Jack Dowling

John "Jack" Dowling (August 6, 1890 – October 24, 1931) was an American professional golfer. He had two top-10 finishes in major championships: a tie for seventh in the 1912 U.S. Open and a quarterfinal loss (tie for fifth) in the inaugural 1916 PGA Championship. He won the 1921 Westchester Open and finished third in the same event in 1920.

He died suddenly of a massive heart attack in 1931 at the age of 41, cutting short a promising life and career.

Early life Dowling was born August 6, 1890, in Glen Cove, New York. He served as the assistant professional at Nassau Country Club Trost further elaborated on Dowling's appearance as being "thin as the proverbial rail and almost gaunt-looking".

1912 U.S. Open The 1912 U.S. Open was the 18th U.S. Open, held August 1–2 at the Country Club of Buffalo in Amherst, New York, a suburb east of Buffalo. The course is now Grover Cleveland Golf Course, owned by Erie County. The Country Club of Buffalo relocated several miles east in 1926 to Williamsville. 20-year-old John McDermott successfully defended his U.S. Open title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Tom McNamara. Dowling carded rounds of 76-79-76-74=305, finished tied for seventh place, and won $45.

1916 PGA Championship The 1916 PGA Championship was the first PGA Championship and is now considered to be one of golf's major championships. It was played from October 10–14 at the Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York, just north of New York City. Dowling opened play in the tournament with a first round bye. In round two he defeated Emmett French 1 up on the first hole of a playoff (37th hole) but lost in the third round (quarterfinals) to Willie MacFarlane in a stubbornly contested match by the close score of 2 and 1.

Red Cross four-ball match Dowling, who was paired with Tom McNamara in a match held on September 15, 1918, at Scarsdale Golf Club, defeated Chick Evans (national amateur and open champion), and Bobby Jones, in an American Red Cross four-ball match by the score of 1 up. The proceeds from the match were donated to the Red Cross for its war-time efforts during World War I. Dowling took full advantage in winning the match since the event was contested on his home course. The bus he was riding in after leaving the golf course had struck and killed a 7-year-old boy.

Professional wins PGA Tour wins (1) 1921 Westchester Open

Other wins (1) 1911 Eastern PGA Four-Ball Tournament

Results in major championships Note: Dowling played only in the U.S. Open and PGA Championship.

NYF = Tournament not yet founded NT = No tournament DNP = Did not play

R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play "T" Indicates a tie for a place Yellow background for top-10