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{{Short description|Welsh professional golfer (1913–1983)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox golfer
| name              = Dai Rees<br /><small>{{nobold|{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}}}}</small>
| image             = Dai Rees in 1936.jpg
| imagesize         = <!-- e.g. 250px (default is 200px) -->
| caption           = Rees in 1936
| fullname          = David James Rees
| nickname          =
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1913|3|31|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Font-y-Gary]], [[Glamorgan]], Wales
| death_date        = {{nowrap|{{Death date and age|1983|11|15|1913|3|31|df=y}}}}
| death_place       = [[Chipping Barnet|Barnet]], London, England
| height            = {{height|ft=5|in=7}}
| weight            = <!-- {{convert| |lb|kg st|abbr=on}} OR  {{convert| |kg|lb st|abbr=on}} -->
| sporting_nationality = {{WAL}}
| residence         =
| spouse            =
| partner           =
| children          =
| college           =
| yearpro           = 1929
| extour            = [[European Tour]]
| prowins           = 43<ref name=sherts/>
| otherwins         = <!-- Number of Other wins -->
| majorwins         = <!-- Number of Major Championship wins -->
| masters           = DNP
| usopen            = DNP
| open              = 2nd/T2: [[1953 Open Championship|1953]], [[1954 Open Championship|1954]], [[1961 Open Championship|1961]]
| pga               = DNP
| wghofid           = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame member ID -->
| wghofyear         = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame year inducted -->
| award1            = [[Order of the British Empire|Commander of the Order<br>of the British Empire]]
| year1             = 1958
| award2            = [[Harry Vardon Trophy]]
| year2             = 1955, 1959
| awardssection     = <!-- location of awards page or section -->
}}
'''David James Rees''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|commas=on|CBE}} (31 March 1913 – 15 November 1983<ref>"Mr Dai Rees – Major Welsh Golfer", ''The Times'', 17 November 1983; pg. 14; Issue 61692.</ref>) was one of the [[United Kingdom|Britain's]] leading [[golf]]ers either side of the [[Second World War]].

The winner of many prestigious tournaments in Britain, Europe and farther afield, Rees is best remembered as the captain of the Great Britain [[Ryder Cup]] team which defeated the [[United States]] at [[Lindrick Golf Club]] in [[Yorkshire]], [[England]], in 1957.<ref name=ge>{{Cite web|url=http://www.golfeurope.com/almanac/players/rees.htm |title=Dai Rees (1913–1983) |website=Golf Europe |access-date=29 July 2009}}</ref> It was the only defeat which the United States suffered in the competition between 1933 and 1985.

==Personal life==
Rees was born in [[Fontegary]], near [[Barry, Vale of Glamorgan|Barry]] in the [[Vale of Glamorgan]], [[Wales]]. He was brought up around golf, with his father being the head professional and his mother a steward at The Leys Golf Club.<ref name=ge/> His family moved to [[Aberdare]], where his father had taken up the position of head professional at [[Aberdare Golf Club]].<ref name=sherts>{{Cite web|url=https://www.southhertsgolfclub.co.uk/dai_rees_cbe |title=Dai Rees CBE |publisher=South Herts Golf Club |access-date=1 November 2017}}</ref><ref name=cvl>{{Cite web|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sports/grassroots/cynon-valley-sport/2007/12/20/golf-joe-s-success-mirrors-dai-s-big-day-91466-20265272/ |title=Joe's success mirrors Dai's big day |work=Cynon Valley Leader |date=20 December 2007 |access-date=29 July 2009}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], Rees served as a driver for [[Air vice-marshal]] [[Harry Broadhurst]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Monty: The Final Years of the Field Marshall 1944–1976 |last1=Hamilton |first1=Nigel |publisher=McGraw-Hill Book Company |year= 1986 |page=181 }}</ref>

==Professional career==
Rees began his professional career aged 16 as an assistant to his father at Aberdare Golf Club.<ref name=cvl/> He moved to Whitchurch Golf Club near Cardiff and then to Surbiton Golf Club in early 1935. His first post as a full professional was at Hindhead Golf Club in 1938 where he remained until he took over as the professional at South Herts Golf Club in 1946. Like [[Harry Vardon]] before him, he remained in the position until he died in 1983.<ref name=sherts/><ref name=nyt>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/17/obituaries/dai-rees-70-welsh-golfer-who-led-british-ryder-team.html |title=Dai Rees, 70, Welsh Golfer; Who Led British Ryder Team |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=17 November 1983 |access-date=29 July 2009}}</ref>

Rees won many important tournaments around the world including four [[News of the World Match Play]]s, two [[British Masters]], the [[Irish Open (golf)|Irish]], [[Belgian Open (golf)|Belgian]] and [[Swiss Open]]s, and the [[South African PGA Championship]].<ref name=sherts/><ref name=alliss>{{cite book |title=The Who's Who of Golf |first=Peter |last=Alliss |author-link=Peter Alliss |publisher=[[Orbis Publishing]] |year=1983 |isbn=0-85613-520-8 |page=289}}</ref>

Rees never won [[The Open Championship]] but finished as runner-up three times, in 1953, 1954 and 1961. He had a good chance of victory in [[1946 Open Championship|1946]], when he shot a final round 80 to slip into a tie for fourth place.<ref name=alliss/>

Rees continued to play at a competitive level in his "senior" years, and remained successful, especially in [[match play]] tournaments. He reached the final of the News of the World Match Play twice while in his fifties, in 1967 and again in 1969, on each occasion beating several players almost half his age over 18 holes. He also had some success in [[stroke play]] tournaments, including a runner-up finish in the [[Martini International]] in 1973 when aged 60.<ref name=alliss/>

Rees played in nine Ryder Cups in total, and was selected for the aborted 1939 Cup. He had a 7–10–1 win–loss–draw record.

Rees captained the Great Britain Ryder Cup team on five occasions, in 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961 and 1967. It was at the 1957 event at Lindrick where Britain scored a  7½–4½ victory to break the United States' stranglehold on the trophy they had held since 1933.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/teamroom-tantrum-a-forerunner-to-the-thomas-bjorn-affair-416361.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202131257/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/teamroom-tantrum-a-forerunner-to-the-thomas-bjorn-affair-416361.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 December 2008 |title=Team-room tantrum a forerunner to the Thomas Bjorn Affair |work=[[The Independent]] |date=17 September 2006 |access-date=29 July 2009 | location=London | first=James | last=Corrigan}}</ref> Having regained the Ryder Cup in 1959, the United States would not relinquish it again until 1985, by which time the British team had been expanded to include the rest of Europe.<ref name=cvl/>

==Awards==
In 1957, following Britain's triumph in the Ryder Cup, Rees won the [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year]] award, perhaps Britain's best known sports award. He was made a [[Order of the British Empire|Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[1958 New Year Honours]] for services to golf.<ref name=cvl/><ref>United Kingdom list: {{London Gazette |issue=41268 |date=31 December 1957 |pages=11   |supp=y}}</ref>

==Death==
In 1983, Rees was involved in a car crash on his way back from watching an [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] football match. He died several months later, aged 70, having failed to recover from his injuries.<ref name=cvl/><ref>{{Cite DWB |id=s8-REES-JAM-1913 |title=Rees, David James (Dai) (1913-1983), golfer and author}}</ref>

==Tournament wins==
''this list may be incomplete''
*1935 [[Daily Mirror Assistants' Tournament]]
*1936 [[News of the World Match Play]], [[Daily Mirror Assistants' Tournament]], Surrey Open Championship
*1937 [[Sunningdale Foursomes]] (with [[Stanley Anderson (golfer)|Stanley Anderson]])
*1938 [[News of the World Match Play]]
*1939 [[Yorkshire Evening News Tournament]], [[Addington Foursomes]] (with [[Alfred Critchley]])
*1946 [[Silver King Tournament]], [[Spalding Tournament]]
*1947 [[Penfold Tournament]] (tie with [[Reg Whitcombe]] and [[Norman Von Nida]]), [[Daily Mail Tournament]], [[News Chronicle Tournament]]
*1948 [[Irish Open (golf)|Irish Open]]
*1949 [[News of the World Match Play]]
*1950 [[Yorkshire Evening News Tournament]], [[News Chronicle Tournament]], [[News of the World Match Play]], [[Dunlop Masters]]
*1951 Royal Canberra Professional Purse,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230074204 |title=Nagle, 65, makes record to win open; Rees' purse |newspaper=[[The Sun (Sydney)|The Sun]] |issue=12,840 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=26 March 1951 |access-date=21 June 2018 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> [[New South Wales Jubilee Open]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18496788 |title=Rees Holds Off Challenge By Nagle For Golf Title |newspaper=[[The Sunday Herald (Sydney)]] |issue=112 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=18 March 1951 |access-date=21 June 2018 |page=8 (Sports Section) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> [[Yorkshire Evening News Tournament]] (tie with [[Norman Von Nida]])
*1952 [[Wiseman's Tournament]], [[Yorkshire Evening News Tournament]]
*1953 [[Daks Tournament]]
*1954 [[Spalding Tournament]], [[Belgian Open (golf)|Belgian Open]], Southern Professional Championship
*1956 [[Swiss Open]], [[Yorkshire Evening News Tournament]] (tie with [[Ken Bousfield]])
*1958 [[Dunlop South African Professional Match Play]]
*1959 [[PGA Close Championship]], [[Swiss Open]], [[Sherwood Forest Foursomes Tournament]] (with [[Dennis Smalldon]])
*1960 [[Hammonds-Carling Jubilee Tournament]], [[Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament]] (with W Glennie)
*1962 [[Dunlop Masters]], [[Daks Tournament]] (tie with [[Bob Charles (golfer)|Bob Charles]])
*1963 [[Swiss Open]]
*1966 [[PGA Seniors Championship]], Southern Professional Championship
*1970 Beefeater Tournament (Bermuda)
*1975 Southern Professional Championship

==Results in major championships==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
!Tournament
!1935
!1936
!1937
!1938
!1939
|-
|align=left|[[The Open Championship]]
|T31
|11
|T21
|T13
|12
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
!Tournament
!1940
!1941
!1942
!1943
!1944
!1945
!1946
!1947
!1948
!1949
|-
|align=left|[[The Open Championship]]
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT
|style="background:yellow;"|T4
|T21
|T15
|CUT
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
!Tournament
!1950
!1951
!1952
!1953
!1954
!1955
!1956
!1957
!1958
!1959
|-
|align=left|[[The Open Championship]]
|style="background:yellow;"|T3
|T12
|T27
|style="background:yellow;"|T2
|style="background:yellow;"|T2
|T27
|T13
|T30
|T14
|style="background:yellow;"|T9
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
!Tournament
!1960
!1961
!1962
!1963
!1964
!1965
!1966
!1967
!1968
!1969
|-
|align=left|[[The Open Championship]]
|style="background:yellow;"|T9
|style="background:yellow;"|2
|CUT
|T42
|T38
|CUT
|36
|CUT
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|CUT
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
!Tournament
!1970
!1971
!1972
!1973
!1974
|-
|align=left|[[The Open Championship]]
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|CUT
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|CUT
|}
''Note: Rees only played in The Open Championship.''<br>
{{legend|yellow|Top 10}}
{{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}}
NT = No tournament<br>
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1969 and 1971 Open Championships)<br>
"T" indicates a tie for a place

==Team appearances==
*[[Ryder Cup]] (representing Great Britain): [[1937 Ryder Cup|1937]], [[1947 Ryder Cup|1947]], [[1949 Ryder Cup|1949]], [[1951 Ryder Cup|1951]], [[1953 Ryder Cup|1953]], [[1955 Ryder Cup|1955]] (captain), [[1957 Ryder Cup|1957]] (winners, captain), [[1959 Ryder Cup|1959]] (captain), [[1961 Ryder Cup|1961]] (captain), [[1967 Ryder Cup|1967]] (non-playing captain)
*[[World Cup (men's golf)|Canada Cup]] (representing Wales): [[1954 Canada Cup|1954]], [[1956 Canada Cup|1956]], [[1957 Canada Cup|1957]], [[1958 Canada Cup|1958]], [[1959 Canada Cup|1959]], [[1960 Canada Cup|1960]], [[1961 Canada Cup|1961]], [[1962 Canada Cup|1962]], [[1964 Canada Cup|1964]]
*Coronation Match (representing the Ladies and Professionals): 1937
*[[Triangular Professional Tournament]] (representing Wales): 1937
*[[Llandudno International Golf Trophy]] (representing Wales): 1938
*[[Great Britain–Argentina Professional Match]] (representing Great Britain): 1939 (winners)
*[[Joy Cup]] (representing the British Isles): 1954 (winners), 1955 (winners), 1958 (winners, captain)
*[[Slazenger Trophy]] (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1956 (winners)
*[[Amateurs–Professionals Match]] (representing the Professionals): 1956 (winners), 1957 (winners), 1958, 1959 (winners), 1960 (winners)
*[[R.T.V. International Trophy]] (representing Wales): 1967 (captain)
*[[Double Diamond International]] (representing Wales): 1971 (captain), 1972 (captain), 1973 (captain), 1975 (captain), 1976 (captain)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{BMW PGA Championship champions}}
{{BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners}}
{{BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year winners}}
{{navboxes|title=Dai Rees in the [[Ryder Cup]]
|list1=
{{European Ryder Cup Captains}}
{{1937 Great Britain Ryder Cup team}}
{{1947 Great Britain Ryder Cup team}}
{{1949 Great Britain Ryder Cup team}}
{{1951 Great Britain Ryder Cup team}}
{{1953 Great Britain Ryder Cup team}}
{{1955 Great Britain Ryder Cup team}}
{{1957 Great Britain Ryder Cup team}}
{{1959 Great Britain Ryder Cup team}}
{{1961 Great Britain Ryder Cup team}}
{{1967 Great Britain Ryder Cup team}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Dai}}
[[Category:Welsh male golfers]]
[[Category:European Tour golfers]]
[[Category:Ryder Cup competitors for Europe]]
[[Category:BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from the Vale of Glamorgan]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in London]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]