Allan Macfie

Allan Fullarton Macfie (18 February 1854 – 15 January 1943) was a Scottish amateur golfer who played in the late 19th century. He won the first Amateur Championship in 1885.

Allan Macfie
A watercolor by T. Hodge of Macfie putting, c. 1886
Personal information
Full nameAllan Fullarton Macfie
Born18 February 1854
Liverpool, England
Died15 January 1943 (aged 88)
St Andrews, Scotland
Nationality Scotland
SpouseIsabel Rachel Tarbet
Career
StatusAmateur
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT18: 1888
British AmateurWon: 1885

Early life and marriage

Macfie was born in Liverpool on 18 February 1854,[1] the son of John and Lillias (née Fullarton). John was a senior partner in the Liverpool sugar refiners, Macfie and Sons. Macfie married but had no children.[2]

Golf career

Details of play

The 1885 event was organised by the Royal Liverpool Golf Club prior to the first official championship in 1886. It was, for many years, regarded as an unofficial championship but in 1922, the R&A decided that Macfie, the winner of the event, should be added to the list of Amateur Championship winners.[3]

The tournament was played on 20, 21 and 23 April and was "open to all amateur members of recognised golf clubs". The format was match-play. All players were included in the draw for each round, any extra player receiving a bye. If a match was halved after the 18 holes both players progressed to the next round, playing each other again. There were 49 entries from 12 different clubs, although only 44 were included in the draw and four of these players did not turn up. Of the 22 first-round matches, 2 were halved, meaning that there were 12 matches in the second round.[4][5] There were no more halved matches in the following rounds which meant that 3 players reached the semi-final stage.[6][7]

In the first round Macfie halved his match against William Doleman.[4] Under the rules Macfie and Doleman played each other again in the second round. This time Macfie was the comfortable winner.[4] In the third round Macfie beat Thomas Gilroy 2&1 and then beat Walter de Zoete by 1 hole.[6] Macfie was the lucky player to receive a bye at the semi-final stage with Horace Hutchinson beating Ball 2 up in the only semi-final match. After his morning round, Hutchinson played badly in the afternoon and Macfie won 7&6.[8][9]

Each player paid a 1 guinea entry fee. This, together with 25 guineas from the Royal Liverpool club, was used for prizes. The losing finalist received £10 with the remainder being used to buy silver plate for the winner.[5] The final amount for the winner was about £60[8] or £70.[9] By comparison the winner of the 1885 Open Championship received £10.

Tournament wins

As well as winning the 1885 Amateur Championship, Macfie also won the Calcutta Cup in 1886, the Silver Cross in 1889 and 1893 and the Jubilee Vale in 1889 and 1898.[2]

Major championships

Amateur wins (1)
YearChampionshipWinning scoreRunner-up
1885The Amateur Championship7 & 6 Horace Hutchinson

Results timeline

Note: Macfie played in only The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship.

Tournament 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
The Open Championship DNP DNP T22 T18 DNP
The Amateur Championship 1 R16 DNP R64 QF
Tournament 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
The Open Championship DNP T34 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Amateur Championship R16 R32 DNP R32 QF R64 DNP R64 R32 DNP
Tournament 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Amateur Championship DNP R32 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP R32

DNP = Did not play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins, yellow background for top-10

Sources:[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Death and legacy

Macfie died at his home, Brooklands, in St Andrews in 1943 aged 88.[2][23] Macfie is best remembered for winning the first Amateur Championship in 1885.

References
  1. http://www.kittybrewster.com/ancestry/macfie.htm
  2. "First amateur golf champion dead". Dundee Courier. 18 January 1943. Retrieved 15 July 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Golf – Meeting of the Championship Committee". The Times. 3 March 1922. p. 8.
  4. "Golf tournament at Hoylake". The Glasgow Herald. 21 April 1885. p. 7.
  5. "Golf tournament at Hoylake". Dundee Courier. 21 April 1885. Retrieved 15 July 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "The golf tournament at Hoylake". The Glasgow Herald. 22 April 1885. p. 9.
  7. "The golf tournament at Hoylake". Dundee Courier. 22 April 1885. Retrieved 15 July 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "The golf tournament at Hoylake – Victory of a Scottish player". The Glasgow Herald. 22 April 1885. p. 8.
  9. "Golf – The tournament at Hoylake". Dundee Courier. 24 April 1885. Retrieved 15 July 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. http://www.theopen.com/en/History/PreviousOpens.aspx?eventid=2003040&view= www.theopen.com
  11. "Amateur golf championship – Second days's play". Glasgow Herald. September 23, 1886. p. 5.
  12. "Golf – Amateur championship, Prestwick". Glasgow Herald. May 9, 1888. p. 10.
  13. "The amateur golf championship". Glasgow Herald. May 9, 1889. p. 10.
  14. "The amateur golf championship". Glasgow Herald. May 2, 1890. p. 8.
  15. "The amateur golf championship – Result of the first two rounds". Glasgow Herald. May 8, 1891. p. 10.
  16. "The golf championship – Results of the first day's play at Prestwick". Glasgow Herald. May 10, 1893. p. 11.
  17. "Golf – The amateur championship". Glasgow Herald. April 27, 1894. p. 11.
  18. "Golf – First day's play in the amateur championship". Glasgow Herald. May 8, 1895. p. 8.
  19. "The amateur golf championship – The opening rounds". Glasgow Herald. April 28, 1897. p. 10.
  20. "Golf – The amateur championship". Glasgow Herald. May 26, 1898. p. 11.
  21. "Golf – The amateur championship – The second day's play". Glasgow Herald. May 9, 1901. p. 10.
  22. "Golf – Amateur championship – Defeat of the champion". Glasgow Herald. May 30, 1907. p. 14.
  23. "Mr A F Macfie – The first amateur golf champion". The Times. 22 January 1943. p. 7.
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