Charles Whitcombe was the second of the three Whitcombe brothers who were all successful English professional golfer

Professional golfer

In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...

s in the 1920s and 1930s and - despite never winning The Open Championship

The Open Championship

The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...

 like his younger brother Reg

Reg Whitcombe

Reginald Arthur Whitcombe was an English professional golfer.Whitcombe began his career at Came Down Golf Club in Dorset and served in the British armed forces during World War I. He was the professional at Parkstone Golf Club from 1 January 1928 until his death in 1957...

 - could be considered the most prominent of the three, winning the British PGA Matchplay Championship

British PGA Matchplay Championship

The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the News of the World, and was commonly known by the paper's name...

 twice and captaining the Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...

 side four times.

Whitcombe was born in Burnham

Burnham, Buckinghamshire

Burnham is a village and civil parish that lies north of the River Thames in the South Bucks District of Buckinghamshire, and sits on the border with Berkshire, between the towns of Maidenhead and Slough. It is served by Burnham railway station in the west of Slough on the main line between London...

, Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

.

Whitcombe finished fifth in the Open Championship

British Open

The British Open is the Open Championship men's golf tournament.British Open may also refer to:* Women's British Open of golf* British Open Show Jumping Championships* British Open Squash Championships...

 in 1922, three shots behind the winner and beaten only by Walter Hagen

Walter Hagen

Walter Charles Hagen was a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of eleven professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods . He won the U.S. Open twice, and in 1922 he became the first native-born American to win the British Open, which he went on...

, Jim Barnes, George Duncan

George Duncan (golfer)

George Duncan was a Scottish professional golfer.Duncan was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire. He was first apprenticed as a carpenter and rejected a chance to become a professional footballer at Aberdeen to become a golf professional...

 and Jock Hutchison

Jock Hutchison

Jack Fowler "Jock" Hutchison was a Scottish-American professional golfer.Hutchison was born in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland but later moved to the United States and became a U.S. citizen in 1920. He won two major championships, the 1920 PGA Championship and the 1921 Open Championship at the St Andrews...

 - the players who between them had won 8 of the previous 9 major championships. Whitcombe would enjoy several other high finishes in the Championship, beaten by players including Bobby Jones

Bobby Jones (golfer)

Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. was an American amateur golfer, and a lawyer by profession. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete on a national and international level...

, Gene Sarazen

Gene Sarazen

Gene Sarazen was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s. He is one of five golfers to win all the current major championships in his career, the Career Grand Slam:U.S...

 and Henry Cotton, but only once again came as close to winning, in 1935, when he finished third, three shots behind Alf Perry

Alf Perry

Alfred Perry was an English professional golfer. His greatest achievement was winning The Open Championship in 1935.Perry was born in Coulsdon, Surrey, England. He worked as a club professional at Leatherhead Golf Club in addition to playing in the few organised tournaments that there were at the...

 at Muirfield.

Whitcombe won the British PGA Matchplay Championship

British PGA Matchplay Championship

The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the News of the World, and was commonly known by the paper's name...

 in 1928 and 1930, and also won the Irish Open

Irish Open (golf)

The Irish Open is a professional golf tournament on the European Tour, currently played at the end of July or early August each year. The event has been played in many locations on the island; its current home is the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club in County Kerry in southwestern Ireland...

 in 1930. Both of his Matchplay championship victories came in finals against a young Henry Cotton, by 12 years Whitcombe's junior. In 1931, 1935, and 1937 Whitcombe was selected as playing captain of the Great Britain and Ireland Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...

 side, having also played in every side from 1927 to 1933, and was then non-playing captain in 1949.

Results in major championships

Tournament	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	WD	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1920	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	DNP	DNP	5	T6	CUT	CUT	T24	6	CUT	T39

Tournament	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	T9	T29	T4	CUT	T7	3	T19	4	T10	CUT

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	CUT	T32

• Note: Whitcombe only played in The Open Championship
  The Open Championship
  The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
  
  .

NT = No tournament

DNP = Did not play

WD = Withdrew

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Yellow background for top-10