Charles Johns (1887 – 26 July 1947) was an English professional golfer. Johns was born in Devon but the family moved to London when he was very young and then to

Ashford, Middlesex Ashford is a town almost wholly in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, with a small area contained within the boundaries of the London Borough of Hounslow, approximately west-southwest of central London. Its name derives from a Ford (crossing), ...

, near Ashford Manor Golf Club. Johns was an assistant to

Harry Cawsey Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

at Ashford Manor before moving to Southdown Golf Club near

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in West Sussex, England. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to its west by the Adur Valley and to its south by the River Adur and Shoreham Beach on the ...

in 1907. Johns was runner-up in the 1908 Sussex Professional Tournament, losing to

Jack Rowe John Charles "Jack" Rowe (December 8, 1856 – April 25, 1911) was an American professional baseball player, manager and team owner from 1877 to 1898. He played 12 years in Major League Baseball, as a shortstop (657 games), catcher (298 games), ...

5&3 in the final. Johns first came to prominence in the

1909 Open Championship The 1909 Open Championship was the 49th Open Championship, held 10–11 June at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club in Deal, Kent, England. J.H. Taylor won the Championship for the fourth time, six strokes ahead of runners-up Tom Ball and James B ...

. He led after the first morning with a 72 and was second at the end of the day. Despite a poor third round he finished fourth, a shot behind the runners-up. His 72 remained the lowest round of the Championship. Within weeks of the Open he became the professional at Ashford Manor, replacing Harry Cawsey who was moving to a new position in Skegness. Johns completed a good season by qualifying for the final stage of the 1909 News of the World Match Play, reaching the quarter-finals. He won £10, the same as he earned by finishing fourth in The Open. He had less success in the period until the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, although he reached the final of the

Southern Professional Foursomes Tournament The London Professional Foursomes Tournament was a professional golf tournament played annually from 1907 to 1911. In 1909 the southern section of the PGA took over the organisation of the event which was called the Southern Professional Foursomes ...

in 1911. In April 1915 became the professional at Purley Downs near

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, replacing

James Kinnell James Kinnell (1876 – 22 April 1918) was a Scottish professional golfer who played in the late 19th and early 20th century. Kinnell had five top-10 finishes in the Open Championship. His best performance came in the 1905 Open Championship when ...

. This was perhaps a temporary appointment as he was re-appointed in April 1919, after serving during

. Kinnell was killed during the war. Johns remained at Purley Downs until shortly before his death. Johns had a return to form in the 1920s. He finished in the top 20 of the Open on four occasions and also reached the semi-final of the 1922

News of the World Match Play 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 b ...

, losing to

George Gadd Francis George Gadd (1890 – 25 September 1957) was an English professional golfer. He was on the 1927 Ryder Cup team but did not play in any matches. Gadd was Welsh Professional Champion in 1913, won the 1922 News of the World Match Play, ...

at the 19th hole. In 1925 he won his only important event, the

Daily Mail Tournament The Daily Mail Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom. The ''Daily Mail'' sponsored the St Andrews Tournament in 1919 and in 1920 continued their sponsorship with the start of the Daily Mail Tournament. The even ...

, winning £300 and a gold medal. Johns had only qualified for the event through two playoffs. After the Southern section qualifying round he was one of 15 players scoring 79 who had a 9-hole playoff for one remaining place in the main event. Johns and

James Ockenden James Ockenden (July 1885 – 30 November 1949) was an English professional golfer. His best finish in a men's major golf championship was seventh place in the 1914 Open Championship. Golf career He was first employed at Epsom Golf Club near h ...

tied with the best score and then played another 9-hole playoff the following day. Johns had a younger brother, Jack (1891-1918), who was also a professional golfer. Jack was also at Ashford Manor and then at Southdown from 1913. He was killed in Belgium in August 1918.

Professional wins

*1925

*1929 Cuddington Professional Tournament

Results in major championships

''Note: Johns only played in The Open Championship.''
NT = No tournament
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johns, Charles English male golfers Sportspeople from Devonport, Plymouth 1887 births 1947 deaths