Men's Home Internationals (golf)
The Men's Home Internationals are an amateur team golf championship for men between the four Home Nations. Ireland is represented by the whole island of Ireland.The event is organised by England Golf, Scottish Golf, the Golfing Union of Ireland and Wales Golf. The inaugural event was held in 1932 and the venue cycles between the four nations. The winning team receives the Raymond Trophy, presented by Raymond Oppenheimer, an ex-England and Walker Cup captain, in 1952.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1932 |
| Course(s) | Lahinch Golf Club (2019) |
| Format | Team match play |
| Month played | September |
| Current champion | |
 | |
History
An England–Scotland Amateur Match had been first played in 1902. It was played in connection with the Amateur Championship, on the Saturday either before or after the championship. Starting in 1927 Scotland and Ireland had also played an annual match.[1] In 1927 and 1929 this was held in Ireland, before the Irish Amateur Open Championship, while in 1928 and 1930 it was held in Scotland, just before the England–Scotland match.
The 1931 Amateur Championship was held at Royal North Devon. On the previous occasions that it had been held there, there were far fewer Scottish entries than normal and as a consequence the Scottish team in the England–Scotland Match was not fully representative. It was therefore decided to hold the match at a different time and on a different venue, being played at Royal Liverpool in August. In addition it was decided to play a match between England and Ireland on the day before. Ireland and Scotland had already decided to hold their match in Ireland in September.[2] It was later arranged that a Welsh team should attend, playing matches against Scotland and Ireland on the days when England were playing Ireland and Scotland. Scotland beat England 7–6, England beat Ireland 10–4 while Wales lost 2–12 to Scotland and 2–11 to Ireland. England did not play Wales. With Scotland winning both their matches and then beating Ireland 7–6 the following month, they were regarded as the unofficial champion country.[3]
The first tournament was held at Troon Golf Club on 2, 3 and 5 August 1932, there being no matches on the 4th. Matches followed the previous format with 5 foursomes matches in the morning and 10 singles in the afternoon.[4] Scotland and England beat Ireland and Wales on the first two days. On the final day Scotland beat England 8–7 to win the title while Ireland beat Wales 9½–5½.[5]
The 1933 tournament was held at Royal County Down Golf Club from 14 to 16 September. The results of all six matches was the same as in 1932, Scotland beating England in the decisive match.[6] In the 1934 tournament at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club from 15 to 17 August, Ireland beat England on the opening day. With Scotland beating England, Scotland retained the title with Ireland the runners-up.[7] The 1935 event was held at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club from 7 to 9 August. The tournament resulted in a triple-tie; England beat Ireland on the opening day, Ireland beat Scotland on the second day and then Scotland beat England on the final day. As in previous years, Wales lost all their matches.[8]
The 1936 event was held at Prestwick Golf Club from 29 to 31 July. Scotland beat England on the final day to win the tournament, England finishing second and Ireland third.[9] There was a surprise on the opening day of the 1937 tournament at Portmarnock Golf Club when Wales tied their match with Scotland. Played from 1 to 3 September it was the first time the event had been held in the Irish Free State. Despite their tie, Scotland retained the title by winning their other two matches, with England again the runners-up..[10] Royal Porthcawl hosted the event for second time in 1938, from 21 to 23 September. England gained the title after beating Scotland for the first time. Scotland were runners-up with Ireland third.[11] The 1939 matches were planned for 20 to 22 September at Royal Lytham but were cancelled because of the start of World War II.
The tournament resumed in 1947 at Royal Liverpool from 24 to 26 September. England and Scotland won their opening two matches. On the final day England beat Scotland 8–7 while Ireland beat Wales to finish third. The England/Scotland match went to the final green of the final match. Duncan Sutherland and Jack Pressley were all square at the last hole but Pressley took 5 to Sutherland's 4 to give England a narrow win.[12] England retained the title in 1948 at Muirfield, played from 22 to 24 September. England beat Scotland and Ireland on the opening two days but only beat Wales 8–6 on the final day. Ireland beat Scotland to be runners-up with Scotland third.[13] The 1949 event was held at Portmarnock from 16 to 18 May. England again won the title, although they only narrowly beat Ireland 7–6 on the final day. Wales beat Scotland 8–6 on the last day to gain their first win in the event and finish third with Scotland losing all their matches.[14]
The 1950 event was held at Royal St. David's from 27 to 29 September. Heavy rain on the first day meant that the opening singles matches were not played until the Saturday morning, 30 September. Ireland won their opening two matches while Scotland beat England and tied with Wales. This meant that Scotland needed to beat Ireland on the final morning to win the title. Scotland held a 3–2 lead after the foursomes but Ireland won the singles 4–3 to tied the match and win the title outright for the first time. England beat Wales to finish in third place.[15]
Format
Each team plays the other three teams over three successive days. In the current format each team has 11 players. Each match involves 5 18-hole foursomes in the morning and 10 18-hole singles in the afternoon.
Results
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Future venues
- 2021 Hankley Common, England.[19]
References
- "Scotland v Ireland – Match Ends in a Draw". The Glasgow Herald. 12 September 1927. p. 18.
- "International Matches for Hoylake – Ireland v Scotland Venue Unchanged". The Glasgow Herald. 20 February 1931. p. 7.
- "Scottish Golf Triumph – Narrow Victory Over Ireland". The Glasgow Herald. 7 September 1931. p. 11.
- "International Golf". The Glasgow Herald. 2 August 1932. p. 7.
- "Scotland Retains Golf Championship". The Glasgow Herald. 6 August 1932. p. 10.
- "Scotland Golf Triumph". The Glasgow Herald. 18 September 1933. p. 11.
- "International Golf". The Glasgow Herald. 18 August 1934. p. 9.
- "International Golf". The Glasgow Herald. 10 August 1935. p. 9.
- "Scotland's Great Golf Victory". The Glasgow Herald. 1 August 1936. p. 3.
- "Scots Golfers' Wonderful Performance". The Glasgow Herald. 4 September 1937. p. 15.
- "Scots Lose Amateur Golf Title". The Glasgow Herald. 24 September 1938. p. 17.
- "England win Golf Crown on Last Green of Final Match". The Glasgow Herald. 27 September 1947. p. 4.
- "Fright for England in Golf International". The Glasgow Herald. 25 September 1948. p. 4.
- "England retain Title". The Glasgow Herald. 19 May 1949. p. 8.
- "Ireland's win at Harlech". The Glasgow Herald. 2 October 1950. p. 6.
- "2020 Amateur Events Update". The R&A. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- "Men's Home Internationals". Irish Golf Desk. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- "Men's Home Internationals" (PDF). Scottish Golf. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- "The R&A announces 2021 Amateur Championship venues". Golf Today. 6 November 2019.