Peter Gray Fernie (16 January 1862 – 9 August 1942) 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 ...

and clubmaker.

Early life

Fernie was born in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

, Scotland, in 1862. He had a brother, William, who was also a professional golfer.

Golf career

Fernie trained as a professional in St Andrews under

Old Tom Morris Thomas Mitchell Morris (16 June 1821 – 24 May 1908), otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died t ...

. He moved to England, and worked as the professional at the London Scottish Club on

Wimbledon Common Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 460 ...

until 1900, when he went to Ipswich. In 1915, he was involved in a case contesting a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

for golf ball dimples that had been granted; largely based on the evidence Fernie gave, that he had created a ball with indentations in 1897, the patent was revoked. As a player, Fernie competed in many exhibition matches against leading players, and a few professional tournaments. He played 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 ...

on six occasions, and had one top10 finish, in

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...

at Prestwick, when he tied for ninth place with Jack Kirkaldy.

Death

On retiring, Fernie moved back to St Andrews, where he died on 9 August 1942.

Results in The Open Championship

''Note: Fernie played only in

.'' DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernie, Peter Scottish male golfers Golfers from St Andrews 1862 births 1942 deaths