Walter Douglas Smithers (25 August 1904 – 27 January 1993) 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 ...

. He tied for 8th place in the

1949 Open Championship The 1949 Open Championship was the 78th Open Championship, held 6–9 July at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, England. Bobby Locke of South Africa won the first of his four Open titles in a 36-hole playoff, twelve strokes ahead o ...

Golf career

Smithers was assistant professional at

Royal Ottawa Golf Club The Royal Ottawa Golf Club is a premier private golf club located in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1891, and has made major contributions to the development of Canadian golf right from its early years, hosting many important champions ...

from 1928 to 1935. Soon after arriving he won the Canadian PGA Assistant's Championship in August 1928, winning by 7 strokes and beating the course record with a 70 in his afternoon round. In 1932, Smithers set a course record of 63 on the Royal Ottawa course. He returned to England in 1935. On his return to England, Smithers worked as a teacher and caddie at

Sunningdale Golf Club Sunningdale Golf Club is a golf club in Sunningdale, Berkshire, England, located approximately west-southwest of London. Sunningdale Golf Club was founded in 1900 and has two eighteen hole golf courses: the Old Course, designed by Willie Park ...

where he had been before leaving for Canada. He caused a surprise in the

1936 Open Championship The 1936 Open Championship was the 71st Open Championship, held 25–27 June at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. Alf Padgham won his only major title, one stroke ahead of runner-up Jimmy Adams. Qualifying was scheduled for 22� ...

where, as a virtual unknown, he was second in the qualifying behind Henry Cotton and finished tied for 15th place in the Championship itself. Smithers became the professional at Long Ashton Golf Club in 1948 where he remained until his retirement. After finishing tied for 8th place in the

he was in a short list of 20 for the

1949 Ryder Cup The 8th Ryder Cup Matches were held 16–17 September 1949, at Ganton Golf Club in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The United States team won the competition by a score of seven to five. Still recovering from his near-fatal automobile a ...

team but was not selected for the final 10. Paired with Irish amateur

Jimmy Bruen James Francis O’Grady Bruen (8 May 1920 – 3 May 1972) was an Irish amateur golfer. He won the 1946 Amateur Championship and was in the British Walker Cup team in 1938, 1949 and 1951. He is regarded as one of Ireland's leading amateur golfers. ...

he won the 1950

Daily Telegraph Foursomes Tournament The Daily Telegraph Foursomes Tournament was a golf tournament played in 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 northw ...

Formby Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "For ...

. Playing with John Fallon, he was also runner-up in the 1954

Goodwin (Sheffield) Foursomes Tournament The Goodwin (Sheffield) Foursomes Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the Sheffield area of England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland ...

. In individual tournaments his best performance was joint runner-up in the 1951

Silver King Tournament The Silver King Tournament was a professional golf tournament played at Moor Park Golf Club near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The event was promoted by The Silvertown Company, manufacturer of the Silver King golf ball. It was held from 1936 to 1 ...

where he finished two strokes behind

Flory Van Donck Flory Van Donck (23 June 1912 – 14 January 1992) was a Belgian professional golfer. Van Donck is widely regarded as the greatest ever Belgian golfer. During his career, he won more than fifty tournaments worldwide, including many of the mo ...

Tournament wins

*1928 Canadian PGA Assistant's Championship *1949 West of England Professional Championship *1950

(with

) *1951 West of England Professional Championship *1952 West of England Professional Championship *1959 West of England Professional Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Smithers only played in The Open Championship.''
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smithers, Wally English male golfers People from Chobham, Surrey 1904 births 1993 deaths