Golf over in Great Britain has long been one of the most popular pasttimes and even in the present day, we see some of the best in the world emerge from the British Isles.
The likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Robert MacIntyre are all modern players who fly their respective flags high, while in the past we’ve had the likes of Sir Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam all have huge success.
However, like any country, they all need a standard bearer to set the tone for everyone else.
And when it comes to Britain, we have to go all the way back to early 1900s and the name of Jim Barnes to see just how he got the ball rolling.
How Jim Barnes wrote his name into British golf history
Countless British golfers have won major championships over the years and it goes without saying that we’ll continue to see more winners in the future.
However, when it comes to Jim Barnes, he was very much the man to lay the foundations for success.
Barnes became the very first player from Great Britain to win three different major championships in his career.
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After winning the PGA Championship in 1916, he followed up with a second PGA title in 1919.
More was to come, though, as Barnes wrapped up the US Open in 1921. Still, he wasn’t done.
Come 1925 and with The Open played at the now legendary Prestwick Golf Club, Barnes once again produced the goods to take home the Claret Jug and write his name into the history books.
Quite remarkably, it’s reported that Barnes took home a winner’s cheque of £75 for his Open win, a world away from the millions of dollars we now see won weekly on the PGA Tour.
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Jim Barnes’ PGA Tour record
In terms of wins to events played ratio, Jim Barnes is actually up there with the very best.
Barnes only played in 95 PGA Tour events but he won a whopping 22 of them, meaning he very much won nearly a quarter of all the PGA events he played in.
Furthermore, he made 93 from 95 cuts, finished inside the top ten 73 times, and the top five an impressive 51 times.
He also finished runner-up 14 times, meaning he could have been pushing 40 wins by the time he eventually stopped playing.
As British golf icons go, Barnes is someone who is not often mentioned but clearly, left a lasting legacy on the game.
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