View source for Reg Whitcombe

{{Short description|English golfer (1898–1957)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox golfer
| name              = Reg Whitcombe
| image             = 
| imagesize         = <!-- e.g. 250px (default is 200px) -->
| caption           = 
| fullname          = Reginald Arthur Whitcombe
| nickname          = 
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|df=yes|1898|4|10}}
| birth_place       = [[Burnham-on-Sea|Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset]], England
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1957|1|11|1898|4|10}}
| death_place       = [[Hambledon, Surrey]]
| height            = <!-- {{height|ft=|in=}} OR {{height|m=|precision=0}} -->
| weight            = <!-- {{convert| |lb|kg st|abbr=on}} OR {{convert| |kg|lb st|abbr=on}} -->
| nationality       = {{ENG}}
| spouse            = 
| partner           = 
| children          = 
| college           = 
| status            = Professional
| yearpro           = <!-- Year turned professional -->
| retired           = <!-- Year retired -->
| extour            = <!-- Former tours which a member of -->
| prowins           = 17
| pgawins           = <!-- Number of PGA Tour wins -->
| eurowins          = <!-- Number of European Tour wins -->
| otherwins         = <!-- Number of Other wins -->
| majorwins         = 1
| masters           = DNP
| usopen            = DNP
| open              = '''Won''': [[1938 Open Championship|1938]]
| pga               = DNP
| wghofid           = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame member ID -->
| wghofyear         = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame year inducted -->
| award1            = [[Harry Vardon Trophy]]
| year1             = 1939
| award2            = 
| year2             = 
| awardssection     = <!-- location of awards page or section -->
}}
'''Reginald Arthur Whitcombe''' (10 April 1898 – 11 January 1957<ref>"Mr R.A. Whitcombe" ''The Times'', 14 January 1957; p. 10; Issue 53738.</ref>) was an English [[professional golfer]].<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=311}}</ref>

== Career ==
Whitcombe began his career at Came Down Golf Club in [[Dorset]] and served in the British armed forces during [[World War I]]. He was the professional at Parkstone Golf Club from 1 January 1928 until his death in 1957. He finished runner up to [[Henry Cotton (golfer)|Henry Cotton]] in the 1937 [[Open Championship]] at [[Carnoustie Golf Links|Carnoustie]], and in 1938 he won the windswept Open at [[Royal St George's Golf Club|Royal St George's]], where his two final rounds of 75–78 were still enough to beat the halfway leaders by ten strokes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theopen.com/en/History/OpenChampions.aspx#player=Reg+WHITCOMBE |title=1938 Reg Whitcombe |publisher=The Open |access-date=17 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126022629/http://www.theopen.com/en/History/OpenChampions.aspx#player=Reg+WHITCOMBE |archive-date=26 November 2011}}</ref> His two older brothers [[Ernest Whitcombe|Ernest]] and [[Charles Whitcombe (golfer)|Charles]] were also professional golfers and all three played together for Great Britain in the [[1935 Ryder Cup]].

==Tournament wins==
:Note: ''This list is probably incomplete''
*1922 West of England Professional Championship
*1931 West of England Professional Championship
*1933 West of England Professional Championship
*1934 [[Penfold-Fairhaven Tournament]], [[Roehampton Invitation]], West of England Professional Championship
*1936 [[Irish Open (golf)|Irish Open]], [[Dunlop-West of England Tournament]]
*1937 [[Dunlop-West of England Tournament]]
*1938 '''[[Open Championship]]''', [[News Chronicle Tournament]], West of England Professional Championship
*1945 [[Daily Sketch Fourball Tournament]] (with [[William Anderson (golfer)|William Anderson]])
*1946 [[Lotus Tournament]]
*1947 [[Penfold Tournament]] (tie with [[Dai Rees]] and [[Norman Von Nida]])
*1948 West of England Professional Championship
*1950 West of England Professional Championship

==Major championships==
===Wins (1)===
{|class="wikitable"
!Year!!Championship!!54 holes!!Winning score!!Margin!!Runner-up
|-style="background:#ABCDEF;"
| [[1938 Open Championship|1938]] || [[The Open Championship]] || 1 shot lead || 71-71-75-78=295 || 2 strokes || {{flagicon|SCO}} [[Jimmy Adams (golfer)|Jimmy Adams]]
|}

===Results timeline===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
!Tournament
!1925
!1926
!1927
!1928
!1929
!1930
!1931
!1932
!1933
!1934
!1935
!1936
!1937
!1938
!1939
|-
|align=left|[[The Open Championship]]
|T20
|T14
|CUT
|T23
|T45
|T13
|T17
|T17
|style="background:yellow;"|T7
|T16
|T34
|style="background:yellow;"|T8
|style="background:yellow;"|2
|style="background:lime;"|'''1'''
|style="background:yellow;"|T3
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
!Tournament
!1940
!1941
!1942
!1943
!1944
!1945
!1946
!1947
!1948
!1949
!1950
!1951
|-
|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
|T14
|T13
|T18
|CUT
|CUT
|CUT
|}
''Note: Whitcombe only played in [[The Open Championship]]''<br>
{{legend|lime|Win}}
{{legend|yellow|Top 10}}
{{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}}
NT = No tournament<br>
CUT = missed the half-way cut<br>
"T" indicates a tie for a place

==Team appearances==
*[[Ryder Cup]] (representing Great Britain): [[1935 Ryder Cup|1935]]
*[[Samuel Ryder#Later sponsorship|Seniors vs Juniors]] (representing the Juniors): 1928
*[[England–Scotland Professional Match]] (representing England): 1933 (winners), 1934 (winners), 1935 (winners), 1936 (winners), 1937 (winners), 1938 (winners)
*Coronation Match (representing the Ladies and Professionals): 1937

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=The Whitcombes: A Golfing Legend |first=Peter |last=Fry |publisher=Grant Books |date=15 January 1994 |isbn=978-0907186403}}

==External links==
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313133734/http://www.camedowngolfclub.co.uk/history/whitcombes.htm |date=13 March 2008 |title=The Whitcombe brothers }}

{{The Open champions}}
{{1935 Great Britain Ryder Cup team}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitcombe, Reginald}}
[[Category:English male golfers]]
[[Category:Winners of men's major golf championships]]
[[Category:Ryder Cup competitors for Europe]]
[[Category:People from Burnham-on-Sea]]
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1957 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]


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