James Ockenden (July 1885 – 30 November 1949) was an English

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 ...

. His best finish in a

men's major golf championship The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the major championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the most prestigious tournaments in golf. Historically, the national open and amateur championships of Great Britain a ...

was seventh place in the 1914 Open Championship.

Golf career

He was first employed at Epsom Golf Club near his home, before moving to Wembley Golf Club. In 1914 he moved to West Drayton Golf Club but in 1916 he joined up and served in France 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 ...

. After the war West Drayton was redeveloped and Ockenden moved again to Raynes Park Golf Club. Prior to the war his best performance was to finish seventh in the 1914 Open Championship. He had some success in the 1920

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 ...

tournament and the following year he was selected for the British team in the

International Match ''International Match'' (Swedish: ''Landskamp'') is a 1932 Swedish drama film directed by Gunnar Skoglund and starring Georg Blomstedt, Fritiof Billquist and Olof Sandborg. It was shot at the Råsunda Studios in Stockholm and on location in the ...

at Gleneagles. He won the 1922 Roehampton Tournament and the 1923

Open de France The Open de France is a European Tour golf tournament. Inaugurated in 1906 it is the oldest national open in Continental Europe and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the tour's inception in 1972. The 100th edition of the event ...

. Following this success he toured America with

Arthur Havers Arthur Gladstone Havers (10 June 1898 – 27 December 1980)"Mr A.G. Havers. ''The Times'', 29 December 1980; p. 12; Issue 60812."Deaths – Havers. ''The Times'', 31 December 1980; p. 22; Issue 60814. was an English professional golfer. Havers wo ...

from December 1923 to April 1924 during which he was runner-up in the 1924

Texas Open The Texas Open, known as the Valero Texas Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played near San Antonio, Texas. It dates back years to 1922, when it was first called the Texas Open; San Antonio-based Val ...

. In 1925 Raynes Park was also sold for housing and he moved to Hanger Hill Golf Club and then to his final club, North Middlesex Golf Club, in 1928. At North Middlesex he was assisted by his two sons, James and Frederick. His first wife Beatrice died in 1930 and he remarried to Annie in 1933. His son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

moved to South Africa in 1934 and was the runner-up at the

South African PGA Championship The South African PGA Championship is one of the most prestigious golf tournaments on the Sunshine Tour. It is generally played in February, depending on the Tour Schedule, with a prize fund of 2 million rand, and is currently held at Eye of Afri ...

in 1947 and 1948.

Death and legacy

In December James travelled to South Africa to join his son but while there had his leg amputated. He returned to England in November 1949 but died three weeks later. On 3 September 1949 a four-ball match was played at North Middlesex to raise money for Ockenden.

Bobby Locke Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke (20 November 1917 – 9 March 1987) was a South African professional golfer. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won The Open Championship four times and 15 PGA Tour events in total ...

went round in 60, 9-under-par. The match raised about £450.

Tournament wins

*1922

Roehampton 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 ...

*1923

Results in major championships

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

Team appearances

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ockenden, James English male golfers Sportspeople from Epsom British military personnel of World War I Military personnel from Surrey 1885 births 1949 deaths