Archibald Edward Wones Compston (1893 – 8 August 1962) was an English professional golfer. Through the 1920s he built a reputation as a formidable

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

golfer, in an era when many professionals made more money from "challenge" matches against fellow pros, or wealthy amateurs, than from tournament golf. Compston was born in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

. Famously, in 1928, Compston - who had won the British PGA Matchplay Championship in 1925 and 1927 - faced

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 Tig ...

, who had won the American

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

at match play in the previous four years, in a 72-hole challenge match, and defeated the American 18 & 17. However, when the two met again shortly afterward at

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 ...

at Royal St George's, Hagen prevailed, with Compston placing third. In 1930, Compston nearly derailed Bobby Jones's bid for the Grand Slam at

Hoylake Hoylake is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historically part of Cheshire, the Domesday ...

- his third round of 68 took the lead from Jones, but inexplicably his form deserted him in the final round, and Compston shot 82 to finish down the field. Compston played in the Ryder Cup in 1927, 1929 and 1931, defeating Gene Sarazen on one occasion. Compston also became notable as perhaps Britain's first "celebrity" professional golfer, becoming a coach to the future Edward VIII. He was 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 ...

from 1945 to 1948, and later at the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda.

Tournament wins (11)

:''This list may be incomplete'' *1925 Leeds Cup, Glasgow Herald Tournament, British PGA Matchplay Championship *1926 Leeds Cup *1927 Ifield Tournament, British PGA Matchplay Championship *1928 Eastern Open Championship *1929 Roehampton Invitation *1930 Daily Dispatch Southport Tournament *1935 Roehampton Invitation *1945 Yorkshire Evening News Tournament

Results in major championships

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

Team appearances

* Great Britain vs USA (representing Great Britain): 1926 (winners) * Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain):

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

(winners),

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

*France–Great Britain Professional Match (representing Great Britain): 1929 (winners, captain) *

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), 1935 (winners) *

England–Ireland Professional Match The England–Ireland Professional Match was an annual men's professional golf competition between teams representing England and Ireland. It was played in 1932 and 1933 before the Irish Open (golf), Irish Open. The matches followed the same form ...

(representing England): 1932 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Compston, Archie English male golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Sportspeople from Wolverhampton 1893 births 1962 deaths