Arnaud Massy

Arnaud Massy
Personal information
Born	6 July 1877(1877-07-06) Biarritz, France
Died	16 April 1950(1950-04-16) (aged 72) Étretat, France
Nationality	France
Career
Status	Professional
Professional wins	13
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	Won: 1907
PGA Championship	DNP

Arnaud Massy (6 July 1877 – 16 April 1950) was one of France's most successful professional golfers.

Massy was born in Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. The son of a sheep farmer, he worked on a sardine boat and supplemented his income by caddying at the new Biarritz golf course where a great many of the best professional golfers from Britain came to practice during the off-season in the warm climate of southern France. Blessed with natural abilities, he learned from these pro golfers and in 1898 traveled to North Berwick, Scotland to develop his skills for a professional career.

In 1906, Massy won the first edition of the French Open played at a Paris course. The following year he won it again, defeating a strong contingent of British players including the great Harry Vardon. But Massy wasn't through, he followed up his French national championship by becoming the first non-Briton to win The Open Championship (British Open). His victory raised the profile of the game in his native France, and with three other major players, he put on exhibition matches in various European cities that contributed significantly to the increased popularity of golf on the continent.

In 1910, Massy won the inaugural Belgian Open and in 1911 was the runner-up at the Open Championship to Harry Vardon. That year, Massy completed his book on golfing that was successfully published in France then translated into English for the British market. In 1912, he won the first Spanish Open ever played.

In 1913 he played in the USA vs. French Tournament. In 1926 he won an exhibition match against Bobby Jones in France.

Massy's golfing career had to be put on hold as a result of World War I. While serving in the French army he was wounded at Verdun but at war's end was able to return to golfing. At age 41, he had lost four prime years and struggled to compete. Remarkably, in 1925 at age 48, he won the French Open for the fourth time and then won back-to-back Spanish Opens in 1927/28. When his career finally wound down he worked as a pro at courses in England, France and Morocco. Married to an English woman, he lived in Edinburgh, Scotland during the Second World War.

Massy retired in Étretat, Seine-Maritime in Normandy where he died in 1950. He remains the only French golfer to ever have won any of golf's four (men's) major championships. He was also the only golfer from Continental Europe to win a major before Seve Ballesteros won The Open Championship in 1979.

Tournament wins

this list may be incomplete

• 1906 French Open
• 1907 The Open Championship, French Open, Cannes Open Invitational (France)
• 1908 Blackpool Tournament (England), Turnberry Open (Scotland), Pitlochry Open (Scotland)
• 1910 Belgian Open
• 1911 French Open
• 1912 Spanish Open
• 1925 French Open
• 1927 Spanish Open
• 1928 Spanish Open

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner-up
1907	The Open Championship	1 shot deficit	(76-81-78-77=312)	2 strokes	John Henry Taylor

Results timeline

Massy played in only The Open Championship.

Tournament	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909
The Open Championship	T10	T37	47	T5	6	1	T9	T35

Tournament	1910	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919
The Open Championship	T22	2	10	T7	T10	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT

Tournament	1920	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930
The Open Championship	T29	T6	CUT	DNP	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	T41	CUT	CUT

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

Adapted from the article Arnaud Massy, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.