Gerald Hugh Micklem (14 August 1911 – 21 May 1988) was an English amateur golfer and administrator. He played in four

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

matches between 1947 and 1955 and was non-playing captain in 1957 and 1959. Micklem had limited success as a golfer before WWII, but gained an Oxford blue for golf and reached the final of the 1936 Addington Foursomes. He gained national attention when he reached the semi-final of the 1946 Amateur Championship and won the English Amateur. He played in the Walker Cup three times and won the English Amateur for a second time in 1953. He was also an active golf administrator and chairing various committees at The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A). He was captain of the R&A in 1968 and received the Bob Jones Award in 1969 and the Walter Hagen Award in 1970. He was awarded a CBE in the 1969 New Year Honours.

Golf career

Micklem made little impact as a golfer before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, although he gained an Oxford blue for golf and, playing with

Arthur Lacey Arthur James Lacey (20 May 1904 – 6 August 1979) was an English professional golfer who finished in the top ten of The Open Championship on four occasions in the 1930s. He also played in the 1933 and 1937 Ryder Cup matches, and was then sele ...

, reached the final of the 1936

Addington Foursomes The Addington Foursomes was a golf tournament played in Addington Golf Club 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 Gre ...

. Micklem first came to national prominence when he reached the semi-final of the 1946

Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

before losing to

Robert Sweeny Jr. Robert John Vincent Sweeny Jr. (July 25, 1911 – October 21, 1983) was an American amateur golfer, socialite, businessman and Second World War Royal Air Force bomber pilot. He competed in all four men's major golf championships, including many M ...

The following year he won the

English Amateur The English Amateur is the national amateur match play golf championship of England. It has been played annually since 1925 (except for war years) and is organised by England Golf. The English Men's Amateur Championship is contested through t ...

and was selected for the

1947 Walker Cup The 1947 Walker Cup, the 11th Walker Cup Match, was played on 16 and 17 May 1947, on the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland. The United States won by 8 matches to 4. The match should have been played in the United States; the previous match, in 1 ...

team. In 1948, partnered with

Charlie Ward Charlie Ward Jr. (born October 12, 1970) is a former American professional basketball player. Ward was an exceptional football player as well, winning the Heisman Trophy, Davey O'Brien Award, and College Football National Championship while quart ...

, he won the

Daily Telegraph Foursomes Tournament The Daily Telegraph Foursomes Tournament was a golf tournament played in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northw ...

. He played in the

three more times, in 1949, 1953 and 1955, although he only won one of his Walker Cup matches, the foursomes in 1953. He won the

for a second time in 1953.

Golf administrator

Micklem was later actively involved as a golf administrator. He was non-playing captain of the Walker Cup team in 1957 and 1959, and chaired The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) rules of golf committee, selection committee, and championship committee and was captain of the R&A in 1968.

Awards

Micklem received the

Bob Jones Award The Bob Jones Award is the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It is named in honor of Bobby Jones. Winners *1955 Francis Ouimet *1956 William C. Campbell *1957 Babe Za ...

in 1969 and the Walter Hagen Award in 1970. He was awarded a CBE in the 1969 New Year Honours.

Amateur wins

*1947

*1948

(with

) *1953

President's Putter The President's Putter is an annual golf competition contested between former and current Blues golfers from Oxford and Cambridge universities. The event is held every January at the Rye Golf Club in Rye, East Sussex with the first tournament he ...

*1955

Berkshire Trophy The Berkshire Trophy is the amateur stroke play golf championship played at The Berkshire Golf Club in England. It has been played annually since 1946. The format is 72 hole stroke play contested over two days. Both the Blue and Red courses are us ...

(tie with Kim Hall)

Team appearances

(representing andGreat Britain & Irel):

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

(non-playing captain),

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

(non-playing captain) *

Commonwealth Tournament The Commonwealth Tournament was a men's team golf tournament between teams of amateurs golfers from Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. It was played roughly every four years, in 1954, 1959, 1963, 1967, 1971 and 1975. I ...

(representing Great Britain): 1954

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Micklem, Gerald English male golfers Amateur golfers People from Banstead Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1911 births 1988 deaths