George Duncan (16 September 1883 – 15 January 1964) was a Scottish professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er. He was also a

golf course designer A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

. His much sought-after professional teaching and swing analysis skills lead to him being referred to as "the pro's pro." He won the

1920 Open Championship The 1920 Open Championship was the 55th Open Championship, held 30 June to 1 July at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club in Deal, England. George Duncan erased a 13-stroke deficit after 36 holes to win his only major title, two strokes ahead of run ...

Early life

Duncan was born in

Methlick Methlick (Scottish Gaelic language, Gaelic: ''Maothulach'') is a village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated on the River Ythan north-west of Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Ellon. Services Methlick is served by a parish church, ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, Scotland, on 16 September 1883. He was first apprenticed as a carpenter and rejected a chance to become a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

to become a golf professional.

Golf career

Duncan was well known for his fast pace of play; he would simply walk to his ball, drop his limbs into his stance immediately, and hit the ball. If he ever studied the line and shape of his shot, he had done it before he reached his ball, for there was no pause when he got to it. As for practice swings, he regarded them as totally unnecessary and barely legal – close to practising on the course.

1920 Open Championship

In 1920, he won the first post

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 ...

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 Cinque Ports Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club is an 18-hole links golf course in southeastern England, in the town of Deal in the County of Kent (the course is often known simply as "Deal"). Founded in 1892, its name derives from Deal's membership of an ancient ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, in one of the greatest comebacks in Open Championship history. After shooting 80 in his first two rounds, Duncan was thirteen shots behind the leader,

Abe Mitchell Henry Abraham Mitchell (18 January 1887 – 11 June 1947) was an English professional golfer. Mitchell had eight top-10 finishes out of 17 appearances in the Open Championship, his best performance being fourth in 1920. He was runner-up in the 1 ...

, before the final two rounds were played, but made up the deficit to win by two shots from

Sandy Herd Alexander "Sandy" Herd (24 April 1868 – 18 February 1944) was a Scottish professional golfer from St Andrews. He won The Open Championship in 1902 at Hoylake. Early life Born in St Andrews, Scotland, on 24 April 1868, to a golfing family, H ...

. His rounds were 80-80-71-72=303. He is the last player to win a golf major with a score of 80 for a round.

1922 Open Championship

Although he did not win the British Open in 1922, his third round of that Open was included as one of the 25 greatest rounds of golf ever played in the ''Guinness Book of Golf Records Facts and Champions''. His third round 69 was only the third round shot under 70 in British Open history; a major achievement given the limitations of the golf technology of the day. He just failed to win the 1922 Open, eventually losing to

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 ...

by a margin of one stroke. The scene of his demise was a dip in the fairway in front of the 18th green from which he fluffed a chip shot to a position five yards short of the pin. He eventually missed the crucial putt for a tie with Hagen, which led to the short position in front of the 18th being ironically named "Duncan's Hollow."

Ryder Cup

He played for Great Britain 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. He was playing captain in 1929 when Great Britain was the victorious side.

Death and legacy

Duncan died on 15 January 1964 in Leeds, England. He is best remembered for winning the 1920 Open Championship.

Tournament wins (22)

:''Note: This list may be incomplete.'' * 1906

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 ...

* 1908 London Professional Foursomes Tournament (with Charles Mayo), Manchester Tournament * 1909 North Berwick Tournament * 1912

Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament The Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament was a professional golf tournament played annually from 1911 to 1914. Total prize money was £350 provided by the owners of ''The Sphere'' and ''The Tatler''. The winners received individual silver troph ...

(with

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 ...

), Belgian Open * 1913

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 ...

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

* 1914 Bishop's Stortford Tournament,

Port Seton Professional Tournament The Port Seton Professional Tournament was a professional golf tournament played at Port Seton on 1 June 1914 to promote the new golf course. George Duncan won the event by two shots from J.H. Taylor. Detail The construction of the Port Seto ...

* 1919 Killermont Tournament, St Andrews Tournament ("Victory Open") (joint winner with

) * 1920

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 ...

Roehampton Invitation Tournament 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

* 1922

* 1923

Tooting Bec Cup The Tooting Bec Cup is a trophy currently awarded by the Professional Golfers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland to the association member born in, or with a parent or parents born in, the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland who returns ...

* 1924

* 1927 Irish Open,

* 1929 Frinton Invitation Tournament Major championship is shown in bold.

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Note: Duncan only played in

and the U.S. Open.''
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

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 Scotland): 1903 (winners), 1906, 1907, 1909, 1910, 1912 (tie), 1913, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937 * Coronation Match (representing the Professionals):

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

(winners) * Great Britain vs USA (representing Great Britain): 1921 (winners, captain), 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, captain),

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 ...

References

External links

''The New Manadarins of Golf''
from '' Vanity Fair'', July 1921 {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, George Scottish male golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Golf course architects Sportspeople from Aberdeenshire People from Formartine 1883 births 1964 deaths