James Summers Forrester (1908 – 23 June 1938) was a Scottish

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 ...

. He won the

Northern Open The Northern Open is a golf tournament played annually in Scotland since 1931. For some years it was one of only two 72-hole tournaments on the "Tartan Tour", the PGA Tour in Scotland's schedule, the other being the Scottish PGA Championship, b ...

in 1934 and the

Scottish Professional Championship The Scottish Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament which was open only for Scottish players. The final champion was John Higgins. History The Scottish Professional Championship was held in Edinburgh in Dece ...

in 1936. In 1937 he replaced Henry Cotton at Waterloo Golf Club in Belgium but died the following year in a Belgian hospital following complications after an operation for appendicitis.

Golf career

Forrester was at Balmore Golf Club, north of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

from about 1925 but he became the professional at Cruden Bay in April 1932 when James Mackie left for

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 ...

. From this time Forrester was a regular competitor for Scotland in the annual international matches against England and Ireland, playing in both matches each year from 1932 to 1936. Forrester won the 1936

at Moray Golf Club taking the first prize of £55. His 4-round total of 289 was 5 strokes better than runner-up

George Hutton George Hutton (February 4, 1922 in Winnipeg, Manitoba – April 18, 1976) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1959 to 1966, and was a cabinet minister in ...

. First-day rounds of 72 and 76 put him 2 shots behind the leaders but final-day rounds of 70 and 71 put him comfortably ahead of the field. At the start of 1937 Forrester replaced Henry Cotton at Waterloo Golf Club in Belgium. He continued to enter a few tournaments both in Britain and on the Continent.

Death

In June 1938 Forrester was operated on for appendicitis but he developed an ulcer on the brain and died age just 30 in a Belgian hospital.

Family

Forrester had a son, also called James Summers Forrester born in Aberdeen in early 1937. Forrester's widow emigrated to America and their son became a doctor, serving in the US Air Force, and later became a politician. His brother

Willie Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

was also a professional golfer.

Tournament wins

*1934

*1936

Results in major championships

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

Team appearances

* England–Scotland Professional Match (representing Scotland): 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936 *

Ireland–Scotland Professional Match The Ireland–Scotland Professional Match was an annual men's professional golf competition between teams representing Ireland and Scotland. It was played from 1932 to 1936. The match was played on a single day with 10 players in each team who play ...

(representing Scotland): 1932 (tie), 1933, 1934, 1935 (captain), 1936

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrester, Jim Scottish male golfers Golfers from Glasgow Deaths from ulcers 1908 births 1938 deaths