William Dinwoodie Ackland-Horman (4 January 1914 – 19 November 1979) was an Australian amateur golfer. He won the 1949

Australian Amateur The Australian Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of Australia. It has been played annually since 1894, except for the war years, and is organised by Golf Australia. Having traditionally been a match play event, from 2021 it has b ...

, becoming the first South Australian-born player to win the title.

Early life

Ackland-Horman was born in Adelaide on 4 January 1914. He was the son of William Dinwoodie Ackland-Horman, who was born in Scotland and was an engineer and surveyor for

Lloyd's Register of Shipping Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

. Ackland-Horman was medical doctor.

Golf career

Ackland-Horman first came to notice in 1933 when he lost to Fergus McMahon in a playoff for the South Australian Close Championship and then won the South Australian Amateur Championship, beating Bill Rymill 4&3 in the final. He won the Australian Universities championship four times in succession, from 1936 to 1939. After World War II, Ackland-Horman won the South Australian Close Championship three times, in 1946, 1947 and 1949. His biggest success came later in 1949, at Royal Sydney, when he beat Bill Edgar at the 38th hole to win the

, becoming the first South Australian-born player to win the title. He had beaten fellow South Australian Bob Stevens in the semi-final. At the end of 1952 Ackland-Horman was in the Australian team to tour New Zealand, playing in a number of events including the

Sloan Morpeth Trophy The Sloan Morpeth Trophy was an amateur team golf tournament, played between Australia and New Zealand. It was contested irregularly from 1947 to 2016. The trophy was presented by Sloan Morpeth in 1956. From 1993 to 2005 the two countries played ea ...

. He won the South Australian Amateur Championship again, in 1952 and 1955.

Later life

In 1945 Ackland-Horman was sentenced to three months in prison, after he was convicted of causing death by dangerous driver. He was involved in an accident in which a 16-year-old cyclist died. His only son and his son's wife died in a road-traffic accident in 1968, when their car was in a collision with a

semi-trailer A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. In the United States, the term is also used to refer to the combination of a truck and a semi-trailer; a tractor-trailer. A large proportion of a semi-trailer's weight is supported by a trac ...

as they were returning to Adelaide from their honeymoon. Ackland-Horman died suddenly on 19 November 1979, in Melbourne where he had been attending the Australian Open.

Tournament wins

*1933 South Australian Amateur Championship *1946 South Australian Close Championship *1947 South Australian Close Championship *1949 South Australian Close Championship,

*1952 South Australian Amateur Championship *1955 South Australian Amateur Championship

Team appearances

(representing Australia): 1952 (tied) *

Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches The Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches were an amateur team golf competition for men between the states and territories of Australia. The event started in 1904 when New South Wales played Victoria. Until World War II the event was played a ...

(representing South Australia): 1932, 1935 (winners), 1937, 1938 (winners), 1939, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962 (joint winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackland-Horman, Bill Australian male golfers Amateur golfers Sportspeople from Adelaide 1914 births 1979 deaths Sportsmen from South Australia