Thomas Bruce Haliburton (5 June 1915 – 25 October 1975) was a Scottish golfer. He finished tied for 5th in the

1957 Open Championship The 1957 Open Championship was the 86th Open Championship, played 3–5 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Bobby Locke, age 39, won his fourth and final Open title, three strokes ahead of runner-up Peter Thomson, who had won the ...

and played in the

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

Ryder Cups.

Early life

Haliburton was born in a cottage in Rhu, then in

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders Pe ...

but now in

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

, but after a few years his parents moved to Shandon, a few miles away. It was there that he had his first contact with golf at Shandon Golf Club. He went to the Hermitage School in

Helensburgh Helensburgh (; gd, Baile Eilidh) is an affluent coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local gove ...

until he was 15 years old. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Haliburton was in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. He married in 1941 and became a corporal in the same year.

Golf career

Haliburton was initially an assistant for four years at Haggs Castle Golf Club in

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 ...

before moving to

Prestwick St Nicholas Golf Club Prestwick ( gd, Preastabhaig) is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, an ...

. In 1939 he became first assistant to Henry Cotton at Ashridge Golf Club. After a series of moves, he became the professional at the

Wentworth Club Wentworth Club is a privately owned golf club and country club in Virginia Water, Surrey, on the south western fringes of London, not far from Windsor Castle. The club was founded in 1922. Beijing-based Reignwood Group bought the club in Sept ...

in 1952 where he remained until his death in 1975. In 1952 he set a world record score by scoring 126 for the first two rounds of the Spalding Tournament, although he eventually finished fourth. He was in the British

and

Ryder Cup teams. In the

1963 Open Championship The 1963 Open Championship was the 92nd Open Championship, held from 10–13 July at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England. Bob Charles won his only major championship in a 36-hole playoff on Saturday, eight strokes a ...

at Royal Lytham, he scored 29 for the first nine holes of the opening round, an Open record, equalled by

Peter Thomson Peter Thomson may refer to: * Peter Thomson (golfer) (1929–2018), Australian golfer * Peter Thomson (diplomat) (born 1948), Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations * Peter Thomson (footballer) (born 1977), English footballer * Peter ...

later on the same day.

Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is a retired English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captai ...

equalled the record in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

and

Denis Durnian Denis Durnian (born 30 June 1950) is an English professional golfer. Durnian was born in Wigan, Greater Manchester. He turned professional in 1969 and played on the European Tour from the early 1970s to the early 1990s. He never won a Europea ...

beat it, scoring 28, in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

. In 1969 he became chairman of the British PGA. He was the non-playing British captain in the first PGA Cup at Pinehurst, North Carolina in 1973. His last tournament was a Pro-Am at Helensburgh Golf Club in 1974.

Death

Drawing up plan for his retirement, he had recommended

Bernard Gallacher Bernard Gallacher, OBE (born 9 February 1949) is a Scottish professional golfer. Early life and amateur career Gallacher was born in Bathgate, Scotland. He took up golf at the age of eleven. In 1965 he won the Lothians Golf Association Boys C ...

as his successor at Wentworth. Haliburton and Gallacher had just started a practice round when, on the first green, Haliburton collapsed and died. He had been a professional golfer for 42 years.

Tournament wins

*1938

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 ...

, West of Scotland Championship *1946 West of England Professional Championship *1949

Daily Mail Tournament The Daily Mail Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the United Kingdom. The ''Daily Mail'' sponsored the St Andrews Tournament in 1919 and in 1920 continued their sponsorship with the start of the Daily Mail Tournament. The even ...

*1951

Sunningdale Foursomes The Sunningdale Foursomes is an open foursomes golf tournament contested at the Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire in March. It was first contested in 1934 and has been held annually since, except between 1940 and 1947. The event is open to all gol ...

(with Jean Donald) *1953

(with Jean Donald) *1959

Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament The Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament was a pro-am golf tournament played at the Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland. The event was held annually from 1953 to 1966. From 1953 to 1957 it was called the Gleneagles-Saxone Foursom ...

(with

Bill Igoe Squadron Leader William Anthony Kevin Igoe, FRAES, CE (17 April 1911 – 15 November 1993) was an Irish-born Royal Air Force officer who was senior controller for No. 11 Group RAF at RAF Biggin Hill. He was also a noted sportsman and businessman. ...

) *1963

Yorkshire Evening News Tournament The Yorkshire Evening News Tournament was an international golf tournament in the English Yorkshire area before the European Tour was founded. It was a match play tournament for most of its existence, but switched to stroke play in the 1940s. The ...

Results in major championships

''Note: Haliburton only played in the Masters Tournament and

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 t ...

.''
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

Canada Cup The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true worl ...

(representing Scotland): 1954 * Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain):

* Ireland–Scotland Professional Match (representing Scotland): 1935, 1936 *

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): 1938 *

Llandudno International Golf Trophy The Llandudno International Golf Trophy was a professional team match play golf tournament that was played at the Maesdu Golf Club from 28 to 30 September 1938. The tournament was contested between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. It was int ...

(representing Scotland): 1938 * Amateurs–Professionals Match (representing the Professionals): 1960 (winners) * PGA Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1973 (non-playing captain)

References

External links

Helensburgh Heritage: Van Shandon to Ryder CupShandon Golf Club, Argyll & Bute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haliburton, Tom Scottish male golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Golfers from Argyll and Bute Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force airmen Military personnel from Argyll and Bute People from Rhu, Argyll and Bute 1915 births 1975 deaths