Archibald Edward Wones Compston (1893 – 8 August 1962) was an English

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. Through the 1920s he built a reputation as a formidable

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

golfer, in an era when many professionals made more money from "challenge" matches against fellow pros, or wealthy amateurs, than from tournament golf. Compston was born in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

. Famously, in 1928, Compston - who had won the

British PGA Matchplay Championship The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the '' News of the World'', and was commonly known ...

in 1925 and 1927 - faced

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger ...

, who had won the American

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

at match play in the previous four years, in a 72-hole challenge match, and defeated the American 18 & 17. However, when the two met again shortly afterward at

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

Royal St George's The Royal St George's Golf Club located in Sandwich, Kent, England, is a golf club in the United Kingdom and one of the courses on The Open Championship rotation and is the only Open rota golf course to be located in South East England. It has ...

, Hagen prevailed, with Compston placing third. In 1930, Compston nearly derailed Bobby Jones's bid for the Grand Slam at

Hoylake Hoylake is a coast, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee, Wales, River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historic counties of En ...

- his third round of 68 took the lead from Jones, but inexplicably his form deserted him in the final round, and Compston shot 82 to finish down the field. Compston played in the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

in 1927, 1929 and 1931, defeating

Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (along ...

on one occasion. Compston also became notable as perhaps Britain's first "celebrity" professional golfer, becoming a coach to the future

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

. He was the professional at the

Wentworth Club Wentworth Club is a privately owned golf club and country club in Virginia Water, Surrey, on the south western fringes of London, not far from Windsor Castle. The club was founded in 1922. Beijing-based Reignwood Group bought the club in Septem ...

from 1945 to 1948, and later at the

Mid Ocean Club The Mid Ocean Club is a private 6,520 yard, 18-hole golf course in Tucker's Town, Bermuda. Designed by Charles Blair Macdonald in 1921, and originally built in collaboration with the Furness Bermuda Line. It was modified to its current design i ...

in Bermuda.

Tournament wins (11)

:''This list may be incomplete'' *1925

Leeds Cup The Leeds Cup is a golf tournament that has been played annually in northern England since 1902. The event is organised by the north region of the Professional Golfers' Association. It is the oldest trophy in professional golf that is still play ...

Glasgow Herald Tournament The Glasgow Herald Tournament (also known as the Gleneagles Tournament) was a British golf tournament played at Gleneagles from 1920 to 1927. The 1920 event had prize money of £650, then the largest ever in a British tournament. From 1921 the pr ...

*1926

*1927 Ifield Tournament,

*1928 Eastern Open Championship *1929

Roehampton Invitation The Roehampton Invitation Tournament was a British golf tournament played each April at the Roehampton Club from 1920 to 1935. From 1922 the tournament was played over three days. There was 36 holes of stroke play on the first day with the leading ...

*1930

Daily Dispatch Southport Tournament The Southport Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the Southport area in North West England. It was founded in 1930 when it was sponsored by a Manchester newspaper, the ''Daily Dispatch''. From 1931 it was sponsored by Dunlop ...

*1935

*1945

Yorkshire Evening News Tournament The Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was an international golf tournament in the English Yorkshire area before the European Tour was founded. It was a match play tournament for most of its existence, but switched to stroke play in the 1940s. The ...

Results in major championships

''Note: Compston only played in The Open Championship and the U.S. Open.''
NT = No tournament
DQ = disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

* Great Britain vs USA (representing Great Britain): 1926 (winners) *

(representing Great Britain): 1927,

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

(winners),

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

*France–Great Britain Professional Match (representing Great Britain): 1929 (winners, captain) *

England–Scotland Professional Match The England–Scotland Professional Match was an annual men's professional golf competition between teams representing England and Scotland. It was played from 1903 to the start of World War I and was then revived in 1932 and played until the star ...

(representing England): 1932 (winners), 1935 (winners) *

England–Ireland Professional Match The England–Ireland Professional Match was an annual men's professional golf competition between teams representing England and Ireland. It was played in 1932 and 1933 before the Irish Open. The matches followed the same form as the England–S ...

(representing England): 1932 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Compston, Archie English male golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Sportspeople from Wolverhampton 1893 births 1962 deaths