The 1903 News of the World Match Play was the first News of the World Match Play tournament. It was played from Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 October at

Sunningdale Golf Club Sunningdale Golf Club is a golf club in Sunningdale, Berkshire, England, located approximately west-southwest of London. Sunningdale Golf Club was founded in 1900 and has two eighteen hole golf courses: the Old Course, designed by Willie Park ...

. 32 players competed in a straight knock-out competition, with each match contested over 18 holes, except for the final which was over 36 holes. The winner received £100 out of a total prize fund of £200. James Braid defeated Ted Ray 4 & 3 in the final to win the tournament.

Qualification

Entry was restricted to members of the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA). Qualification was by a series of 36-hole stroke-play competitions; one for each of the five PGA sections. The number of qualifiers from each section was based on the membership of that section. The Southern section had 16 qualifiers, the Midland and Northern sections had 5 each, the Scottish section 4 and the Irish section 2. In the event of a tie for places there was a playoff. The Northern section held their qualification at Huddersfield on 22 September with Ted Ray winning with a score of 148. The Scottish section qualification was the following day at Earlsferry with Robert Thomson winning with a score of 153. Arnaud Massy failed to qualify, The Irish section played on 24 September at Lahinch with George Coburn winning with a score of 157. The Southern section played on 29 September at Acton with

J.H. Taylor John Henry "J.H." Taylor (19 March 1871 – 10 February 1963) was an English professional golfer and one of the pioneers of the modern game of golf. Taylor is considered to be one of the best golfers of all time. He was a significant golf ...

winning with a score of 140. There was a tie for the final two places and there was a 36-hole play-off the following day. The Midland section played on 7 October at Hollinwell with Tom Williamson winning with a score of 151. Harry Vardon was ill and did not enter. The qualifiers were: *Northern section: Sandy Herd, Ted Ray,

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Alfred Toogood Alfred Henry Toogood, Sr. (1872 – July 1928) was an English professional golfer who played during the late 19th and early 20th century. Toogood finished fourth in the 1894 Open Championship and won £7. He also tied for ninth place in the 1895 ...

Walter Toogood Walter George Toogood (1874 – 13 October 1914) was an English professional golfer who played in the late 19th century into the early 20th century. He was a consistent performer in the The Open Championship, Open Championships where he posted a ...

*Scottish section: Willie Fernie, James Forrester, Andrew Scott, Robert Thomson *Irish section: George Coburn, Willie MacNamara *Southern section: James Braid, George Carter, Harry Cawsey, Arthur Gray, James Hepburn, David Herd, Rowland Jones,

John Milne John Milne (30 December 1850 – 31 July 1913) was a British geologist and mining engineer who worked on a horizontal seismograph. Biography Milne was born in Liverpool, England, the only child of John Milne of Milnrow, and at first raised in ...

, Arthur Mitchell, Jack Ross, Jack Rowe, Ralph Smith,

Tom Vardon Thomas Alfred Vardon (11 October 1874 – 13 October 1938) was a professional golfer from Jersey, Channel Islands, and the brother of golfer Harry Vardon, whom he sometimes played against professionally. From 1892 to 1909 he played in 18 Open Cham ...

, Jack White, Philip Wynne *Midland section:

John Clucas John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, William Jeffries,

James Sherlock James Sherlock (born Rudgwick, West Sussex) is a musician of British and Irish ancestry. Born in Sussex, Sherlock studied with Kevin Smith, continuing at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester and Eton College. He read music at Trinity Colleg ...

, Billy Whiting, Tom Williamson

Format

The matches were over 18 holes except for the final which was over 36 holes. Extra holes were played in the event of a tied match. Two rounds were played on the first day, two more on the second day with the final on the third day.

Results

Source:

Prize money

The winner received £100 and a gold medal, the runner-up £30 and a silver medal, the losing semi-finalists £15 and a bronze medal, while the third round losers received £10, making a total prize fund of £200.

References

{{Authority control Golf tournaments in England News of the World Match Play News of the World Match Play News of the World Match Play