D. G. Soutar Wins Australian Golf Championship

Daniel Gordon (Dan) Soutar was born in Carmyllie, Scotland on December 3, 1882. In 1888, his family moved to the nearby seaside resort town of Carnoustie where – over the next 15 or so years – he received a thorough grounding in the game of golf. Starting out as a caddie at ninepence per round, he developed a sound swing and game to the point where he won a number of trophies as a member of the Carnoustie club.

He emigrated to Australia in 1903, and made an immediate mark by joining Bonnie Doon Golf Club (nee Marrickville Golf Club) and winning their Club Championships 1903 and ’04. He also won the 1903 Australian Amateur Championship at the old Glenelg course. In 1905, he turned professional and went into partnership with Carnegie Clark making clubs at Rose Bay in Sydney. That same year he won his only Australian Open Championship at Royal Melbourne, beating the defending champion, the Hon. Michael Scott, by ten strokes.

His victory was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald of Saturday, 28 October 1905 in the following fashion . . . .

AUSTRALIAN GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP.
SOUTAR OPEN CHAMPION, SCOTT AMATEUR CHAMPION.
MELBOURNE, Friday.

There was a large gathering of spectators on the Sandringham links to-day, to watch the final rounds for the open and the amateur championships of Australia. The weather was somewhat unfavourable, as a stiff breeze interfered considerably with correct play.

Although there were several men left with a winning chance after the first two rounds, few doubted that the finish would lie between Scott and Soutar, the latter having a lead of three points upon the completion of the second round. They were drawn together for both rounds to-day.

The third round was intensely interesting, for beginning well Scott had wiped off two of his deficiency when they reached the fourth hole. At the fifth hole Soutar drove into the rough and reedy grass, and Scott gained a stroke, and a failure to hole a short put on the seventh green – a sort of switchback bit of turf, and one of the trickiest greens on the links – just prevented him gaining another.

At the eighth he got into a pool of water on the green, but finished the first half with a lead of two strokes, going out in 39 as against Soutar’s 41. At this stage Soutar was a bit weak in his putting. As usual his approaches were almost perfect, and he showed the finest judgment in estimating the strength of these shots, but whether from bad luck or bad play, he lost ground on the putting greens. The fact that his ball was lying frequently just at the edge of the hole suggested that Soutar’s failures were due, however, as much to bad luck as bad play.

By the time they reached the fourteenth hole Scott was leading by two strokes, and he kept that advantage to the end. Everything promised well for a sensational gamebetween the pair. For the final round Carnegie Clark, the New South Wales professional, who was third at the end of the second round, still stuck to the leaders, J. D. Howden was fourth, six strokes further back. The best of the cards for the morning round were as follows:-

D. G. Soutar out 3 5 5 4 4 4 7 5 4 41
home 4 6 6 5 4 5 5 6 5 46 Total
87
M. Scott out 3 5 4 5 3 5 5 6 3 39
home 5 5 5 4 3 5 5 7 4 43 Total
82

A glance at the detail will show that both Soutar and Scott had one bad hole each in the forenoon. Soutar drove into rough country at the seventh, while at the seventeenth Scott made one of the few mistakes in his round by getting into the most formidable bunker on the course, and it cost him two to get out of it. But for that mistake he had a fair chance of making the best round of the tournament, and being the first player to got under 80.

This fine round by Scott, which gave him a lead of two on the match, promised well for the final between him and Soutar in the afternoon, but expectations were not realised. Scott went right off his game. They began well with three each, and were both in bad positions at the second hole. Soutar picked up a stroke at the second and the fourth holes, which made them even again for whole game.

From the sixth hole Scott’s difficulties commenced, and he did not afterwards do himself justice. Soutar went out with the fine score of 37 to Scott’s 43, and from this on the result of the match was never in doubt. Soutar played well, with his eye ever on the side of safety, and at one stage Scott was playing so badly it seemed likely he would be beaten for amateur as well as for the open championship.

Scott’s worst hole was the seventeenth, where he was in every difficulty that the hole presented, and it took him nine strokes to the hole, which is a six for bogey. Soutarcame home with a good round of 82. The steadiness of his play is indicated by his four rounds of 85, 83, 87, and 82; his approaches were again the best feature of his golf,and his putting is perhaps the worst. On the aggregate he beat Scott by 10 strokes.

Though Scott was beaten for the open event, no one was able to catch him for the amateur championship, which he won by six strokes from J. D. Howden, who won it inSydney last year. Howden had not a good round in the afternoon. The crowd of sightseers following Scott and Soutar were always in his way.

In both events played to-day the leaders got so far away from the ruck that many of the competitors, finding they had no chance, tore up their cards. The following are the results:

                   1st & 2nd      3rd        4th
                     Round.      Round.     Round.       Total

D. G. Soutar ........ 168 .. .. .. 87 .. .. .. 82 .. .. .. 337 
M. Scott ............ 171 .. .. .. 82 .. .. .. 94 .. .. .. 347 
Carnegie Clark ...... 172 .. .. .. 85 .. .. .. 92 .. .. .. 349 
J. D. Howden ........ 175 .. .. .. 88 .. .. .. 90 .. .. .. 353 
V. East ............. 178 .. .. .. 94 .. .. .. 84 .. .. .. 356 
H. N. Giblin ........ 177 .. .. .. 88 .. .. .. 95 .. .. .. 360 
L. H. Harper ........ 180 .. .. .. 91 .. .. .. 90 .. .. .. 361   
A. McLaren .......... 183 .. .. .. 90 .. .. .. 91 .. .. .. 364 
O. H. O'Brien........ 190 .. .. .. 91 .. .. .. 85 .. .. .. 366 
W. McIntyre ......... 179 .. .. .. 88 .. .. ..101 .. .. .. 368 
F. W. Fairbairn ..... 187 .. .. .. 91 .. .. .. 96 .. .. .. 374 
F. Popplewell ....... 189 .. .. .. 87 .. .. .. 98 .. .. .. 374 
W. D. Clarke ........ 190 .. .. .. 92 .. .. .. 92 .. .. .. 374 
A. W. Mitchell ...... 188 .. .. .. 94 .. .. .. 94 .. .. .. 376 
W. Meader ........... 186 .. .. .. 98 .. .. .. 95 .. .. .. 379 
L. A. Whyte ......... 187 .. .. .. 94 .. .. .. 98 .. .. .. 379 
W. J. Gunson ........ 188 .. .. .. 91 .. .. ..101 .. .. .. 380 
W. M. Bell .......... 187 .. .. .. 97 .. .. ..100 .. .. .. 384 
F. R. Stuart ........ 195 .. .. .. 95 .. .. .. 98 .. .. .. 388 
M. G. B. Jefferson .. 195 .. .. ..101 .. .. .. 96 .. .. .. 392