Leslie Balfour-Melville

Leslie Balfour-Melville
— Golfer —
File:Leslie Balfour-Melville.JPG Balfour-Melville (c. 1887)
Personal information
Full name	Leslie Balfour-Melville
Born	(1854-03-09)9 March 1854 Bonnington, Edinburgh, Scotland
Died	North Berwick, Scotland
Nationality	Scotland
Career
Status	Amateur
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	5th: 1888
U.S. Amateur	DNP
British Amateur	Won: 1895
Achievements and awards
Scottish Sports Hall of Fame	2002

Leslie Balfour-Melville (9 March 1854 – 17 July 1937), born Leslie Balfour, was a Scottish amateur sportsman, serving as captain, opening batsman and wicket-keeper for the Scotland national cricket team.

Balfour-Melville was also an international rugby union player, tennis player, ice skater, curler, long-jumper and player of English billiards. He was a prolific golf medal winner, winning The Amateur Championship, at St Andrews in 1895.

He also held several administrative positions within national governing bodies. He was President of the Scottish Rugby Union, President of the Scottish Cricket Union, and Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in 1906.

Balfour-Melville was an inaugural inductee into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

Biography

Balfour was born in Bonnington, Edinburgh, in 1854. Educated at the Edinburgh Academy and the University of Edinburgh, he became a lawyer by profession, rising to be a Writer to the Signet. In 1893 the family changed its name to Balfour-Melville when his father succeeded to the estate of Mount Melville near St Andrews, Fife.

His son James also played cricket for Scotland before losing his life in the First World War.

Balfour-Melville died in North Berwick, East Lothian, in 1937.

Cricket

Playing for the Grange, he debuted against the Free Foresters in 1874. He played eighteen matches for the national side over 36 years.

He captained Scotland in their first match against Ireland after the formation of the 2nd Scottish Cricket Union, and was the first President of the Scottish Cricket Union to play for the national side.

During his career he scored 46 centuries.

Golf

Major championships

Amateur wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Runner-up
1895	The Amateur Championship	20 holes	John Ball

Results timeline

Tournament	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889
The Open Championship	T16	DNP	DNP	5 LA	DNP
The Amateur Championship	DNP	QF	DNP	SF	2

Tournament	1890	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	T28	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Amateur Championship	SF	DNP	SF	R16	R16	1	R32	SF	DNP	R16

Tournament	1900	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909
The Open Championship	WD	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Amateur Championship	R32	R32	R128	QF	R128	R128	R32	R64	R128	QF

Tournament	1910	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919	1920
The Amateur Championship	R64	R64	DNP	R128	R128	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	R128

Note: Balfour-Melville played in only The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship.
LA = Low amateur
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Source for British Open: www.opengolf.com

Source for 1886 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 23 September 1886, pg. 5.

Source for 1888 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 11 May 1888, pg. 8.

Source for 1890 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 3 May 1890, pg. 10.

Source for 1892 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 14 May 1892, pg. 4.

Source for 1893 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 11 May 1893, pg. 12.

Source for 1894 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 27 April 1894, pg. 11.

Source for 1896 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 21 May 1896, pg. 11.

Source for 1897 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 30 April 1897, pg. 11.

Source for 1899 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 25 May 1899, pg. 8.

Source for 1900 British Amateur: Golf, July 1900, pg. 20.

Source for 1901 British Amateur: Golf, June 1901, pg. 413.

Source for 1902 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 30 April 1902, pg. 10.

Source for 1903 British Amateur: Golf, July 1903, pg. 10.

Source for 1904 British Amateur: Golf, July 1904, pg. 6.

Source for 1905 British Amateur: Golf, June 1905, pg. 340.

Source for 1906 British Amateur: Golf, July 1906, pg. 30.

Source for 1907 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 29 May 1907, pg. 12.

Source for 1908 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 27 May 1908, pg. 14.

Source for 1909 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 28 May 1909, pg. 14.

Source for 1910 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 1 June 1910, pg. 10.

Source for 1911 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 31 May 1911, pg. 10.

Source for 1913 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 28 May 1913, pg. 15.

Source for 1914 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 20 May 1914, pg. 12.

Source for 1920 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 9 June 1920, pg. 11.

Rugby football

Leslie Balfour, as he was then, played for Edinburgh Academicals, and was capped once in 1871.

Achievements

• Played rugby for Scotland against England, 1872
• Scottish Lawn Tennis Championship winner, 1879
• Captained Scotland to a cricketing victory over Australia, 1882
• The Amateur Championship winner, 1895; and runner-up in 1889; both at St Andrews Links
• Scottish billiards champion

See also

• List of Scottish cricket and rugby union players

Further reading

• "Memories of the day we defeated Australia", by Neil Drysdale, The Herald, 13 March 2007

External links

• Player profile on scrum.com
• Wisden obituary
• Cricketarchive profile

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