Henry Cotton
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2008-07-10T01:28:29Z
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{{for|other people of this name|Henry Cotton (disambiguation)}}
[[Knight|Sir]] '''Henry Thomas Cotton''' ([[26 January]], [[1907]] – [[22 December]], [[1987]]) was a prominent British [[golf]]er of the 1930s and 1940s.
Henry Cotton was born in [[Cheshire]]. In 1920 with his brother Leslie, he started golf at the Aquarius Golf Club in Honor Oak, South London. In 1923 Henry Cotton won the Hutchings Trophy, the club championship. They left in 1924 to become professionals.
He started his career as a professional golfer at the age of 17, and was known for working extremely hard at his game, often practising until his hands bled. Cotton placed great emphasis upon accuracy and differed from modern golf teachers in the great emphasis he placed upon the role of the hands in the golf swing. Although emphasis was given to a correct grip, he also emphasised the need to build up the strength of the hands and forearms. The competition golfer, equipped with such assets could counter an off centre strike off the face of the club and still achieve a powerful, yet accurate shot. He also stated the need to "educate the hands" in that the competitive golfer had to achieve an awareness of the position of the hands during the golf swing itself, something modern teachers have not stressed greatly, preferring a more passive role for the hands.
He achieved fame during the [[Great Depression]] years with three victories in the [[The Open Championship|British Open]] (1934, 1937, and 1948). He also succeeded in winning many titles on the European circuit during the 1930s.
During [[World War II]] he served with the [[RAF|Royal Air Force]], and raised money for the [[Red Cross]] by playing exhibition matches and shows. This earned him an [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]].
Cotton served as captain of the [[Ryder Cup]] team in 1947 and 1953.
Following his retirement from competitive golf in the early 1950s, Cotton became a successful architect of golf courses and wrote 10 books. He also founded the [[Golf Foundation]], which helped thousands of young boys and girls get started in golf.
Cotton was a lover of the high life, including champagne, caviar and bespoke tailored clothes. He lived for a while in a suite in a 5-star hotel, and later bought an estate complete with butler and full staff, traveling everywhere in a [[Rolls-Royce car|Rolls-Royce]].
He was inducted into the [[World Golf Hall of Fame]] in 1980.
Cotton was knighted in the New Year's Day Honours of 1988, named Knight Commander of the [[Order of St Michael and St George]] (KCMG). This was reported in some media as a "posthumous knighthood" because he was dead by the time it was publicly announced. However, he had accepted the knighthood before dying, and it was made effective from the date of his death.
==Tournament wins==
''this list may be incomplete''
*1930 [[Belgian Open]]
*1932 [[News of the World Match Play]]
*1934 '''[[The Open Championship]]''', [[Belgian Open]]
*1936 [[Italian Open (golf)|Italian Open]]
*1937 '''[[The Open Championship]]''', [[German Open (golf)|German Open]]
*1938 [[Belgian Open]], [[German Open (golf)|German Open]]
*1939 [[German Open (golf)|German Open]]
*1940 [[News of the World Match Play]]
*1946 [[French Open (golf)|French Open]], [[News of the World Match Play]]
*1947 [[French Open (golf)|French Open]]
*1948 '''[[The Open Championship]]'''
*1954 [[Penfold Tournament]]
[[Men's major golf championships|Major championships]] are shown in '''bold'''.
==Results in major championships==
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor="#eeeeee"
!align="left"|Tournament
!1927
!1928
!1929
|-
|[[The Masters Tournament|The Masters]]
|align="center"|NYF
|align="center"|NYF
|align="center"|NYF
|-
|[[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[The Open Championship]]
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|9
|align="center"|F?
|align="center"|T32
|-
|[[PGA Championship]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|}
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor="#eeeeee"
!align="left"|Tournament
!1930
!1931
!1932
!1933
!1934
!1935
!1936
!1937
!1938
!1939
|-
|[[The Masters Tournament|The Masters]]
|align="center"|NYF
|align="center"|NYF
|align="center"|NYF
|align="center"|NYF
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|CUT
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[The Open Championship]]
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T6
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T10
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T10
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T8
|align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|'''1'''
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T7
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T3
|align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|'''1'''
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|3
|align="center"|T14
|-
|[[PGA Championship]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|}
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor="#eeeeee"
!align="left"|Tournament
!1940
!1941
!1942
!1943
!1944
!1945
!1946
!1947
!1948
!1949
|-
|[[The Masters Tournament|The Masters]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|T25
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[The Open Championship]]
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|NT
|align="center"|NT
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T4
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T6
|align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|'''1'''
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[PGA Championship]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|}
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor="#eeeeee"
!align="left"|Tournament
!1950
!1951
!1952
!1953
!1954
!1955
!1956
!1957
!1958
!1959
|-
|[[The Masters Tournament|The Masters]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|T68
|align="center"|T13
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|T17
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[The Open Championship]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|4
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|T32
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T6
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T9
|align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T8
|align="center"|T41
|-
|[[PGA Championship]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|}
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor="#eeeeee"
!align="left"|Tournament
!1960
!1961
!1962
!1963
!1964
!1965
!1966
!1967
!1968
!1969
|-
|[[The Masters Tournament|The Masters]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[The Open Championship]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|T33
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[PGA Championship]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|}
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor="#eeeeee"
!align="left"|Tournament
!1970
!1971
!1972
!1973
!1974
!1975
!1976
!1977
|-
|[[The Masters Tournament|The Masters]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|-
|[[The Open Championship]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|CUT
|-
|[[PGA Championship]]
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|align="center"|DNP
|}
NYF = Tournament not yet founded<br>
NT = No tournament<br>
DNP = Did not play<br>
CUT = missed the half-way cut<br>
F? = Finish unknown<br>
"T" indicates a tie for a place<br>
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
==Quotes==
* ''The best is always good enough for me''
* ''To be a champion, you must act like one''
==External links==
*[http://golf.about.com/od/golfersmen/p/henry_cotton.htm Henry Cotton]
{{The Open champions}}
{{European Ryder Cup Captains}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Henry}}
[[Category:English golfers]]
[[Category:Winners of men's major golf championships]]
[[Category:Members of the World Golf Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
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