Jim Barnes

James Martin Barnes (April 8, 1886 – May 24, 1966) was an English golfer and a leading figure in the early years of professional golf in the United States. He is one of three native Britons (with Tommy Armour and Rory McIlroy) to win three different modern major professional championships.

For other people with similar names, see James Barnes (disambiguation).
Jim Barnes
Personal information
Full nameJames Martin Barnes
NicknameLong Jim[1]
Big Jim[1]
Born(1886-04-08)April 8, 1886
Lelant, Cornwall, England
DiedMay 24, 1966(1966-05-24) (aged 80)
East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Sporting nationality England
SpouseCaroline Mary Barnes[1]
Children2[1]
Career
Turned professional1906
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins29
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour22
Other7
Best results in major championships
(wins: 4)
Masters TournamentNYF
PGA ChampionshipWon: 1916, 1919
U.S. OpenWon 1921
The Open ChampionshipWon 1925
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame1989 (member page)

Early life

Barnes was born on April 8, 1886, in Lelant, Cornwall. Barnes was like many golfers of his era, and worked as a caddie and a club-maker's apprentice while growing up. He moved to the United States and turned professional in 1906, but never became an American citizen. He arrived in San Francisco, and later worked in Vancouver, British Columbia, Spokane, Washington, and Tacoma, Washington, and then at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.[2]

Golf career

From 1923 to 1926, he was resident professional at the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club in Temple Terrace, Florida, which hosted the 1925 Florida Open (dubbed "The Greatest Field of Golfers Ever to Play in Florida"), as well as the 1926 Florida Open with over one hundred contestants and a $5,000 cash prize. In 1925–26 his good friend and fellow golfer Fred McLeod wintered with him, and they worked with James Kelly Thomson from North Berwick.

Barnes was also known as "Long Jim" for his height of 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m). He later moved west to the Oakland, California, area where he resided for many years. Barnes authored several books on golf technique. He died at age 80 in East Orange, New Jersey, and is buried in Orange's Rosedale Cemetery.[3]

He won nine majors, with four of them the modern professional majors. Many golfers and media covering the sport at the time, according to golf journalist Dan Jenkins, the Western Open and North and South Open titles he won at the time were declared majors.[4]

Barnes' two PGA titles were the first in the event; there was no tournament in 1917 or 1918 because of World War I. His winning margin in the 1921 U.S. Open was nine strokes, a record which was not broken until Tiger Woods won by 15 strokes in 2000.

Barnes was one of the most prolific tournament winners of the first few seasons of the PGA Tour, which was also founded in 1916. He won 22 times on the tour in total. He led the tournament winners list in four seasons: 1916 with three, 1917 with two (shared with Mike Brady), 1919 with five and 1921 with four. His win in the 1937 Long Island Open marked the first PGA Tour win by a player past his 50th birthday. In 1940, Barnes was honored as one of the 12 golfers to be inducted in the PGA's inaugural Hall of Fame. Later he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989.[6]

Professional wins (29)

PGA Tour wins (22)

Modern major championships are shown in bold.

Other wins

Note: This list may be incomplete

Major championships

Wins (4)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner(s)-up
1916PGA Championshipn/a1 upScotland United States Jock Hutchison
1919PGA Championship (2)n/a6 & 5Scotland United States Fred McLeod
1921U.S. Open7 shot lead+9 (69-75-73-72=289)9 strokesUnited States Walter Hagen, Scotland United States Fred McLeod
1925The Open Championship5 shot deficit70-77-79-74=3001 strokeEngland Archie Compston, Jersey Ted Ray

Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958

Results timeline
Tournament 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
U.S. Open T18 T4 T13 T4 3 T11
The Open Championship NT NT NT
PGA Championship NYF NYF NYF NYF 1 NT NT 1
Tournament 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
U.S. Open T6 1 T24 T12 T29 CUT T24 T36 T21
The Open Championship 6 T6 T2 T9 1 T18 T17 T6 7
PGA Championship R16 2 R32 QF 2 R32 R16
Tournament 1930 1931 1932
U.S. Open T39 T55
The Open Championship T6
PGA Championship DNQ

Note: Barnes never played in the Masters Tournament.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00000000
U.S. Open10145121716
The Open Championship11028101010
PGA Championship22057999
Totals4311120313635
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 27 (1912 U.S. Open – 1926 Open)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 8 (1919 PGA – 1922 Open)

See also

References
  1. Kalb, Elliott (2006). "Jim Barnes: The Forgotten Champion". Who's better, who's best in golf?: Mr. Stats sets the record straight on the Top 50 Golfers of All Time. McGraw-Hill. pp. 159–63. ISBN 0-07-146977-X.
  2. Missildine, Harry (May 29, 1966). "Barnes was giant in his day". Spokesman-Review. p. 1-sports. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  3. "Rosedale Cemetery Walking Guide of Notable Interments" (PDF). Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  4. Newport, John Paul (July 15, 2009). "What Makes the Majors Major". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  5. "1925 Jim Barnes". The Open. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  6. "Jim Barnes". World Golf Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  7. "Barnes is Winner of Open Title". Boston Post. September 1, 1916. p. 13. Retrieved December 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "24 Aug 1930, 35 - Hartford Courant at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  9. "Barnes Wins Connecticut State Golf Championship". The Gazette Times. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Google News Archive.
  10. "Marty O'Loughlin in first twelve". Plainfield Courier-News. New Jersey. July 26, 1915. p. 10. Retrieved December 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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