James Braid (golfer)

James Braid (6 February 1870 – 27 November 1950) was a Scottish professional golfer and a member of the Great Triumvirate of the sport alongside Harry Vardon and John Henry Taylor. He won The Open Championship five times. He also was a renowned golf course architect.

Braid was born in Earlsferry, Fife, Scotland and played golf from an early age, working as a clubmaker before turning professional in 1896. Initially his game was hindered by problems with his putting, but he overcame this after switching to an aluminium putter in 1900. He won The Open Championship in 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908 and 1910. In addition, Braid won four British PGA Matchplay Championships (1903, 1905, 1907 and 1911), as well as the 1910 French Open title. He was also runner-up in The Open Championship in 1897 and 1909. His 1906 successful defense of The Open Championship was the last successful defense of the title by a European until Pádraig Harrington replicated the feat in 2008. [cite news
author=
title=Harrington sets 'exclusive' goals
date=2008-07-21
work=BBC News
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/7516931.stm
accessdate=2008-08-14]

In 1912, Braid retired from tournament golf and became a club professional at Walton Heath. He was involved in golf course design [http://www.hickorygolfers.com/notes.php#design] , and is sometimes regarded as the "inventor" of the dogleg. Among his designs are the "King's Course" and the "Queen's Course" at Gleneagles, and the 1926 remodelling of The Open Championship venue Carnoustie Golf Links. He also designed many less well known courses in Scotland including the beautiful Boat of Garten course.

Tournament wins

"this list may be incomplete"
*1901 The Open Championship
*1903 News of the World Match Play
*1905 The Open Championship, News of the World Match Play
*1906 The Open Championship
*1907 News of the World Match Play
*1908 The Open Championship
*1910 The Open Championship, French Open
*1911 News of the World Match Play

Major championships are shown in bold.

Major Championships

Wins (5)

ee also

* Golfers with most major championship wins
* Most wins in one PGA Tour event

References

External links

* [http://www.golflegends.org/james-braid.php James Braid] Profile at Golf Legends
* [http://golf.about.com/od/golfersmen/p/james_braid.htm James Braid] Profile at Golf About
* [http://golf.visitscotland.com/jbcollection/ James Braid Golf Trail] James Braid Golf Trail
* [http://www.golfhouseclub.co.uk/index.php?page=ghc-braid Golf House Club Elie] Golf House Club, Elie
* [http://www.hickorygolfers.com/dublincore/dckeyword.php?dc_searchstring=braid SoHG Archives]
* [http://www.hickorygolfers.com/articletemplate.php?art=braid_by_darwin2.htm James Braid: A Man of Character, Article by Bernard Darwin]
* [http://www.hickorygolfers.com/notes.php#design James Braid on Golf Course Architecture]