Stafford	275	8 strokes	Graham Farr	Forest of Arden	[123]
1991	Kevin Dickens	283	5 strokes	Chris Hall	Forest of Arden	[124]
1992	Joe Higgins	286	2 strokes	Stephen Russell	South Staffordshire	[125]
1993	Peter Baker	143	1 stroke	Jim Payne	The Warwickshire	[126]
1994	Peter Baker	143	2 strokes	David Eddiford John King	The Warwickshire	[127]
1995	Shane Rose	141	Playoff[lower-alpha 28]	Cameron Clark	The Warwickshire	[128]
1996	David J. Russell	137	1 stroke	Peter Baker Neil Turley	The Warwickshire	[129]
1997	Joe Higgins	137	2 strokes	Peter Baker Paul Wesselingh	The Belfry	[130]
1998	Steve Webster	137	1 stroke	Joe Higgins	The Belfry	[131]
1999	Chris Hall	136	4 strokes	Carl Mason Andy Stokes	The Belfry	[132]
2000	David J. Russell	134	8 strokes	Matt McGuire Darren Prosser	The Belfry	[133]
2001	Tim Rouse	210	1 stroke	Martin Poxon	Belton Woods	[134]
2002	Robert Rock	213	2 strokes	Alasdair Thomas	Belton Woods	[135]
2003	Philip Edwards	209	1 stroke	Brian Rimmer	Belton Woods	[136]
2004	Paul Streeter	213	2 strokes	Brian Rimmer	Belton Woods	[137]
2005	Adrian Carey	214	Playoff[lower-alpha 29]	Paul Bagshaw	Belton Woods	[138]
2006	Paul Streeter	211	Playoff[lower-alpha 30]	Daniel Greenwood	Belton Woods	[139]
2007	Ian Lyner	211	2 strokes	Simon Lilly	Belton Woods	[140]
2008	Ian Walley	201	Playoff[lower-alpha 31]	Simon Lilly	Belton Woods	[141]
2009	Cameron Clark	211	2 strokes	Ian Walley	Belton Woods	[142]
2010	Cameron Clark	200	9 strokes	Paul Streeter	Belton Woods	[143]
2011	Matthew Cort	196	2 strokes	Paul Streeter	Belton Woods	[144]
2012	Jak Hamblett	136	1 stroke	Craig Shave	Belton Woods	[145]
2013	Matthew Cort	131	2 strokes	James Whatley	Cold Ashby	[146]
2014	Paul Broadhurst	129	Playoff	Matthew Cort	Shifnal	[147]
2015	Matthew Cort	128	6 strokes	Luke Towler Andrew Willey	Shifnal	[148]
2016	Paul Streeter and Andrew Willey	131	Playoff	Tied[lower-alpha 32]	Shifnal	[149]
2017	Luke Towler	136	Playoff	Christopher Evans James Freeman Andrew Willey	Shifnal	[150]
2018	Andrew Willey	68[lower-alpha 33]	1 stroke	Matthew Cort James Whatley	Shifnal	[151]
2019	James Brittain	134	1 stroke	Andrew Willey	Shifnal	[152]
2020	James Brittain	136	3 strokes	Cameron Hoggarth Craig Shave	Moseley	[153]
2021	Adam Keogh	133	1 stroke	Simon Lilly Craig Shave	Moseley	[154]
2022	James Whatley	127	2 strokes	James Freeman Simon Lilly	Sapey	[155]

Additional source:[156]

From 1911 to 1927 (except in 1921) and in 1946 the championships were also the Midland section qualifying events for the News of the World Matchplay. The 1939 championship was the Midland section qualifying event for the Daily Mail Tournament. The 1954 championship acted as the qualifying event for the Goodwin (Sheffield) Foursomes Tournament while the 1959 event was the qualifying for the Sherwood Forest Foursomes Tournament.