Bill Ackland-Horman

Bill Ackland-Horman
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Dinwoodie Ackland-Horman
Born(1914-01-04)4 January 1914
Adelaide, South Australia
Died19 November 1979(1979-11-19) (aged 65)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Sporting nationality Australia
Career
StatusAmateur

William Dinwoodie Ackland-Horman (4 January 1914 – 19 November 1979) was an Australian amateur golfer. He won the 1949 Australian Amateur, becoming the first South Australian-born player to win the title.

Early life

Ackland-Horman was born in Adelaide on 4 January 1914. He was the son of William Dinwoodie Ackland-Horman, who was born in Scotland and was an engineer and surveyor for Lloyd's Register of Shipping.[1][2] Ackland-Horman was medical doctor.[2]

Golf career

Ackland-Horman first came to notice in 1933 when he lost to Fergus McMahon in a playoff for the South Australian Close Championship and then won the South Australian Amateur Championship, beating Bill Rymill 4&3 in the final.[3][4] He won the Australian Universities championship four times in succession, from 1936 to 1939.[5]

After World War II, Ackland-Horman won the South Australian Close Championship three times, in 1946, 1947 and 1949.[6][7][8] His biggest success came later in 1949, at Royal Sydney, when he beat Bill Edgar at the 38th hole to win the Australian Amateur, becoming the first South Australian-born player to win the title.[9] He had beaten fellow South Australian Bob Stevens in the semi-final.[10]

At the end of 1952 Ackland-Horman was in the Australian team to tour New Zealand, playing in a number of events including the Sloan Morpeth Trophy.[11] He won the South Australian Amateur Championship again, in 1952 and 1955.[12]

Later life

In 1945 Ackland-Horman was sentenced to three months in prison, after he was convicted of causing death by dangerous driver. He was involved in an accident in which a 16-year-old cyclist died.[13] His only son and his son's wife died in a road-traffic accident in 1968, when their car was in a collision with a semi-trailer as they were returning to Adelaide from their honeymoon.[14] Ackland-Horman died suddenly on 19 November 1979, in Melbourne where he had been attending the Australian Open.[15]

Tournament wins

Team appearances

References

  1. ^ "Death of Mr. W. D. Ackland-Horman". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. 87, no. 27054. South Australia. 19 June 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ a b "Ackland-Horman, William Dinwoodie". Virtual War Memorial Australia. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  3. ^ "McMahon wins golf title on play off". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 3 July 1933. p. 17. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "New amateur golf champion". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 21 August 1933. p. 16. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Universities golf championship". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 2 June 1939. p. 17. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Ackland-Horman Wins Close Golf Title". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 16 September 1946. p. 7. Retrieved 13 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Close Golf Title To Ackland-Horman". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 8 September 1947. p. 8. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Ackland-Horman Wins Third Close Golf Championship". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 5 September 1949. p. 5. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ ""Backdoor" Putt Ended Tense Golf Final". The Sunday Herald (Sydney). No. 36. New South Wales, Australia. 25 September 1949. p. 9 (Sporting Section). Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Edgar in Golf Final". The Age. No. 29457. Victoria, Australia. 24 September 1949. p. 16. Retrieved 11 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Stevens (SA) In Golf Team For NZ". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. 95, no. 29313. South Australia. 23 September 1952. p. 11. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "South Australian Men's & Women's Amateur Championship" (PDF). Golf Australia. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Well-known doctor guilty". The Chronicle (Adelaide). Vol. 88, no. 5009. South Australia. 20 December 1945. p. 27. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Honeymooners died in smash". The Age. 6 May 1968. p. 39. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via Google News Archive.
  15. ^ "Quiet farewell from the man who closed the British Open". The Age. 20 November 1979. p. 39. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via Google News Archive.