Ted Douglas

Edward Simpson Douglas (1885 – 23 December 1956) was a Scottish professional golfer.[1] Douglas began his career in his native Scotland before briefly moving to the United States. Shortly thereafter, he moved the New Zealand where he became a star touring professional, winning the New Zealand Open four times and a number of other prominent titles. By 1925, he was described as "finest golfer New Zealand ever had."[2]

Ted Douglas
Personal information
Full nameEdward Simpson Douglas
Born1885
Died23 December 1956(1956-12-23) (aged 70–71)
Sporting nationality Scotland
Career
StatusProfessional
Professional wins10
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT24: 1926

Professional career

He was born Edward Simpson Douglas.[3][4] Douglas is from Scotland.[5] During his early years in Scotland he was associated with Newton More Club in Perthshire and Fort George Club in Morayshire.[5] Douglas had some success as a young professional while in Scotland. At the age of 20, he finished in the top-20 at the Scottish Professional Championship held at Cardross.[6]

At the age of 22, he moved to the United States.[5] He lived in the United States for 5 years.[7] He worked at Preselio Club and Menlo Park Club, both in San Francisco, for three and two years respectively.[5] He enjoyed the experience at Menlo more.[5] He also played in professional tournaments in California, finishing in third place at Del Monte and fourth place at Ingleside.[5] He was in the money at every event he played in America.[5]

In 1912, Douglas arrived in New Zealand.[5] He started his career at the Nelson Club.[8] Douglas was supposed to be introduced to the New Zealand golf world through a match with leading golfer Joe Clements. However, in a "preliminary" session, Clements was so intimidated with Douglas' talents that he called the match off.[8] In 1913, Douglas won the New Zealand Open for the first time.[5] In 1914, he played in the tournament again. He was five shots behind A.D.S. Duncan entering the final round at Auckland Golf Club. He came back, however, and defeated Duncan to successfully defend his championship.[9] At the Heretaunga tournament, he performed another great comeback. After two rounds, he was either 10[5] or 13 shots back.[9] Douglas, however, finished with rounds of 70 and 71 to narrowly defeat the second round leader, Shirley Isles.[5][9] He finished at 296.[5][9] He also won the Auckland tournament that year.[5]

In 1915, Douglas was conscripted by the United Kingdom to serve in World War I.[10] He served for the N.Z.E.F. in France for three and half years with the Rifle Brigade. He did not play golf during this period.[5] His service ended in 1919.[10]

In 1919, Douglas returned to New Zealand. He was keen to return to New Zealand for its "reconstruction" period.[5] During this period he worked full-time as a golf coach and clubmaker.[5] Douglas still worked extensively as a touring professional. He played at the 1919 New Zealand Open as the two-time defending champion. He was one of only six professionals to attend the event. Sloan Morpeth, himself a veteran recently returning from service in France, held a 10-shot lead over Douglas entering the final round. Douglas played well in the final round to equal Morpeth at the end of regulation. Douglas went on to defeat Morpeth in the playoff 82–85.[3] By 1920, he was considered the best golfer who consistently played events in New Zealand, even better than Australian Joe Kirkwood Sr., future PGA Tour star.[5] In 1921, he again won the New Zealand Open and also the Shirley tournament.[5] During this period, he was affiliated with Miramar Golf Club.[11] As of 1922, he was in the money at every tournament he ever played in New Zealand.[5] During this time, he was considered the best golfer in the country and "almost unbeatable."[6]

In 1922, he decided to return to Scotland. He wanted to play against the best players in the world in Britain. It was also his intention to practice full-time – an opportunity he never had in New Zealand – for six months to hone his game.[5] On 29 July 1922, he took a ship back to Britain.[9] He had some high placings in his native country. In 1925, he finished third in the Northern Professional Championship, four shots behind Abe Mitchell.[12] He was also one of the top golfers in the Daily Mail tournament.[12] He successfully qualified for the 1925 Open Championship, finishing 14th out of 200 potential qualifiers. He was predicted by an English golf writer as one of the favorites to win the event.[12] He was not close to winning however, shooting 83–78 on the first day, putting him 16 shots behind Macdonald Smith's lead. Douglas then withdrew from the tournament.[4] In 1926, he won the Midland Professional Championship.[13]

As of February 1929, he had returned to New Zealand.[14] Late in his career, he still had some success. In 1933, he finished the New Zealand Open tied with Ernie Moss. However, Moss defeated him 146–156 in the playoff.[15] In 1941, he won the Otago Veterans' Golf Four-ball handily with partner K. Ross. They defeated competitors A. Sime and W.G. Wight, 14 and 13, over four rounds.[6] During this era, Douglas was also the head professional at Otago.[6]

Professional wins (10)

References
  1. Simpson, Duncan (October 2014). "Ted Douglas – A Great Scottish New Zealander". Golfer Pacific NZ. p. 12. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  2. "To-Day's Big Golf Contest". New Zealand Truth. 26 September 1925. Retrieved 23 October 2020 – via Papers Past.
  3. "Blast from the past: 1919 New Zealand Open". New Zealand Open. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  4. Brenner, Morgan G. (12 September 2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of The Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5395-5.
  5. "Douglas for Scotland". Evening Star. 14 August 1922. Retrieved 22 October 2020 – via Papers Past.
  6. "Ted Douglas Shines in Otago Veterans' Golf Four-Ball at Balmacewen". Auckland Star. 3 May 1941. Retrieved 23 October 2020 – via Papers Past.
  7. "Golf". Waikato Times. 12 August 1922. Retrieved 23 October 2020 – via Papers Past.
  8. "On the Links". Auckland Star. 18 October 1934. Retrieved 23 October 2020 – via Papers Past.
  9. "On the Links with the Golfers". New Zealand Truth. 22 July 1922. Retrieved 23 October 2020 – via Papers Past.
  10. "New Zealand Open Champion". New Zealand Herald. 24 December 1921. Retrieved 31 October 2020 – via Papers Past.
  11. "Golf Championships". Auckland Star. 12 November 1932. Retrieved 23 October 2020 – via Papers Past.
  12. "Golf, The Championship Card". New Zealand Truth. 22 August 1925. Retrieved 23 October 2020 – via Papers Past.
  13. "Midland Professional Championship". The Glasgow Herald. 9 September 1926. p. 3.
  14. "Will Be Hot, Pro. Golfers Meet Next Week". New Zealand Truth. 14 February 1929. Retrieved 22 October 2020 – via Papers Past.
  15. "New Zealand Open Golf Title". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 17 October 1933. p. 3. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  16. "Championship meeting". New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15431. 15 October 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via Papers Past.
  17. "Golf tournament". New Zealand Herald. Vol. LI, no. 15739. 14 October 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via Papers Past.
  18. "Eight time champion". Auckland Star. Vol. XLV, no. 248. 17 October 1914. p. 2 (Supplement). Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  19. "New Zealand championships". Otago Daily Times. No. 17720. 3 September 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via Papers Past.
  20. "Golf championship". Otago Daily Times. No. 17721. 4 September 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via Papers Past.
  21. "Dominion championships". Otago Daily Times. No. 18380. 19 October 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via Papers Past.
  22. "End of championship tourney". The Press. Vol. LVII, no. 17284. 24 October 1921. p. 10. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  23. "First title". Auckland Star. Vol. LXVIII, no. 239. 8 October 1937. p. 13. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
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