Arthur Lacey

Arthur Lacey
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Arthur James Lacey
Born (1904-05-20)20 May 1904
Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England
Died 6 August 1979(1979-08-06) (aged 75)
Pinehurst, North Carolina, U.S.
Nationality  England
Career
Status Professional
Professional wins 6
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
U.S. Open DNP
The Open Championship T7: 1932, 1937
PGA Championship DNP

Arthur James Lacey (20 May 1904 – 6 August 1979)[1] was an English professional golfer who finished in the top ten of The Open Championship on four occasions in the 1930s. He also played in the 1933 and 1937 Ryder Cup matches, and was then selected as non-playing captain of the Great Britain and Ireland side for those matches in 1951. He was chairman of the PGA from 1949 to 1951.[2]

Early life

Lacey was the son of another Arthur Lacey, the greenkeeper at Burnham Beeches Golf Club in Buckinghamshire.[3] Arthur, senior was also a golfer, winning the first competition of the Golf Greenkeepers' Association at Bushey Hall Golf Club in 1912 with scores of 80 and 79.[4] Arthur senior later moved to Ifield, West Sussex. Lacey had a younger brother Charles who was also a successful golfer.

Golf career

Lacey's most notable victories as a player came in the Belgian Open of 1931 and 1932, and the French Open in 1932, and he continued to be a regular high finisher in British professional events in the 1930s. 1937 was his most successful year winning the Yorkshire Evening News and Dunlop-Metropolitan tournaments and finishing seventh in The Open Championship, behind winner Henry Cotton but ahead of several of that year's American Ryder Cup side, including major champions Horton Smith, Ralph Guldahl, Sam Snead and Denny Shute.

Lacey was professional at The Berkshire Golf Club in Ascot, Berkshire from 1934 to 1952 having previously been at Selsdon Park (1928 to 1933), Leighton Buzzard Golf Club (1927 to 1928) and an assistant at Gerrards Cross Golf Club.

Lacey also served as a rules official, and in that capacity was involved in a controversial ruling during the final round of the 1958 Masters Tournament. He allowed Arnold Palmer, who was in strong contention, to play two balls when Palmer's tee shot plugged in wet turf on the 12th hole. Palmer's original attempt from the plugged lie gave him a double bogey, while he made a par with his second ball after taking a free drop, which he had had to argue with Lacey to obtain. Palmer's actual score on the hole would be decided after further discussion. Bobby Jones ruled half an hour later that Palmer's par would count, and Palmer went on to win, ahead of a bitter Ken Venturi, who as Palmer's playing partner lost his composure when Palmer received the favourable ruling. The incident has been debated heavily in golf circles ever since.[5]

Tournament wins

this list may be incomplete

Results in major championships

Tournament 1927 1928 1929
The Open Championship T46 T31 CUT
Tournament 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
The Open Championship T24 9 T7 DNP DNP T23 T8 T7 17 CUT
Tournament 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
The Open Championship NT NT NT NT NT NT DNP DNP CUT T20
Tournament 1950 1951
The Open Championship DNP T40

Note: Lacey only played in The Open Championship.
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

Team appearances

References

  1. ↑ https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FGT3-DVT
  2. ↑ http://www.pga.info/about-us/who-we-are/directors-officials/past-pga-chairmen.aspx
  3. ↑ http://www.bbgc.co.uk/club_information/club_history/
  4. ↑ "Golf Greenkeepers' Association". The Times. 24 May 1912. p. 60.
  5. ↑ Arnie and Jack: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Golf's Greatest Rivalry, by Ian O'Connor, 2008
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