Advanced
Site Search

losing at the 19th - to P. J. Clive, son of the British Ambassador. Leopold lived in exile after the war and was to abdicate in 1951 – a consequence of his cooperation with the Nazi authorities following the invasion of Belgium in 1940.

A couple of weeks after the Open the top 12 players in the 1937 professional averages assembled for a new innovative event sponsored by Penfold. The summer, which had deserted Sandwich, had now returned and the sun shone every day on the course at Sandy Lodge in Middlesex. The Penfold League Tournament was in a round robin matchplay format, with players scoring two points for a win and one for a half. The weeklong event required you to play two matches each day from Monday to Friday, with the final match on Saturday afternoon – and you thought the World Matchplay tournament was tough! To make it even tougher the weather was very, very hot – and so was the golf.

It was here that I met Henry Cotton again – this time head to head. I had some tight games that week and I was on the receiving end of some ‘killer’ finishes in five halved matches with Dick Burton, Alf Padgham, Bill Branch, Paddy Mahon and Percy Alliss, with late birdies from Percy, Alf and Paddy denying me. The Times described my match with wee Paddy as follows: “Mahon, out in 33 to 34, led Gadd by a hole to the turn, but Gadd secured the lead with three successive wins from the 11th inclusive. The short 15th was halved. Gadd put his tee shot only a foot from the pin. Mahon, ten yards from the green, jokingly sent his caddy forward to hold the stick. Mahon then holed a niblick shot for a half in two. Gadd was still two up with two to play, but Mahon got down from four yards for a four at the long 17th and almost holed his tee shot at the18th, where he squared the game. Gadd was round in 67 to 68 and the better ball score of the pair was 61”. That was robbery, but the real killer was against Bill Branch. I was five up at the turn and maintained that position with seven to play. Bill then won three holes, but I was dormie two up when I birdied the 17th – to lose it!! He then rubbed it in with a birdie at 18 to square the match.

The match with Henry was a real ‘ding-dong’ affair, with never more than a hole in it either way, and we stood all square on the 17th tee. This is a par-5, with the green cut into a ‘bay’ in the woods, which border the left side of the hole. There is a steep drop down a rough bank at the back of the green. I was on in two but Henry had run over and was down the bank. The pin was towards the back of the green and he hadn’t much room to work with, but I was surprised when he elected to ‘bumble’ his ball up the very rough bank. The required miracle failed to occur and my birdie put me dormie1up. Sandy Lodge is one of a small minority of courses that finish with a par-3, played over a small sandstone quarry in those days, and we both hit the green, with Henry to putt first. He missed and went three feet past, leaving me with two putts for the match. At this point I had a rush of blood and was also a good yard past. The referee’s measure showed that the balls were equidistant, so we had to toss for it. Henry won and, of course, elected



NEXT