Henry Abraham Mitchell (18 January 1887 – 11 June 1947) 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 p ...

. 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 1912

Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 1 ...

and won the 1924 Miami Open.

Early life

Mitchell was born in

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...

on 18 January 1887. He was the illegitimate son of Mary Mitchell. Mary married a Mark Seymour in 1890 and Abe was brought up by his grandparents, George and Sophia Mitchell. Mark and Mary had a son

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

, Abe's half-brother, who also became a successful professional golfer. Mitchell was a fine amateur, and played for England against the Scots in 1910 and won. He won the Golf Illustrated Gold Vase twice in 1910 and 1913, and played in two Open Championships before turning professional in late 1913, attached to Sonning Golf Club in Berkshire.

Golf career

Mitchell won many golf tournaments in Great Britain and toured the United States frequently, winning the 1924 Miami Open, and entered three U.S. Opens. He led at the halfway stage in the

1920 Open Championship The 1920 Open Championship was the 55th Open Championship, held 30 June to 1 July at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club in Deal, England. George Duncan erased a 13-stroke deficit after 36 holes to win his only major title, two strokes ahead of runn ...

before collapsing in the third round, when he shot 84 and finished four shots behind winner George Duncan, who had been 13 shots off the lead after two rounds. In a match held on 26 July 1921, Mitchell and George Duncan were paired in a foursomes match and won against Chick Evans and Charles Mayo at Edgewater Golf Club in Chicago, Illinois where Mayo was serving as the head professional.

The Open Championship

Mitchell had eight top-10 finishes out of 17 appearances in the Open Championship. In the

he had rounds of 74−73−84−76=307 and finished in fourth place. He was leading the tournament on 147 after the first 2 rounds of play, but a third round 84 knocked him out of contention.

The Amateur Championship

He was runner-up in the 1912

, losing to John Ball on the second extra hole.

Ryder Cup

Mitchell was supposed to be the player-captain of Great Britain's first

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

team in 1927, but was unable to make the voyage to the United States due to

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...

.Ryder Cup History
. rydercup.com He did play on the next three teams in 1929, 1931, and 1933. Mitchell possibly was Samuel Ryder's personal golf instructor from 1925 at Verulam Golf Club, St Albans. The figure on top of the Cup trophy is modeled after Mitchell.Prezioso, Andrew (25 September 2014
Nine things to you know about the Ryder Cup trophy
. rydercup.com

Tooting Bec Cup

Mitchell had the lowest round at the 1933 Open Championship at St Andrews, carding a fine 68, and won the Tooting Bec Cup.

Personal life and death

Mitchell married Dora Deag on 27 November 1920 in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

. He died suddenly in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...

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 northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

at age 60.

Amateur wins

*1910

Golf Illustrated Gold Vase The Golf Illustrated Gold Vase was a prestigious amateur golf tournament in England. It was a 36-hole scratch stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is co ...

*1913

Professional wins

*1919 St Andrews Tournament ("Victory Open") (joint winner with George Duncan), News of the World Match Play *1920 McVitie & Price Tournament (joint winner with James Braid) News of the World Match Play, Kent Professional Championship *1921 McVitie & Price Tournament, Glasgow Herald Tournament *1922 Glasgow Herald Tournament, Southern Open (United States, tie with

Leo Diegel Leo Harvey Diegel (April 20, 1899 – May 5, 1951) was an American professional golfer of the 1920s and early 1930s. He captured consecutive PGA Championships, played on the first four Ryder Cup teams, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fa ...

) *1924 Miami Open (United States) *1925

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 ...

Evening Standard Tournament The Evening Standard Tournament was a professional golf tournament played at Moor Park Golf Club near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire in 1925 and 1926 and sponsored by the ''Evening Standard'' newspaper. Abe Mitchell won on both occasions. The event ...

*1926 Evening Standard Target Tournament,

Roehampton Invitation The Roehampton Invitation Tournament was a British golf tournament played each April at the Roehampton Club from 1920 to 1935. From 1922 the tournament was played over three days. There was 36 holes of stroke play on the first day with the leading ...

*1927

, Daily Mail Tournament, Hertfordshire Open Championship *1928

, Ryder Tournament (joint winner with Bill Davies) *1929

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 ...

, News of the World Match Play, Irish Open, Selsdon Park Tournament, Hertfordshire Open Championship *1932

Bristol Evening World Tournament The Bristol Evening World Tournament was a professional golf tournament played at Long Ashton Golf Club near Bristol, England, in May 1932 and sponsored by the '' Bristol Evening World'' newspaper. The event was held just once and was the first i ...

, Hertfordshire Open Championship *1934

Dunlop-Southern Tournament The Dunlop-Metropolitan Tournament was an invitation professional golf tournament played in South East England. It was founded in 1934. The tournament was played towards the end of the season and was played over 72 holes of stroke play. The event ...

Addington Foursomes The Addington Foursomes was a golf tournament played in Addington Golf Club near Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Great ...

(with

Rex Hartley Rex may refer to: * Rex (title) (Latin: king, ruler, monarch), a royal title ** King of Rome (Latin: Rex Romae), chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom People * Rex (given name), for people with the given name * Rex (surname), for people with t ...

), Hertfordshire Open Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Mitchell only played in The Open Championship, U.S. Open, and The Amateur Championship.'' NT = No tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place Sources: U.S. Open, Open Championship, Amateur Championship – 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913

Team appearances

Amateur *

England–Scotland Amateur Match The England–Scotland Amateur Match was an annual men's amateur golf competition between teams representing England and Scotland. It was played from 1902 to 1931, although the match lapsed between 1913 and 1921. The match continued after 1931 but ...

(representing England): 1910 (winners), 1911, 1912 Professional * Great Britain vs USA (representing Great Britain): 1921 (winners), 1926 (winners) * Seniors vs Juniors (representing the Seniors): 1928 (winners) *

(representing Great Britain): 1929 (winners), 1931,

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

(winners) *

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 England): 1932 (winners), 1933 (winners), 1934 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Abe English male golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe People from East Grinstead Sportspeople from St Albans 1887 births 1947 deaths