Cuthbert James Hunt Bradbeer (1880 – 18 August 1937) was an English professional golfer who played in the early 20th century. His best finish in a major championship was a tie for seventh in the 1913 Open Championship held on 23–24 June at

Royal Liverpool Golf Club The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a golf club in Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club. It received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of the Duke of ...

in Hoylake, England. He made his own

gutta-percha Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly from ...

golf balls and was also a club maker. Bradbeer was a frequent competitor in the Open Championship—having made at least 15 starts—and made his final appearance in 1935 at age 54.

Early life

Bradbeer was born in Berrow, Somerset, England, in 1880, the second child of George Bradbeer and Helena (née Hunt). He was one of nine brothers, most of whom became golf professionals. At the

1928 Open Championship The 1928 Open Championship was the 63rd Open Championship, held 9–11 May at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Walter Hagen won the third of his four Open Championship titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Gene Sarazen. It w ...

James and his three youngest brothers,

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

(1894–1938), Ernest (1899–1969) and Fred (1904–1988), all qualified. Of the four only Bob made the cut, finishing tied for 23rd place. As a young man he learned how to make his own

golf balls and also apprenticed as a club maker. One of his golf ball designs from circa 1904 was a bramble-patterned golf ball he called "The Finch". Bradbeer was a professional at Finchley Golf Club in north

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

from about 1901. He played in the first

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 ...

in October 1901, a tournament organised by the London and Counties Professional Golfers' Association, the forerunner of the Professional Golfers' Association which was founded later the same year. In about 1905 he became the professional at Porters Park Golf Club in Radlett, England, where he stayed for over 30 years. During

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 ...

, Bradbeer served in the Sportsmen's Battalion, part of what were called the Pals Battalions which were specially constituted

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

s of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

composed of men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbors and colleagues ("pals"), rather than being arbitrarily allocated to battalions. Bradbeer was able to serve his country alongside several of his golfing acquaintances who also joined the battalion.

Golf career

Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament

In 1911, Bradbeer was paired with

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, He ...

and together they won the 1911 Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament from Walter Hambleton and J.H. Taylor by the convincing score of 8 and 7. Bradbeer had been runner-up in 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 1909 and 1910.

1913 Open Championship

Bradbeer finished tied for seventh place in the 1913 Open Championship.

Details of play

The 1913 Open Championship was held 23–24 June at

in Hoylake, England. J.H. Taylor won the Championship for the fifth time, eight strokes ahead of runner-up Ted Ray. Qualifying took place on 19, 20 and 21 June. The top 20 and ties qualified on each of the three days. Ray led after the first day on 147, with Taylor on 148, Irishman Michael Moran on 150 and Thomas Renouf on 153.

Gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).

Ryder Cup

Bradbeer was one of the PGA selection committee's choices to play in the 1935 and 1937 Ryder Cup matches.

Death

Bradbeer died on 18 August 1937 in the War Memorial Hospital,

Burnham-on-Sea Burnham-on-Sea is a seaside town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett, upon Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small fishing village until the late 18th century when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort. ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

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 northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Bradbeer had travelled from his home in Radlett, Hertfordshire to Burnham for a holiday. On arrival he called a doctor and went into hospital for a major operation. He was still playing at a high level. In April that year he had won a local PGA event, the Porters Park Bowl, playing off a handicap of +2.

Tournament wins (3)

*1911 Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament (with

) *1926 Hertfordshire Open Championship *1937 Porters Park Bowl

Results in major championships

''Note: Bradbeer only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

* Seniors vs Juniors (representing the Seniors): 1928 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradbeer, James English male golfers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Fusiliers soldiers People from Sedgemoor (district) People from Radlett 1880 births 1937 deaths