James Melville Dron Hepburn (14 September 1876 – 1945) was a

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

who played in the late 19th century into the early 20th century. He once served as the secretary of the

British PGA The Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) is the professional body which represents the interests of teaching and club golf professionals in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was established in 1901 and is based at The Belfr ...

and later became one of the founding members of the

PGA of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...

. As a player, he posted two top-10 finishes in the Open Championship, a T8 result in

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

and a T10 finish in

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 ...

Early life

Hepburn was born in

Barry, Angus Barry (Scottish Gaelic: ''Barraidh'') is a small village in Angus, Scotland, on Barry Burn at the mouth of the River Tay. The recent completion of a bypass for the village on the A930 road from Dundee to Carnoustie is something that was orig ...

, on 14 September 1876, the son of James Hepburn and Margaret Gray. In 1903 he married Emily Preston at

Royston, Hertfordshire Royston is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Hertfordshire, District of North Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated on the Prime meridian (Greenwich), Greenwich Meridian, which brush ...

, England. He had an older brother Robert Gray Hepburn (1869–1940) who was also a professional golfer. Robert was the professional at Royston Golf Club from about 1892 to 1904.

Golf career

Hepburn, a club maker of some renown, was one of the founding members of the

when he served as chairman of the seven-member organizing committee. He had formerly been the secretary of the

. He played in the

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 in 1903, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1910, 1912 and 1913. He was joint runner-up in the inaugural

Tooting Bec Cup The Tooting Bec Cup is a trophy currently awarded by the Professional Golfers' Association (Great Britain & Ireland), Professional Golfers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland to the association member born in, or with a parent or parents bor ...

in 1901, three strokes behind the winner J. H. Taylor, and was a semi-finalist in the

British PGA Matchplay Championship 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 ...

in 1904 and 1909. In 1904 he lost 4&2 to

Alfred Toogood Alfred Henry Toogood, Sr. (1872 – July 1928) was an English professional golfer who played during the late 19th and early 20th century. Toogood finished fourth in the 1894 Open Championship and won £7. He also tied for ninth place in the 189 ...

in the semi-final while in 1909 he lost 5&4 to the eventual winner, Tom Ball. He had two top-10 finishes in 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 ...

. One of his first postings as a professional came at

Bush Hill Park Bush Hill Park is an area of Enfield, located to the south-east of Enfield Town, on the outskirts of north London, and historically in Middlesex. Much of the district is a planned suburban estate, developed mainly in the late-19th and early-20t ...

from 1896 to 1897. He later served at Enfield (London) in 1897 and

Church Stretton Church Stretton is a market town in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671.

in 1898. He was co-designer of the Church Stretton course with Jack Morris. Hepburn also spent time at Home Park (

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

), from 1900 until early 1915 where he maintained a successful club-making business by partnering with Hugh Williamson, brother of the noted touring professional Tom Williamson. In May 1915 he emigrated to the United States and became the professional at the National Golf Links in Southampton, New York, and remained there until 1928. Soon after arriving he played in the 1915 U.S. Open at

Baltusrol Golf Club The Baltusrol Golf Club is a private 36-hole golf club in the eastern United States, located in Springfield, New Jersey, about west of New York City. It was founded in 1895 by Louis Keller. In 1985, Baltusrol became the first club to have ho ...

. He made the 36-hole cut but his name is not recorded amongst the 54-hole finishers. He taught golf lessons for several winters at

Wanamaker's John Wanamaker Department Store was one of the first department stores in the United States. Founded by John Wanamaker in Philadelphia, it was influential in the development of the retail industry including as the first store to use price tags. ...

department store in Manhattan where he worked for Sam Wanamaker.

Golf course architecture

* Quogue Field Club, Quogue, New York (1897) * Church Stretton Club, Church Stretton, England

Death

Hepburn died of cancer in 1945. The location of his death is unknown.

Results in major championships

''Note: Hepburn only played in The Open Championship and the U.S. Open.''
NT = No tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

(representing Scotland): 1903 (winners), 1905 (tie), 1906, 1907, 1910, 1912 (tie), 1913 *Coronation Match (representing the Professionals):

(winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hepburn, James Melville Dron Scottish male golfers Golf administrators Golf course architects Golfers from Carnoustie Sportspeople from Angus, Scotland Scottish emigrants to the United States 1876 births 1945 deaths