James Braid (golfer)

James Braid (February 6, 1870 - November 27, 1950) was a Scottish professional golfer and a member of the Great Triumvirate of the sport alongside Harry Vardon and John Henry Taylor. 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.^[1]

In 1912, Braid retired from tournament golf and became a club professional at Walton Heath. He was involved in golf course design [1], 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)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runners Up
1901	The Open Championship	5 shot lead	(79-76-74-80=309)	3 strokes	Harry Vardon
1905	The Open Championship (2)	6 shot lead	(81-78-78-81=318)	5 strokes	Rowland Jones, J. H. Taylor
1906	The Open Championship (3)	2 shot deficit	(77-76-74-73=300)	1 stroke	Harry Vardon
1908	The Open Championship (4)	6 shot lead	(70-72-77-72=291)	8 strokes	Tom Ball
1910	The Open Championship (5)	2 shot deficit	(76-73-74-76=299)	4 strokes	Sandy Herd