Roger Wethered | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Full name | Roger Henry Wethered |
Born |
New Malden, England |
3 January 1899
Died | 12 March 1983 Wimbledon, England |
(aged 84)
Nationality | England |
Career | |
Status | Amateur |
Best results in major championships (wins: 1) |
|
U.S. Open | DNP |
The Open Championship | 2nd: 1921 |
U.S. Amateur | DNQ: 1922 |
British Amateur | Won: 1923 |
Roger Henry Wethered (3 January 1899 – 12 March 1983) was an English amateur golfer who was the brother of Joyce Wethered, one of the finest female golfers of the pre-war era.
Born in Surrey, Wethered was the only son of Herbert Newton Wethered and Marion Emmeline Lund. He was frequently ill as a child and this resulted in him being home-tutored. His father had authored numerous books about golf and this proved to be influential on Wethered as he took up golf from an early age.
Wethered was called up in 1918 to serve in the Royal Artillery in World War I. However, he was recalled from France some weeks later as peacetime was declared. Upon his return he enrolled at Christ Church at Oxford University. He joined the Oxford golf team with Cyril Tolley, a good friend of his, and both were successful young golfers. His game was defined by great power and technique with iron clubs. His driving was less accomplished but his ability to recover more than made up for this shortcoming.
He graduated from Oxford with a BA in English in 1921. Soon after this achievement came his finest hour as he narrowly lost The Open Championship to Jock Hutchison in the 1921 edition of the tournament. Had he won the competition he would have been the last British amateur to do so. Indeed, no other British amateur has come so close to victory in the tournament since Harold Hilton won the 1897 Open Championship. He followed this achievement with further successes: as he grew older his driving began to improve and he won his first Amateur Championship in 1923 at Deal, Kent. However, after these two events Wethered failed to repeat his earlier singles tournament successes but he continued to be an influential golfer, earning the respect of his peers for his modest demeanour.