James McDowall (1896 – 5 November 1944)[1] was a Scottish professional golfer. He was one of the leading Scotland-based professionals of the inter-war period, winning the Northern Open, the Dunlop-Scottish Tournament and the Scottish Professional Championship.

Jimmy McDowall
Personal information
Full nameJames McDowall
Born1896
Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland
Died5 November 1944 (aged 48)
Ayr, Scotland
Sporting nationality Scotland
Career
StatusProfessional
Professional wins3
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT16: 1934

Golf career

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McDowall was an assistant at the Links Golf Club, Newmarket before World War I.[2] He later became the professional at Williamwood Golf Club, Glasgow and then moved to Prestwick Golf Club and, in 1927, to Turnberry.[3]

McDowall won the inaugural Northern Open in 1931 by 7 strokes.[4] The following year he led by 7 strokes after 3 rounds but was caught on the final afternoon and lost a playoff.[5][6]

McDowall also won the inaugural Dunlop-Scottish Tournament played on the King's course at Gleneagles in October 1933. This was a match-play event, the equivalent of the Scottish Professional Championship which was stroke-play. McDowall received a bye in the first round.[7] After four rounds on the next two days, McDowall reached the final where he played Mark Seymour.[8][9] Seymour had won three of the previous four Scottish Professional Championships. In the 36-hole final, McDowall was 5 up after 7 holes, although the lead was reduced to 4 holes after the opening round. In the afternoon McDowall won 6 of the first 8 holes to be dormie 10. Seymour then won the next 5 holes before a half at the 14th gave McDowall a 5&4 victory.[10]

McDowall was runner-up in the Scottish Professional Championship in 1933 and 1934 behind Mark Seymour.[11][12] In 1935 he won the event, finishing 6 strokes clear of the field and 9 ahead of Seymour.[13]

McDowall was a regular competitor in the Open Championship, qualifying for 10 successive years from 1926 to 1935. His best finish was to be tied for 16th place in 1934. He was also a regular in the Scottish team from when the professional international matches were restarted in 1932 until 1936.

Professional wins (3)

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Results in major championships

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Tournament 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935
The Open Championship T44 T30 CUT T37 CUT CUT T40 CUT T48 T16 CUT

Note: McDowall only played in The Open Championship.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

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References

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  1. ^ "Deaths – M'Dowall". The Glasgow Herald. 14 November 1944. p. 1.
  2. ^ "£400 Professional Tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 24 July 1913. p. 13.
  3. ^ "Scots Golf Professional Dies". The Glasgow Herald. 14 November 1944. p. 3.
  4. ^ "Northern Open tournament". The Glasgow Herald. 1 May 1931. p. 4.
  5. ^ "Thrilling tie at Nairn". The Glasgow Herald. 22 April 1932. p. 18.
  6. ^ "Troon assistant wins Nairn play-off". The Glasgow Herald. 23 April 1932. p. 16.
  7. ^ "Scots Professional Title". The Glasgow Herald. 12 October 1933. p. 17.
  8. ^ "Scots Professional Match-play Title". The Glasgow Herald. 13 October 1933. p. 4.
  9. ^ "Scots Professional Match-play Title". The Glasgow Herald. 14 October 1933. p. 17.
  10. ^ "A Remarkable Final". The Glasgow Herald. 16 October 1933. p. 21.
  11. ^ "Seymour wins again". The Glasgow Herald. 9 June 1933. p. 6.
  12. ^ "Professionals at Nairn: Seymour retains title: M'Dowall second". The Glasgow Herald. 8 June 1934. p. 7.
  13. ^ "M'Dowall wins by six strokes". The Glasgow Herald. 7 June 1935. p. 7.