From Francis Ouimet’s World Golf Hall of


Fame profile: ■ Ouimet proved he was no fluke by winning the 1914 U.S. Amateur, but when he subsequently opened a sporting goods shop he was banned from amateur competition by the USGA, a miscarriage of justice that was later reversed. Ouimet returned to play on the inaugural Walker Cup team in 1922 and the seven that followed, serving as captain in four more thereafter. In 1931, his temples specked with gray, he won another U.S. Amateur at age 38. Ouimet was an important international figure as well. In 1951, he became the first American to captain the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews. His legacy transcends tournament victories. In 1913 it is estimated only 350,000 Americans played golf. Ten years later, fuelled by Ouimet’s heroics, that number was up to 2,000,000. So it is that Ouimet is rightfully called the Father of American Golf. In 1963, the U.S. Open was again held at The Country Club to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his victory. Said Ouimet in 1932, “To me, the ground here is hallowed. The grass grows greener, the trees bloom better, there is even warmth to the rocks. Somehow or other the sun seems to shine brighter on The Country Club than any other place that I have ever known.” He died in nearby Newton in 1967.


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imagined the hysteria that gripped the final few holes of his round. “Enthusiasm ran the gamut from despair to elation; silence was followed by outbursts of cheering that could be heard from one end of the course to the other. When Ouimet’s second shot from the seventeenth tee landed dead on the edge of the home green, five thousand spectators massed themselves in a gigantic ring of breathless humanity about Ouimet and his playing partner George Sargent.” Francis had a putt to take the title. In wet conditions he missed and left himself a three footer. He lined up again and sank it...and barely had the ball dropped into the hole before he was raised up on to the shoulders of the crowd and carried towards the clubhouse from


he hless


the scene of the miracle. Vardon, Ray and Ouimet – Who? - all tied on 304. As New York Times readers learned: “Many not realising that Ouimet was an amateur and not a professional thrust bills of large denominations at him only to be met with a smile and a shake of the head, which took the sting out of the refusal made necessary by their mistake...It was a climax new to golf in this country, and even Ray and Vardon, who were trailing along amid the swish- swish of rubber coated spectators, gripped their pipes until the stems threatened to snap under the strain of the clinched teeth.”


Who? all The next day brought the play-off, to be


decided over 18 holes. The weather was still poor. Francis had gone to bed at 9.30 the evening before and risen at 8am. After a light breakfast he walked over to the Country Club and hit some balls towards young Eddie. A short while


later he, Vardon and Ray drew


straws to determine who would have the honour. Francis drew the longest and hit a nervous but straight tee shot down the 430 yard par 4. In the conditions only Ted Ray stood the chance of getting to the green in 2, but pushed his ball into mounds on the right and had to be satisfied with a 5 after a poor chip. Vardon also made 5 and Francis had a short putt to do the same. When it hit the bottom of the cup he said later that he lost all sense of “awe and excitement”. And this is borne out by the contemporary


reporting of the contest. Francis Ouimet remained calm and focused, while his professional opponents wrestled with the demons of intense competition in difficult conditions. By the 15th Ray was fading, even though he had the good fortune to see his ball hit a spectator’s derby hat and ricochet away from the rough towards which it was heading. But instead of capitalising on this slice of luck


ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB MAGAZINE 2013 Above: One of golf’s most iconic images Left: Francis Ouimet also became a fine golf writer


he found a bunker with his second shot, took 2 to get out, and made 6. Vardon and Ouimet made par 4’s, leaving Vardon 1 shot behind Ouimet with Ray 4 shots adrift. On this hole, Vardon, who normally never smoked on the golf course, lit a cigarette. On 17 Vardon hooked his drive into a trap


and had to play out on to the fairway. His third hit the green. Ouimet took out his mashie and hit his second to 18 feet. Vardon 2 putted. Ouimet rolled his ball into the hole. So, walking on to the last tee the young


pretender held a 3 shot lead. His drive was straight. His second landed on the green. His first putt was weak and left the ball 4 feet short. Even so, 20 year old Francis Ouimet was on the brink of a remarkable victory and only now did he submit to the occasion. He began to shiver. He hesitated within the eerie silence of several thousand people enraptured by history in the making. Francis made his stroke. His ball disappeared into the hole. And the silence came to a tumultuous end. Francis Ouimet’s US Open victory changed


golf. He had taken on the British greats and won, but, more importantly, he had demonstrated to Americans that the game was not the sole province of the elite. Against the social odds of the time he became a great player and a champion who inspired millions to pick up a golf club and the creation of many public courses. The images of this 20 year old striding down fairways with a boy half his age carrying his clubs are the stuff of sporting fairy-tale, and a welcome reminder that, sometimes, dreams do come true. ■


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