Willie Nolan
| Willie Nolan | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | William Nolan |
| Born |
25 March 1896 Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland |
| Died | 4 March 1939 (aged 42) Dublin, Ireland |
| Nationality |
 Ireland
|
| Career | |
| Status | Professional |
| Professional wins | 3 |
| Best results in major championships |
|
| Masters Tournament | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP |
| The Open Championship | T21: 1934 |
| PGA Championship | DNP |
William Nolan (25 March 1896 – 4 March 1939) was an Irish professional golfer. He was one of the leading Irish professionals of the inter-war period. In 1933 he was a runner-up in the Dunlop-Southport Tournament and led qualifying in the Open Championship. He won the Irish Professional Championship in 1934. He died in 1939 aged 42.
The first Irish Open was played at Portmarnock Golf Club in August 1927. Nolan had been the professional at Portmarnock since 1925 and led the tournament after the first round with a 72, a new course record. Erratic driving led to a second round 83 and 12th place but two useful rounds in difficult conditions on the final day left him in fifth place, earning £40.
Nolan came to wider prominence when he was a runner-up in the 1933 Dunlop-Southport Tournament at Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club. The tournament was won by Bill Davies with Nolan, Henry Cotton and Ernest Whitcombe a stroke behind. Cotton had won the event in 1931 and 1932.
At the 1933 Open Championship Nolan set a new course record for the Old Course at St Andrews during the qualification. On the first day of qualifying he had scored 71 on the New course and then had a 67 on the Old Course the following day, to beat the record of 68 held by Bobby Jones set during the 1927 Open Championship. Nolan led the qualifiers on 138, four ahead of Horton Smith and eight ahead of the rest. In the event itself, Nolan started with 71 and 75 but had rounds of 79 and 80 on the final day to drop into a tie for 31st place.
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Wikipedia