| Ted Ray | |
|---|---|
 Ray in 1920 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Edward Rivers J. Ray |
| Nickname | Ted |
| Born | (1877-04-06)6 April 1877 Jersey |
| Died | 26 August 1943(1943-08-26) (aged 66) Watford,England |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 16 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  Jersey |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | c. 1895 |
| Professional wins | 46 |
| Best results in major championships (wins:2) | |
| Masters Tournament | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP |
| U.S. Open | Won:1920 |
| The Open Championship | Won:1912 |
Edward Rivers John Ray (6 April 1877 – 26 August 1943)[1] was aBritish professionalgolfer, one of the leading players of the first quarter of the 20th century. He won twomajor championships, theOpen Championship in1912 and theU.S. Open in1920, and contended in many others. He was captain of the British team in the inauguralRyder Cup, in1927.[2]
Ray was born atMarais,Grouville,Jersey on 6 April 1877, the son of Stephen Ray, the captain of an oyster trawler, and his wife, Mary Ann Arm.[2] He learnt his golf on the Grouville Links, one of a large number of local boys who later became professional golfers which includedHarry Vardon, his brotherTom, the Gaudin brothers, the Boomer brothers and the Renouf brothers. Ray was a tall, well-built man who was known for his prodigious power, although his shots often landed in awful positions.[3] In addition to his prowess on the golf course, he was also useful atbilliards andlawn bowls.[4][2]
Ray turned professional in 1894 at the age of 17, initially working as a club-maker before becoming a professional nearSt Malo.[2] He played in the1899 Open Championship finished in a tie for 16th place. Later in 1899 he took a position as a club professional at Churston Golf Club,Churston,Devon.[2] During his time at Churston, he was encouraged by the club's committee to enterThe Open Championships from 1900 to 1902, and was granted a week's leave of absence and five pounds for expenses each year. After leaving Churston, in early 1903, he became the head professional atGanton Golf Club, replacingHarry Vardon who had left to join theSouth Herts Golf Club. In 1912 he took the position of golf professional atOxhey Golf Club nearWatford inHertfordshire.
Ray favoured an attacking style, and had to develop phenomenal recovery skills. Cartoonists usually depicted him with aniblick in hand, festooned with clumps of heather and saplings, with an inseparable pipe clamped between his teeth. Ray was admired by fans for his daring play, friendly, genial manner and optimistic spirit.
Ray was also a fine clubmaker and advertised his business while the professional at Oxhey. He specialised in the production of drivers, mashies, and niblicks.
BeforeWorld War I Ray was often overshadowed by theGreat Triumvirate ofJames Braid,J.H. Taylor andHarry Vardon and then after the war byGeorge Duncan andAbe Mitchell. Despite this he was one of the leading British golfers of the first quarter of the 20th century.
Ray had an excellent record in theOpen Championship. He won the Open atMuirfield in1912, leading after every round and finishing four strokes ahead ofHarry Vardon and eight clear ofJames Braid in third place.[2][5][6] He was runner-up twice, in 1913 and 1925, and had 9 other finishes in the top-10. His last top-10 finish was in1925 when, at the age of 48, he finished joint runner-up, a stroke behindJim Barnes. Ray had the best final round of 73, despite four-putting the ninth green.[7]
Ray played in 29 successive Open Championships from 1899 and 1932, his run ending when he failed to qualify in1933.[8] Ray's last appearance was in1937, just after his 60th birthday. He had rounds of 76 and 81 to just make the qualifying score.[9] In the championship itself he had rounds of 87 and 88 and missed the cut by 22 strokes.[10]
In addition to his appearances in the Open Championship, Ray also played three times in theU.S. Open, in 1913 and 1920, when he was touring America withHarry Vardon, and in 1927, when he was in America as part of the British Ryder Cup team.
Ray is best known for being in a playoff for the U.S. Open in1913 withHarry Vardon andFrancis Ouimet, the winner. Ray had an opening round of 79 but he rebounded with a course record of 70 in round two which electrified the gallery and got him back into contention.[3] He narrowly missed a 5-foot putt at the last that would have given him a 69.[3] His four cards for the tournament were 79-70-76-79=304.[11] Ray, Vardon and Ouimet played an 18-hole playoff the following day. All three took 38 for the first 9 holes but Ouimet came home in 34 to Vardon's 39 and Ray's 40 to win the title. Already two strokes behind Ouimet, Ray effectively dropped out of contention when he took 6 at the 15th. Vardon was only one behind Ouimet after 16 holes but finished 5–6 while Ouimet finished 3–4 to win by five shots.[12]
The 1913 U.S. Open was the subject of a2005Disney movie entitled,The Greatest Game Ever Played, based on authorMark Frost's 2002 book of the same name. Ray had joined Vardon on an extensive tour ofNorth America, promoted and financed by English media baronLord Northcliffe. The two stars travelled the continent for two months, partnering in exhibition matches against the top players in each area they visited. The tour was very successful, attracting large crowds who came out to watch the top British players challenge emerging local golf talent at a time when golf was entering a boom period of popularity, which was further stimulated by the tour. Vardon and Ray ended their tour at the 1913 U.S. Open.[13]
Ray won theU.S. Open atInverness in1920, his second appearances in the championship.[11][6] That victory, at43 years, 129 days, made Ray the oldest U.S. Open champion, a record he held untilRaymond Floyd, a few months older, won in1986.
In addition to his wins in the1912 Open Championship and the1920 U.S. Open, Ray won a large number of other tournaments, although he had few wins in multi-day events. Most of his victories were in one-day 36-hole stroke-play events at which Ray excelled. Ray was also known for performing well in qualifying for the big tournaments; qualifying also generally being the one-day 36-hole stroke-play format.[14]
Apart from his Open Championship success, Ray only won one important stroke-play tournament, the 1923Daily Mail Tournament. Ray scored 288 to win by a stroke fromLen Holland andAbe Mitchell and two fromGeorge Duncan, taking the first prize of £300.[14] Ray had been runner-up the previous year, finishing four shots behind Duncan.[15]
During Ray's playing career the most important British professional tournament was theNews of the World Match Play, which had started in 1903. Ray reached the final in the first season, meetingJames Braid in the 36-hole final. Braid led by 1 hole after the first round. In the afternoon Braid won 3 of the first 5 holes to go 4 up and, although Ray won the next two, Braid eventually won 4&3.[16] Ray had another good run in 1907 until he met Braid in the semi-final and lost again by the same score.[17] In 1911 Ray beatHarry Vardon in the semi-final to reach his second final, meeting Braid again. Braid was 1 up after the morning round and, winning five holes in a row from the 3rd, was 6 up with 9 holes to play. Ray then won five of the next eight holes to take the match to the final hole. They halved this in 4 to give Braid the win by 1 hole.[18] Ray reached the final again the following year, 1912, meeting Harry Vardon. This was Vardon's only appearance in the News of the World final. Vardon was 3 up after the morning round but Ray had levelled the match with five holes to play. Vardon won the next two holes and, although Ray won the 17th, a half in 4 at the last left Vardon the winner by 1 hole.[19] Ray reached his fifth semi-final in 1921, played at his home club,Oxhey, where he met his Jersey contemporaryJack Gaudin. Ray got off to a bad start and was 6 down after 10 hole and, although he made something of a recovery, he eventually lost 3&2.[20]
From 1920 to 1927 there was a second big match-play event, theGlasgow Herald Tournament. Ray reached two finals, 1922 and 1927. In 1922 he metAbe Mitchell in the final. Ray led by three after 11 holes of the morning round, but Mitchell finished well to level the match at lunch. Mitchell took a three-hole lead after the first nine holes of the afternoon round and eventually won 2&1, his second successive win in the tournament.[21] In 1927 Ray metCharles Whitcombe in the final. The match was very one-sided with Whitcombe 5-up at lunch. After 8 holes of the afternoon round Whitcombe was dormie-10. Ray won the 9th but Whitcombe won the 10th to win 10&8.[22]
Although Ray failed to win either theNews of the World Match Play or theGlasgow Herald Tournament, he did win two match-play tournaments, theCruden Bay Professional Tournament in 1911 and theRoehampton Invitation Tournament in 1924. These both had the same format, with a 36-hole stroke-play qualification day after which the leading 16 played four rounds of match-play on the next two days. 1911 Cruden Bay Tournament attracted an exceptionally strong field of 44 which, as well asJames Braid,J.H. Taylor andHarry Vardon, included ex-Open championsArnaud Massy,Sandy Herd andJack White, future Open championsGeorge Duncan and Ray and most of the leading England-based professionals. Red led the qualifying by four strokes with rounds of 74 and 73, the 73 being a new course record.[23] Ray met Braid in the final, Braid having beaten both Taylor and Vardon in the previous two rounds. Braid holed a 12-yard putt at the last to halve the match and they were still level after a further 9-hole playoff. The match then became sudden-death and, with Braid going out-of-bounds, Ray won the match at the 28th hole.[24][25]
The 1924 Roehampton Invitation Tournament was played in early April. Ray qualified comfortably in a tie for third place.[26] The first day of the knock-out stage was abandoned because of snow and, although conditions were little better on the following day, the two rounds were completed.[27][28] The final day was again cold and wet with the players drinking cups of hot coffee at the turn. Ray beatGeorge Duncan 4&3 in the semi-final and then 53-year-oldRowland Jones by 1 hole in the final.[29]
BeforeWorld War I Ray, like many of the other leading British professionals, was a regular competitor in the main continental open championships of which the most important was theFrench Open. Ray's best finish in the French Open was in 1911 when he was runner-up, 7 strokes behindArnaud Massy.[30] In 1912 Ray twice came close to winning on the continent. In July, soon after his Open Championship success, he played in theBelgian Open, then a one-day 36-hole event. Ray tied withTom Ball andGeorge Duncan on 144. Despite having already played 36 holes, the three then played an 18-hole playoff in the evening. Duncan won with a 70 with Ray runner-up after a 71 and Ball taking 78.[31] The following month he played in the self-styledOpen Championship of Germany atBaden-Baden which offered prize money of £500, four times that of the Open Championship. The prize money attracted most of the leading British professionals. Ray lost two balls in his first round of 75, taking 7 on both holes, 10 behind the leader,Charles Mayo. Ray took 66 in the afternoon but trailedJ.H. Taylor by 8 strokes at the end of the first day.[32] Scoring was generally higher on the second day but Ray had rounds of 68 and 70 to finish level with Taylor. A nine-hole playoff was arranged in the evening. Taylor started 2–3–2 and won with an incredible score of 28 to Ray's 34, Ray taking the second prize of £80.[33]
Ray was an automatic choice for all the main internationals during his career. BeforeWorld War I, theEngland–Scotland Professional Match was the most important professional team competition. Ray was selected for the England team in all these matches, which started in 1903, as well as the1911 Coronation Match. During this period the players were seeded, so that the best players played each other, while those regarded as the weakest players also played together. In most years from 1903 to 1909 Ray was seeded 4th in the England team, behindHarry Vardon,J. H. Taylor andTom Vardon, although he played to 5th in 1905 behindAlfred Toogood and 3rd in 1906 ahead of Tom Vardon. Ray played 3rd in 1910 and 1912 and 2nd in 1913 ahead of J. H. Taylor.
TheEngland–Scotland Professional Match was not played immediately after the war, and in fact did not resume until 1932. Ted Ray was the non-playing Captain of the England team in 1933. The first important post-war international wasa match between British and American teams in 1921 at Gleneagles. Ray played 3rd in the singles, behindGeorge Duncan andAbe Mitchell. Ray was chosen as the British playing-captain for the1926 international match on the East Course at theWentworth Club inSurrey. The following year, despite having passed his 50th birthday, Ray was selected for the inauguralRyder Cup match atWorcester Country Club inMassachusetts.Abe Mitchell was originally chosen as captain but was unable to travel because of illness, and was replaced by Ray.
Ray died on 26 August 1943 in thePeace Memorial Hospital, Watford, England.[34][35] He had retired from his post as professional atOxhey Golf Club on 1 May 1940 because of ill-health.[34]He is remembered as one of the United Kingdoms's all-time greatest golfers.[36]
Major championships are shown inbold.[37][self-published source]
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | The Open Championship | 5 shot lead | 71-73-76-75=295 | 4 strokes | Harry Vardon |
| 1920 | U.S. Open | 2 shot deficit | +7 (74-73-73-75=295) | 1 stroke |  Jack Burke Sr.,Leo Diegel, Jock Hutchison, Harry Vardon |
| Tournament | 1899 | 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | |||||||||||
| The Open Championship | T16 | 13 | T12 | 9 | 24 | T12 | T11 | T8 | T5 | 3 | 6 |
| Tournament | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | 3 | NT | NT | |||||||
| The Open Championship | T5 | T5 | 1 | 2 | T10 | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT |
| Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | 1 | T27 | ||||||||
| The Open Championship | 3 | T19 | T46 | T12 | T32 | T2 | T30 | T30 | T33 | T39 |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | ||||||||
| The Open Championship | T24 | CUT | T56 | CUT |
Note: Ray only played in The Open Championship and the U.S. Open.
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
![Ted Ray (right) in Vaudeville News, 1920[38]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTedRayComedy.PNG)
Ted Ray in theRyder Cup | |
|---|---|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
