Ohio Golf Journal April 2019

England’s Gentleman Jim Barnes Never Completed the Grand Slam By Mike May T his is the 100th anniversary of Jim Barnes from England winning the first two PGA Championships in 1916 and again in 1919. The PGA was not contested in the interceding years, due toWWI. Barnes also won the 1921 U.S. Open and the 1925 Open Championship, which at the time gave him every major championship trophy for professionals. During his long and distinguished career, he won 28 events, 21 of which were categorized as PGA Tour victories. Those four major championship titles put Barnes on the list of 17 golfers, who have won at least three of golf’s four professional majors in their careers. Plus, it’s fair to say that Barnes, who was an inaugural inductee into the PGAof AmericaHall of Fame and theWorldGolf Hall of Fame, is probably the least known player on that list, but is certainly a worthy member of that special club. It can also be argued that Barnes deserves to be a member of an even greater club of great champions, the Career Grand Slam winners, which includes only, Sarazen, Hogan, Nicklaus, Player, and Woods. In addition to his four official major wins, he also won three Western Opens (1914, 1917, and 1919) and two North and South Opens (1916 and 1919), both of which were considered ‘majors’ before the creation and rise in popularity of the Masters. Barnes never played in the Masters, but it wasn’t because he was excluded. Bobby Jones invited Barnes to play in the inaugural 1934 Masters, but he declined the invitation. In 1934, Barnes was just a few weeks Ohio Golf Journal Golf History