David Blair (golfer)

David Blair
Personal information
Full nameDavid Arthur Blair
Born(1917-08-25)25 August 1917
Scotland
Died10 April 1985(1985-04-10) (aged 67)
Canterbury, Kent, England[1]
Sporting nationality Scotland
Career
StatusAmateur
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 1962, 1963
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT9: 1960

David Arthur Blair MBE, MC (25 August 1917[2] – 10 April 1985[3]) was a Scottish amateur golfer. He finished in the top-10 in the Open Championship in 1960 and played in the Walker Cup in 1955 and 1961. He was a retired major in the Seaforth Highlanders in the British Army. His younger brother Chandos was also in the Seaforth Highlanders.

Early life

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Blair was educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[3]

Military career

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Blair graduated from Sandhurst on 26 August 1937 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Seaforth Highlanders, a line infantry regiment of the British Army.[4][3] He was captured at El Adem in 1942 but escaped in 1943. He was awarded the Military Cross when his company made an assault crossing over a canal in Holland in late 1944.[5]

Business career

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Blair was chairman of the Scotch whisky export committee from 1985 to 1980 and a director of Distillers Company. He was also chairman of United Glass Ltd.[3]

Amateur wins

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  • 1935 Scottish Boys' Championship
  • 1947 Army Championship
  • 1948 Nairn Open
  • 1953 Scottish Amateur, Royal St. Georges Gold Vase
  • 1955 Golf Illustrated Gold Vase
  • 1956 Golf Illustrated Gold Vase
  • 1955 R&A Silver Cross, George Glennie Medal
  • 1961 Scandinavian Amateur Championship
  • 1964 Royal St. Georges Gold Vase
  • 1966 Hampshire Hog
  • 1967 Royal St. Georges Gold Vase, Hampshire Hog
  • 1968 R&A Silver Cross
  • 1970 Hampshire Hog

Source:[6]

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963
Masters Tournament CUT CUT
The Open Championship T30 T9 CUT

Note: Blair only played in the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

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References

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  1. ^ "Mr David Blair". The Times. 9 May 1985. p. 16.
  2. ^ "FamilySearch.org". Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Major D A Blair". The Times. 20 April 1985. p. 10.
  4. ^ "No. 34430". The London Gazette. 27 August 1937. p. 5443.
  5. ^ "Blair, DA, Major, 5th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders , No.11 Commando, MBE,MC". ww2.commando. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  6. ^ Huggins, Percy, ed. (1973). The Golfer's Handbook. p. 362.