Harry Bradshaw (golfer)

Harry Bradshaw
Personal information
Full nameHarry Bradshaw
Born(1913-10-09)9 October 1913
Delgany, County Wicklow, Ireland
DiedDecember 1990 (aged 77)
Sporting nationality Ireland
Career
StatusProfessional
Professional wins21
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open Championship2nd: 1949

Harry Bradshaw (9 October 1913 – 22 December 1990) was a leading Irish professional golfer of the 1940s and 1950s.

Bradshaw was born in Delgany, County Wicklow. He was the son of the Delgany professional golfer Ned Bradshaw and he and his three brothers Jimmy, Eddie and Hughie all became professional golfers. He represented Ireland in the Triangular Professional Tournament in 1937 and Llandudno International Golf Trophy in 1938. He won the Irish PGA Championship 10 times between 1941 and 1957, tied with Christy O'Connor Snr for most wins in that event. He was also the Irish Open champion in 1947 and 1949. He teamed with Christy O'Connor to win the Canada Cup for Ireland in Mexico in 1958, finishing second in the individual section of the event despite suffering nosebleeds due to the altitude. Bradshaw played in the Ryder Cup in 1953, 1955 and 1957. He was twice Dunlop Masters champion, in 1953 and 1955.

Bradshaw lost the 1949 The Open Championship following a playoff against Bobby Locke at Royal St George's, after an extraordinary incident in the second round when his drive at the 5th hole came to rest against broken glass from a beer bottle on the fairway. Rather than taking a drop (to which he would probably have been entitled) Bradshaw elected to play the ball as it lay, but was only able to move it slightly forward, dropping the shot. The setback resulted in his tying with Locke with an aggregate of 283, thereby equaling the championship record. However, he lost the playoff to Locke. Arguably the incident with the bottle cost Bradshaw the tournament. He died in December 1990.[1]

Tournament wins (21)

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European Circuit wins (5)

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Date Tournament Venue Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
10 Jul 1947 Irish Open Royal Portrush Golf Club 73-74-73-70=290 2 strokes Belgium Flory Van Donck
29 Jul 1949 Irish Open Belvoir Park Golf Club 70-71-72-73=286 1 stroke South Africa Bobby Locke
8 Oct 1953 Dunlop Masters Sunningdale Golf Club 69-68-69-66=272 3 strokes England Max Faulkner
21 Sep 1955 Dunlop Masters Little Aston Golf Club 69-70-71-67=277 4 strokes England Henry Cotton
11 Apr 1958 PGA Close Championship Maesdu Golf Club 72-71-73-71=287 1 stroke Wales Dai Rees

Other wins (16)

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Playoff record

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PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1949 The Open Championship South Africa Bobby Locke Lost 36-hole playoff;
Locke: −9 (67-68=135),
Bradshaw: +3 (74-73=147)

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1946 1947 1948 1949
The Open Championship 11 CUT CUT 2
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
The Open Championship 16 15 T9 CUT T12 T22 T43 T19 T24 T16
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965
The Open Championship T20 T30 CUT CUT CUT

Note: Bradshaw only played in The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  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. ^ "Harry Bradshaw" The Times, 24 December 1990; pg. 10; Issue 63897.