Priceless Canadian Open Memento Stolen in England

The watch, presented to J. Douglas Edger to commemorate his 16-shot victory over Robert Trent Jones and J.M. Barnes nearly 90 years ago at the Hamilton Golf Club in Ontario, was stolen recently from the champion's grandson.

Doug Edgar, who owns and runs the Wheathampstead Golf Club in Watford, says thieves broke into the clubhouse, helped themselves to thousands of dollars in new equipment and also made off with the rare Waltham watch, which is inscribed: "To J Douglas Edgar, 1919, From Orville Moody".

"I couldn't insure it as it was impossible to value", says Mr. Edgar. "Twenty years ago, I turned down an offer of $35,000."

"I just can't believe it - it was the only time I had ever left my briefcase, with the watch inside, in the club. The rest of the stolen equipment is insured, but the watch is irreplaceable."

J. Douglas Edgar is credited with helping popularize the game in America and developing the modern golf swing. He won the French Open in 1914 and the Canadian Open in both 1919 and 1920, becoming the first of only three players to win the Canadian Open back-to-back.

In an article by Alex Lewis, posted in the Hertfordshire.com.Uk/news, the author writes that a year after winning his second Canadian Open title, at the age of 35 Edgar was knifed to death near his home in Atlanta, Georgia, in a murder which has never been solved. His ranch near Atlanta, where he was employed as a professional by the Druid Springs Club, was confiscated in lieu of unpaid taxes, but his grandson has hopes of reclaiming it.

Police have circulated details of the theft of the Canadian Open family heirloom in the hope that the watch may be noticed by an antique dealer or even found discarded by the thieves.