Thomas Walton (1891 – 2 August 1941) 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 performance 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 ...

was a tie for 8th place in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, his first appearance. He was runner-up in the 1923

Daily Dispatch Northern Professional Championship The Northern Professional Championship was a professional golf tournament played in Northern England. The event was generally a regional tournament but from 1923 and 1927 and in 1936 it was an open event with significant prize money. The event w ...

behind

Abe Mitchell Henry Abraham Mitchell (18 January 1887 – 11 June 1947) was an English professional golfer. Mitchell had eight top-10 finishes out of 17 appearances in the Open Championship, his best performance being fourth in 1920. He was runner-up in the 1 ...

Early life

Walton was born in 1891 in

St Anne's-on-the-Sea Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the 2011 census was 42,954. The town is almost contiguous with ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England.

Golf career

Walton played in the St Annes Old Links Tournament in June 1919, representing

Lytham & St Annes Golf Club Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, is one of the courses in the Open Championship rotation. The Women's British Open has also been played on the course five times: once prior to being designated a major ch ...

, and finished tied for 12th place with four rounds of 77. Walton was one of the runners-up in the 1922

Leeds Cup The Leeds Cup is a golf tournament that has been played annually in northern England since 1902. The event is organised by the north region of the Professional Golfers' Association. It is the oldest trophy in professional golf that is still play ...

at Manchester Golf Club, a shot behind

Jack Gaudin John William Gaudin (1876 – 10 December 1947) was a professional golfer from Jersey. His most successful period was in the early 1920s when he was in his late-40s. Gaudin had four brothers who were also professional golfers, his older brother W ...

. In his first qualifying round in the 1922 Open Championship, playing at Prince's, he did the first 9 holes in 34. Although he came back in 40, his rounds of 74 and 77 put him well up amongst the qualifiers. Rounds of 75 and 78 on the first day of the Championship put him in a tie for 5th place. Two rounds of 77 on the final day left him tied for 8th place. He shared the 8th and 9th place prize money with

Harry Vardon Henry William Vardon (9 May 1870 – 20 March 1937) was a professional golfer from Jersey. He was a member of the Great Triumvirate with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. Vardon won The Open Championship a record six times, and also won the ...

, each taking home £6 5s. In the 1923

at Lytham & St Annes, Walton finished tied for third place with Herbert Gaudin and behind two Americans,

Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (along ...

and

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger ...

. He finished one better in the 1925 event, being runner-up, 2 strokes behind

. The 1925 event was again held at his home club. In April 1927 Walton moved from Royal Lytham to the Leamington & County Golf Club, where he remained until his death.

Death

Walton died at his home in

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

on 2 August 1941 aged 50. He had been ill for some time. He left a wife and three children.

Results in major championships

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Tom English male golfers Sportspeople from Lytham St Annes 1891 births 1941 deaths