Young Tom Morris

Thomas Morris (20 April 1851 – 25 December 1875), known as Young Tom Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four consecutive titles in the Open Championship, an unmatched feat, and did this by the age of 21.

Morris was born in St Andrews, the "Home of Golf", and died there on Christmas Day, 1875, aged 24. His father, Old Tom Morris, was the greenkeeper and professional of the St Andrews Links, and himself won four of the first eight Open Championships. Young Tom's first Open Championship win, in 1868 aged 17, made him the youngest major champion in golf history, a record which still stands.

Education

For many years it was thought on the basis of a baptismal certificate that Morris was born on 10 May 1851, but in 2006 his birth certificate was discovered in Edinburgh. Young Tom moved with his family as an infant from St Andrews to Prestwick, where his father took a new position as golf professional and greenkeeper. Young Tom studied at the prestigious Ayr Academy up to his early teens. The Morris family was becoming more prosperous, and hence able to afford the expensive private school fees, in the range of 15 pounds per year; this sum was the equivalent of perhaps 1,000 pounds in the year 2000. At the Academy, Young Tom studied with the sons of noblemen and wealthy businessmen, and would put his schooling to good use in his golf game and in his personal relationships.