James George Sherlock (1875 – 16 December 1966) was an English professional

golfer 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 ...

. He had four 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 ...

, including a sixth place finish in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

. In his long golf career, he had at least 16 professional wins. He played for the British team against the United States in the 1921 Ryder Cup match at Gleneagles.

Early life

James Sherlock was born in 1875 in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

, Buckinghamshire, England.

Golf career

1910 was Sherlock's most successful year when, after a disappointing

, he then won the Olton Professional Tournament, the Portmarnock Professional Tournament, the

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 ...

and the

News of the World Matchplay 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 ...

. In 1920 Sherlock became the professional at

Hunstanton Hunstanton () is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash, making it one of the few places on the east coast of Great Britain where the sun sets over the sea. Hunstant ...

Golf Club, where he remained until 1932 when he moved to

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

. He played for the British team against the United States in the 1921 Ryder Cup match at Gleneagles. Sherlock continued playing at an advanced age. He attempted to qualify for the

1939 Open Championship The 1939 Open Championship was the 74th Open Championship, held 5–7 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Dick Burton won his only major title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Johnny Bulla. The purse was £500 with a winner's shar ...

. In 1958 he won his age group (age 70 and over) in the Teachers Senior Professional Tournament scoring 140 over 27 holes. He played in the event as late as 1960 when he was 85 years old.

Death and legacy

Sherlock died on 16 December 1966 at

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 ...

, aged 91. He is best remembered for having four top-10 finishes in the

, including a sixth place finish in

when he had rounds of 83-71-78-77=309 and won £7 10s.

Tournament wins

:''Note: This list is incomplete.'' *1901 Olton Professional Tournament *1905 Ranfurly Castle Professional Tournament *1909

*1910 Olton Professional Tournament, Portmarnock Professional 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 George Duncan) *1922 Norfolk Professional Championship *1923 Norfolk Professional Championship *1924 Norfolk Professional Championship *1928 Norfolk Professional Championship *1929 Norfolk Professional Championship *1930 Norfolk Professional Championship *1935 Dunlop-Eastern Tournament *1936 Dunlop-Eastern Tournament

Results in major championships

''Note: Sherlock only played in The Open Championship.''
NT = No tournament
WD = withdrew
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 England): 1903, 1904 (tie), 1905 (tie), 1906 (winners) 1907 (winners), 1909 (winners), 1910 (winners), 1912 (tie), 1913 (winners) *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) * Seniors vs Juniors (representing the Seniors): 1928 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherlock, James English male golfers Sportspeople from High Wycombe 1875 births 1966 deaths