1911 News of the World Match Play
# 1911 News of the World Match Play

The 1911 News of the World Match Play was the ninth News of the World Match Play tournament, played from 3 to 5 October 1911 at the Walton Heath Golf Club. 32 players competed in a straight knock-out competition, with each match contested over 18 holes, except for the final which was over 36 holes. The winner received £100 out of a total prize fund of £400. James Braid defeated Ted Ray by 1 hole in the final to win the tournament.

## Qualification

Entry was restricted to members of the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA). Qualification was by a series of 36-hole stroke-play competitions; one for each of the eight PGA sections. The Southern section had 12 qualifiers, the Northern section 7, the Midland section 5, the Scottish, Welsh and Western sections 2 and the Eastern and Irish sections 1. Because of the large number of entries in the Southern section, two events were run with 6 qualifiers at each venue. Compared to 1910, the number of qualifiers from the Southern section was reduced by one with the Midland section increasing by one. In the event of a tie for places there was a playoff.

The qualifiers were:

* Eastern section: Ernest Riseborough
* Irish section: Charlie Pope
* Midland section: James Adwick, Jack Bloxham, Len Holland, George Tuck, Tom Williamson
* Northern section: Jack Gaudin, Walter Hambleton, Cyril Hughes, Bill Leaver, Ted Ray, Thomas Renouf, Sam Whiting
* Southern section at Acton Golf Club: James Braid, George Duncan, Fred Leach, James Sherlock, Josh Taylor, Harry Vardon
* Southern section at West Drayton Golf Club: Laurie Ayton, Snr, James Batley, Arthur Catlin, Sandy Herd, Charles Mayo, Fred Robson
* Scottish section: Tom Fernie, Willie Watt
* Western section: Ernest Firstbrook, Herbert Osborne
* Welsh section: Syd Ball, Peter Rainford

## Format

The format was unchanged. Matches were over 18 holes except for the final which was over 36 holes. Extra holes were played in the event of a tied match. Two rounds were played on the first day, two more on the second day with the final on the third day.

## Results

Source:

| First round 3 October | First round 3 October | Second round 3 October | Second round 3 October | Third round 4 October | Third round 4 October | Semi-finals 4 October | Semi-finals 4 October | Final 5 October | Final 5 October |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Walter Hambleton | 1up | | | | | | | | |
| Charles Mayo | | Walter Hambleton | | | | | | | |
| Sam Whiting | | Tom Fernie | 1up | | | | | | |
| Tom Fernie | 5&4 | | | Tom Fernie | | | | | |
| Jack Bloxham | | | | Ted Ray | 6&4 | | | | |
| Ted Ray | 3&2 | Ted Ray | 6&5 | | | | | | |
| Arthur Catlin | 1up | Arthur Catlin | | | | | | | |
| Fred Robson | | | | | | Ted Ray | 3&1 | | |
| Josh Taylor | | | | | | Harry Vardon | | | |
| Cyril Hughes | 5&4 | Cyril Hughes | 1up | | | | | | |
| Laurie Ayton, Snr | | James Adwick | | | | | | | |
| James Adwick | 2up | | | Cyril Hughes | | | | | |
| James Batley | | | | Harry Vardon | 3&2 | | | | |
| Harry Vardon | 2&1 | Harry Vardon | 7&5 | | | | | | |
| George Duncan | | Jack Gaudin | | | | | | | |
| Jack Gaudin | w/o | | | | | | | Ted Ray | |
| James Braid | 5&3 | | | | | | | James Braid | 1up |
| Willie Watt | | James Braid | 4&3 | | | | | | |
| Fred Leach | | Ernest Riseborough | | | | | | | |
| Ernest Riseborough | 1up | | | James Braid | 6&5 | | | | |
| George Tuck | 4&3 | | | Syd Ball | | | | | |
| Ernest Firstbrook | | George Tuck | | | | | | | |
| Herbert Osborne | | Syd Ball | 1up | | | | | | |
| Syd Ball | 3&2 | | | | | James Braid | 22h | | |
| Bill Leaver | 3&2 | | | | | Tom Williamson | | | |
| Thomas Renouf | | Bill Leaver | 2&1 | | | | | | |
| Charlie Pope | | Peter Rainford | | | | | | | |
| Peter Rainford | 2&1 | | | Bill Leaver | | | | | |
| Len Holland | | | | Tom Williamson | 3&2 | | | | |
| Tom Williamson | 3&2 | Tom Williamson | 3&2 | | | | | | |
| James Sherlock | 20h | James Sherlock | | | | | | | |
| Sandy Herd | | | | | | | | | |

w/o = Walk over

## Prize money

Prize money was increased to £400. The winner still received £100 and a gold medal, but the runner-up now received £40 and a silver medal, losing semi-finalists £20 and a bronze medal, losing quarter-finalists £15, second round losers £10 and first round losers £5. The new distribution meant that all 32 qualifiers for the final stages received at least £5.

