Laurence Buddo Ayton Jnr (1914 – 21 February 1989) was a Scottish

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 ...

Early life

He was the son of golfer Laurie Ayton Snr and was born in

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...

where his father was the professional.

Professional career

He was a member of the British team in 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 ...

but did not play in the matches. He played 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 ...

21 times with his best finish a tie for 15th in 1947. Ayton's best results in national tournaments were runner-up finishes in the

News of the World Match Play The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the '' News of the World'', and was commonly known ...

in 1948, the

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 ...

in 1949, and the Penfold Tournament in 1952. He won more the a dozen regional and county professional and open tournaments in North East England and East Anglia.

Professional wins (18)

*1936 Durham Union Cup, Victory Cup *1937 Durham Union Cup, Victory Cup *1938 Northumberland and Durham Professional Championship, Durham Union Cup *1947 Sussex Professional Championship, Sussex Open *1948 Sussex Professional Championship *1950 Sussex Professional Championship *1951 Sussex Professional Championship *1953 Sussex Open *1954 East Anglian Open *1955 Suffolk Professional Championship *1956 Suffolk Professional Championship *1957 Suffolk Professional Championship *1958 Suffolk Professional Championship *1963 Suffolk Professional Championship Source:

Results in major championships

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

Team appearances

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

(representing Great Britain):

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

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): 1937

References

Scottish male golfers Golfers from St Andrews Ryder Cup competitors for Europe 1914 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-golf-bio-stub