Harry Vardon
Personal information
Full name	Harry Vardon
Born	(1870-05-09)9 May 1870 Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands
Died	20 March 1937(1937-03-20) (aged 66) Totteridge, Hertfordshire, England
Nationality	Jersey
Career
Turned professional	1890
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 7)
U.S. Open	Won: 1900
The Open Championship	Won: 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1974 (member page)

Fred McLeod and Harry Vardon at the 1913 U.S. Open

Harry Vardon (9 May 1870 – 20 March 1937) was a Jersey professional golfer and member of the fabled Great Triumvirate of the sport in his day, along with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. He won The Open Championship a record six times and also won the U.S. Open.

Biography[link]

Vardon was born in Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands. As a child growing up on the island of Jersey, he did not play much golf, but showed natural talent for the sport as a young caddie. Harry and his brother Tom, younger by two years and also interested in golf, were very close. Their golf development was held back by poor family circumstances; and their father was not supportive of his sons' golf interest. Tom actually made the move to England first to pursue a golf career. Harry followed Tom to England in the spring of 1890, taking a job as greenkeeper for a club in Yorkshire. Harry was the better player of the two brothers. By his early 20s, Harry developed a demanding practice program, the most ambitious seen to that time. Harry was the first professional golfer to play in Knickerbockers -- discarding the "proper" dress of an Englishman in an uncomfortable shirt and tie with a buttoned jacket.^[1]

Within a few years he became golf's first superstar since the days of Young Tom Morris.

In 1896, Vardon won the first of his record six Open Championships (a record that still stands today). In 1900, he became golf's first international celebrity when he toured the United States, playing in more than 80 matches and capping it off with a victory in the U.S. Open. He was the joint runner-up of the 1913 U.S. Open, an event portrayed in the film The Greatest Game Ever Played. At the age of 50, Vardon was the runner-up at the 1920 U.S. Open.

During his career, Vardon won 62 golf tournaments, including one run of 14 in a row, still a record to this day. He won the German Open in 1911 and the British PGA Matchplay Championship in 1912. He popularized the grip that bears his name, one still used by over 90 percent of golfers. In his later years, he became a golf course architect [1], designing several courses in Britain, Llandrindod Wells Golf Club, Woodhall Spa and Radcliffe-on-Trent being notable examples. Following a bout with tuberculosis, he struggled with health problems for years, but turned to coaching and writing golf instruction and inspirational books.

During his peak years, Vardon was known for his exceptional accuracy and control with all clubs, the greatest ever seen to that stage. However, after his comeback to the game following a prolonged absence while recovering from tuberculosis, he experienced serious problems with his short-range putting as a result of nerve damage to his right hand, and several commentators claim that he could have added to his list of majors had this disability not afflicted him.^[1]

Vardon died in 1937 in Totteridge, Hertfordshire, England. After his death, the PGA of America created the Vardon Trophy. It is awarded annually to the player on the PGA Tour with the year's lowest adjusted scoring average.

In 1974, Vardon was chosen as one of the initial group of inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame. His most prestigious medals, including those from his six British Open Championships, are on display in a tribute to him at the Jersey Museum. In the annals of golf, he is considered one of the greats of the game. In 2000, Vardon was ranked as the 13th best golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine.^[2]

Vardon is often called "Mr. Golf" and "The Icon of Golfing".

Vardon Grip[link]

Vardon was also famous for the Vardon Grip, or overlapping grip, the grip most popular among professional golfers. In the Vardon grip, one places the little finger of the trailing hand (the one placed lower on the club - right hand for a right-handed player) in between the index and middle finger on the leading hand (the hand that is higher on the club). The leading-hand thumb should fit in the lifeline of the trailing hand. Vardon actually took up this grip some time after Johnny Laidlay, a champion Scottish amateur player, invented it.

Performance in the U.S. Open[link]

Vardon played in the U.S. Open three times, 1900, 1913 and 1920. In 1900, the event was played at the Chicago Golf Club, and he won by shooting 313 (79-78-76-80). Vardon also won 70 exhibition matches that year.

In 1913 he finished in second place, losing to amateur Francis Ouimet in a playoff necessitated by Vardon missing a 10-foot putt on the final hole of regulation. Vardon shot eight-over-par 304 (75-72-78-79). Ted Ray also was in the playoff, but shot himself out of contention by shooting 78. In the playoff Vardon shot a 77 while Ouimet shot a 72. The event was played at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, Ouimet's home course. The golf world was shocked when Vardon and Ray lost to the 20-year old amateur.^[1]

Vardon played in the U.S. Open for the last time in 1920 at the Inverness Club. He finished tied in second place, one stroke behind fellow Jerseyman, Ted Ray, missing a short putt on the final hole to force a playoff. Vardon shot eight-over-par 296 (74-73-71-78).

Media depictions[link]

• A biography of Vardon, published in 1991 and authored by his daughter-in-law, Audrey Howell, provides much intimate detail about the life of this champion.
• English actor Stephen Dillane portrayed Vardon in director Bill Paxton's 2005 film The Greatest Game Ever Played. A book of the same name (upon which the movie was based), written by Mark Frost, goes into great detail depicting Vardon's life.
• Irish-American actor Aidan Quinn portrayed Vardon in the 2004 film Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius.
• Harry Vardon authored his own book called "The Gist Of Golf" which depicts proper instruction for how to play the game at that time period.

Tournament wins[link]

this list may be incomplete

• 1893 Kilmacolm Tournament (Sco)
• 1896 The Open Championship, Ganton Match Play (Eng)
• 1897 Scottish Open, Cumbria Open (Eng), Carnoustie Open (Sco), Windermere Open (Eng), Cambridge Open (Eng)
• 1898 The Open Championship, St. Nicholas Tournament (Sco)
• 1899 The Open Championship
• 1900 U.S. Open
• 1903 The Open Championship
• 1906 World of Golf Gold Medal
• 1907 Cannes Tournament (Fra)
• 1909 PGA Medal (Eng)
• 1911 The Open Championship, Tooting Bec Cup (Eng), German Open, Montecarlo Open (Fra)
• 1912 World of Golf Gold Medal, News of the World Match Play
• 1914 The Open Championship, Prince of Wales Open
• 1915 PGA Medal (Eng), Lord Roberts Memorial (Sco)
• 1919 Daily Tournament (Eng)
• 1920 Bramshoot Cup (USA)
• 1921 UK vs. USA

Major championships are shown in bold.

Major championships[link]

Wins (7)[link]

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner-up
1896	The Open Championship	4 shot deficit	(83-78-78-77=316)	Playoff 1	J.H. Taylor
1898	The Open Championship (2)	2 shot deficit	(79-75-77-76=307)	1 stroke	Willie Park, Jnr.
1899	The Open Championship (3)	11 shot lead	(76-76-81-77=310)	5 strokes	Jack White
1900	U.S. Open	4 shot lead	(79-78-76-80=313)	2 strokes	J.H. Taylor
1903	The Open Championship (4)	7 shot lead	(73-77-72-78=300)	6 strokes	Tom Vardon
1911	The Open Championship (5)	3 shot lead	(74-74-75-80=303)	Playoff 2	Arnaud Massy
1914	The Open Championship (6)	2 shot deficit	(73-77-78-78=306)	3 strokes	J.H. Taylor

¹ Defeated J.H. Taylor in 36-hole playoff by 4 strokes
² Defeated Arnaud Massy in 36-hole playoff: Massy conceded after 35 holes

Results timeline[link]

Vardon played in only The Open Championship and the U.S. Open.

NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

See also[link]

• Golfers with most major championship wins
• Most wins in one PGA Tour event
• Mundesley Golf Course

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile at golf legends
• World Golf Hall of Fame profile
• SoHG resources on Vardon
• Vardon on Course Architecture
• Bernard Darwin on the Style of Harry Vardon

Adapted from the article Harry Vardon, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Vardon (Hebrew: ורדון‎) is a communal village in south-central Israel north of Kiryat Gat and south of Kiryat Malakhi. It belongs to the Yoav Regional Council.

It was founded in 1960 as a youth center and became a communal village in 1998. It is found at the central intersection between three large moshavim: Menuha, Nahala and Sgula.

The name of the community is a loose translation for the family of Julius Rosenfeld who was a Jewish donor from the United States. ("Vardon" is derived from vered, which means "rose", hence Rosenfeld. A similar motive can be found in the name for Kfar Etzion and Gush Etzion).

Population[link]

As of 2007, Vardon has 69 families, who are about 280 residents. The population is diverse, with both secular and religious Jews, both native-born and immigrants from abroad.

Education[link]

Vardon, being a small community, has no schools, so it relies on schools of the Yoav Regional Council and the surrounding communities. The residents may go to either secular or religious schools. The elementary schools are "Sdot Yoav" in kibbutz Gat and "Yad Hazon" in Be'er Tuvia. High schools are "Tzafit" in Kfar Menahem and "Gruss" in Kiryat Gat.

Services[link]

In Vardon there is a youth center, a sports field, public gardens, playgrounds, and a regional infirmary.

Coordinates: 31°39′47.16″N 34°46′49.44″E / 31.6631°N 34.7804°E / 31.6631; 34.7804

Joyce Wethered
Personal information
Full name	Joyce Wethered, Lady Heathcoat-Amory
Born	(1901-11-17)17 November 1901 Devon, England
Died	18 November 1997(1997-11-18) (aged 96) London, England
Nationality	England
Residence	Knightshayes Court
Spouse	Sir John Heathcoat-Amory
Career
Status	Amateur
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1975 (member page)

Joyce Wethered, Lady Heathcoat-Amory (17 November 1901 in Surrey, England — 18 November 1997, London) was a golfer widely regarded as the greatest British woman player of all time.

Joyce and her brother Roger, who tied for the British Open title in 1921 but lost the play-off, learned the game as children. She won the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship four times (1922, 1924, 1925, and 1929) and the English Ladies' champion for five consecutive years (1920–24).

She married Sir John Heathcoat-Amory in 1924, and became Lady Heathcoat-Amory. Her play and swing were greatly admired by Bobby Jones, the American champion of the same era. Jones, who played several exhibition rounds with her, had a very high regard for her game. She essentially retired from competitive play by 1930.

She played most of her golf at (and was a member of) Worplesdon Golf Club in Surrey. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1975.

An exhibition of memorabilia can be seen at Knightshayes Court in Devon, where she lived.

Bibliography[link]

• Wethered, Joyce Golfing Memories and Methods (1933) Hutchinson

External links[link]

• Articles on and by Joyce Wethered
• Joyce Wethered - The greatest Golfer ever?
• Electronic Resources From SoHG Archives
• Joyce Wethered Swing Sequences From SoHG Master Classes

This biographical article relating to golf in England is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Ouimet in 1913
Personal information
Full name	Francis DeSales Ouimet
Born	(1893-05-08)May 8, 1893 Brookline, Massachusetts
Died	September 2, 1967(1967-09-02) (aged 74) Newton, Massachusetts
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Nationality	United States
Spouse	Stella Sullivan (m. 1918–1967) «start: (1918)–end+1: (1968)»"Marriage: Stella Sullivan to Francis Ouimet" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Francis_Ouimet)
Career
Status	Amateur
Professional wins	3
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 3)
Masters Tournament	WD: 1941
U.S. Open	Won: 1913
The Open Championship	T56: 1914
PGA Championship	DNP
U.S. Amateur	Won: 1914, 1931
British Amateur	T3: 1923
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1974 (member page)
Bob Jones Award	1955

Ouimet at the 1913 U.S. Open

Francis Ouimet winning the 1913 US Open; with Eddie Lowery, his 10-year-old caddy in a white scarf

Ouimet at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts at the 1913 U.S. Open

Harry Vardon, Ouimet, and Ted Ray

Francis DeSales Ouimet (May 8, 1893 – September 2, 1967) was an American golfer, who is frequently referred to as the "father of amateur golf" in the United States. He won the 1913 U.S. Open, and was the first American elected Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.^[1][2]

Early life[link]

Ouimet was born to Mary Ellen Burke and Arthur Ouimet in Brookline, Massachusetts. His father was a French-Canadian immigrant, and his mother was an Irish immigrant. When Francis was four years old, his family purchased a house on Clyde Street in Brookline, directly across from the 17th hole of The Country Club. The Ouimet family grew up relatively poor, and found themselves near the bottom of the economic ladder, which was hardly the position of any American golfer at the time. As far as the general public was concerned, amateur golf was reserved for the wealthy, while professional golf provided competition and income for former caddies, prohibited by the USGA from caddying after the age of 16 or lose their amateur status.^[3] Ouimet found an interest in golf at an early age and started caddying at The Country Club at the age of nine. Using clubs from his brother and balls he found around the course, Ouimet taught himself the game. Soon enough his game caught the eye of many country club members and caddie master Dan MacNamara. It wasn't long before Ouimet was the best high school golfer in the state. When he was a junior in high school, his father insisted Francis drop out and finally begin to do "something useful" with his life. He worked at a drygoods store before a stroke of good luck helped him land a job at a sporting goods store owned by the future Baseball Hall of Famer George Wright.^[3][4]

Golf career[link]

1913 U.S. Open[link]

In 1913 Ouimet won his first significant title at age 20, the Massachusetts Amateur, an event he went on to win five more times. He participated in the U.S. Amateur at the Garden City Golf Club in New York in early September, losing in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion, Jerome Travers. Soon after he was asked personally by the president of the United States Golf Association, Robert Watson, if he would play in the national professional championship, the U.S. Open, which had been postponed to mid-September from its original June dates to allow for the participation of British golfers Harry Vardon and Ted Ray.^[5] The event was played at the course Ouimet knew best, The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Ouimet originally declined to play, having just returned from an absence from work to play in the National Amateur. His participation in the Open was soon arranged, however, with the cooperation of his employer.

It was Ouimet's first appearance in the championship. After 72 holes of play finished in a three-way tie, Ouimet went on to an 18-hole playoff the next day in rainy conditions, and won the Open over Vardon and Ray.^[6] Ouimet's victory after an 18-hole playoff against Vardon and Ray was widely hailed as a stunning upset over the strongly-favored Brits, who were regarded as the top two golfers in the world. He was the first amateur to win the U.S. Open, the biggest crowds ever seen in American golf followed the playoff, and his achievement was front-page news across the country.

Ouimet's U.S. Open success is credited for bringing golf into the American sporting mainstream. Before his surprising win over Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, golf was dominated by British players. In America, the sport was restricted to players with access to private facilities. There were very few public courses (the first, Van Cortlandt Golf Course in The Bronx borough of New York City, opened in 1895). Ten years after his 1913 victory the number of American players had tripled and many new courses had been built, including numerous public ones.

In 1963 WGBH-TV, Boston's public television station, aired an interview with Ouimet at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, to mark the 50th anniversary of his win at the 1913 U.S. Open. The kinescope of that interview was included in the DVD of the Walt Disney film, The Greatest Game Ever Played.

Controversy resolved[link]

Ouimet never turned professional;^[1] he wished to remain an amateur for his whole career, as he decided before his U.S. Open success that he wanted to work in the world of business. In 1916, however, the USGA, in one of the most controversial decisions in their history, stripped Ouimet of his amateur status. Its reasoning was that he was using his celebrity to aid his own sporting goods business, and was therefore making a living from golf. This was at the time when caddies were not allowed to continue caddying after they reached the age of 16, unless they declared themselves professionals. The decision was greeted with uproar from Ouimet's fellow golfers. In 1918 Ouimet enlisted in the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of lieutenant. After the war the USGA quietly reinstated his amateur status. Ouimet did not bear a grudge against the USGA, and served on several committees. He was also a golf member of Charles River Country Club in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, and was a member of the Woodland Golf Club of Auburndale, Massachusetts.

Ouimet went on to win his second U.S. Amateur in 1931.^[1] During the 1920s he lost several close matches to Bobby Jones, who dominated amateur golf for that decade.

Later achievements[link]

Ouimet won the U.S. Amateur twice, in 1914 and 1931.^[7] He played on the first eight Walker Cup Teams, and was Captain of the next four for a team record of 11-1. In 1951, he became the first American elected Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, and in 1955 was the first-ever winner of the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. Ouimet has been named to many golf Halls of Fame, and has a room named after him in the USGA Museum.

Two other aspects of Ouimet's golf career are important — Ouimet used the overlapping grip to hold the club, and was among the first top players to use this method. He very likely used the grip in emulation of Vardon, who is often credited with developing the grip. Many great golf champions since have used this technique. Ouimet mentored and encouraged the young Gene Sarazen, who developed into one of golf's greatest champions; Sarazen also used the overlapping grip. The method is named for the "overlapping' of the little finger of the bottom hand between the forefinger and middle finger of the top hand.^[8]

Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund[link]

In 1949 a group of Ouimet's friends started a scholarship in his honor, naming it the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund.^[1] The scholarship was created to give college scholarship aid to young people who worked as caddies at clubs in Massachusetts. The inaugural class had 13 scholars who received a total of $4,600. Since then, over 4,700 students have been selected as Ouimet Scholars, receiving over $22 million in need-based college tuition assistance. Today's requirements state that young people who have given at least two years of service to golf as caddies or worked in a pro shop or in course superintendent operations in Massachusetts are eligible to receive the scholarship.

The Ouimet Fund is the second largest caddie scholarship in the United States, and the largest independent scholarship fund in Massachusetts. Students must go through a rigorous application and interview process before being selected as a Ouimet Scholar. Once selected, students may attend any school they wish, which is one of the major differences between the Ouimet Fund and the Evans Fund, the other major caddie fund in the U.S. Since the Ouimet Fund is a need-based scholarship, awards can range anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $30,000 or more over four years.

The Francis Ouimet Award for Lifelong Contributions to Golf is presented annually at the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund's annual banquet. It was first presented in 1986. Past winners include Arnold Palmer (1997), Peter Jacobsen (2006), Jack Nicklaus (2007) and Annika Sörenstam (2010).^[9]

Depictions[link]

In 1988, a portrait of Ouimet appeared on a commemorative 25 cent United States Postal Service postage stamp in his honor.^[10]

In 2002, Mark Frost wrote a biographical account of Ouimet's U.S. Open victory titled The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf. Shortly afterward, Frost was tapped by Walt Disney Studios to write a motion picture adaptation. The Greatest Game Ever Played was released in theaters in 2005. The film starred Shia LaBeouf as Ouimet, was directed by Bill Paxton, and produced by Larry Brezner.

Appearing on the cover of The Greatest Game is a photograph of Ouimet at the U.S. Open with his ten-year-old caddy, Eddie Lowery. This iconic image is one of the best known in American golf, and was used as the logo for the United States Golf Association's Centennial celebrations. A statue of Ouimet and Lowery based on the photograph stands in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Personal[link]

He married Stella M. Sullivan on September 11, 1918.^[11] They had two daughters: Jane Salvi and Barbara McLean. He died in Newton, Massachusetts on September 2, 1967.^[12]

Tournament wins (25)[link]

• 1909 Boston Interscholastic
• 1910 Boston Interscholastic, Woodland Golf Club Open
• 1912 The Country Club Cup
• 1913 U.S. Open, Massachusetts Amateur, Meadow Brook Golf Club Open
• 1914 U.S. Amateur, Massachusetts Amateur, French Amateur
• 1915 Massachusetts Amateur, Baltimore Country Club Spring Invitational
• 1917 Western Amateur
• 1919 Massachusetts Amateur
• 1920 North and South Amateur
• 1922 Massachusetts Amateur, Houston Invitational
• 1923 St. George's Challenge
• 1924 Crump Memorial
• 1925 Massachusetts Amateur, Gold Mashie Tournament
• 1927 Crump Memorial
• 1931 U.S. Amateur
• 1932 Massachusetts Open
• 1934 Boston Open

Professional and amateur majors shown in bold.

Amateur wins in major tournaments (3)[link]

Major championships (1)[link]

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1913	U.S. Open	Tied for lead	+8 (77-74-74-79=304)	Playoff 1	Harry Vardon, Ted Ray

¹ Defeated Vardon and Ray in an 18-hole playoff - Ouimet 72 (-2), Vardon 77 (+3), Ray 78 (+4)

Other (2)[link]

Year	Championship	Winning Score	Runner-up
1914	U.S. Amateur	6 & 5	Jerome Travers
1931	U.S. Amateur	6 & 5	Jack Westland

Results timeline[link]

As an amateur, Ouimet could not play in the PGA Championship.

LA = Low Amateur
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
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

Further reading[link]

• Gibson, Nevin H. The Encyclopedia of Golf (A.S. Barnes & Company, 1958)
• Frost, Mark The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf (Hyperion, 2002)

References[link]

Footnotes[link]

General references[link]

• Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database
• Source for 1914 British Open: www.theopen.com
• Source for 1914 British Amateur: Golf Illustrated, July, 1914, pg. 26.
• Source for 1921 British Amateur: The American Golfer, June 4, 1921, pg. 24.
• Source for 1923 British Amateur: The American Golfer, July, 1923, pgs. 48 & 50.
• Source for 1926 British Amateur: The American Golfer, July, 1926, pg. 58.
• Source for 1930 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 30, 1930, pg. 13.
• Source for 1934 British Amateur: The American Golfer, July, 1934, pg. 16.
• Source for 1938 British Amateur: TIME Magazine, June 6, 1938
• Source for 1941 Masters: www.masters.com
• Source for 1947 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 30, 1947, pg. 5.
• Source for 1949 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 25, 1949, pg. 2.
• Source for 1950 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 25, 1950, pg. 9.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Francis Ouimet

• Francis Ouimet Biography from the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund
• World Golf Hall of Fame profile
• 1913 U.S. Open by Bernard Darwin
• Electronic Resources From SoHG Archives
• Hagen Swing Sequences - Brassie, Iron and Putt From SoHG Master Classes