Francis Ouimet

Francis Ouimet in 1913
Personal information
Full name	Francis DeSales Ouimet
Born	May 8, 1893(1893-05-08) Brookline, Massachusetts
Died	September 2, 1967(1967-09-02) (aged 74) Newton, Massachusetts
Nationality	United States
Spouse	Stella Sullivan (m. 1918–1967) «start: (1918)–end+1: (1968)»"Marriage: Stella Sullivan to Francis Ouimet" Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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.

Early life

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, golf was reserved for the wealthy. 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 the caddie master. 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.

Golf career

1913 U.S. Open

In 1913 Ouimet won his first significant title at age 20, the Massachusetts Amateur, an event he won five more times. Soon afterward he was asked personally by the president of the United States Golf Association, Robert Watson, if he would play in the nation's championship, the U.S. Open. The event was played at the course Ouimet knew best, The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Ouimet originally did not plan to play in it, because he thought he would have difficulty obtaining leave from work. This was soon arranged, however, through the kindness 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 Britons Harry Vardon and Ted Ray. 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 Varden 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

Ouimet never turned professional and 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 went on to win his second U.S. Amateur in 1931. During the 1920s Ouimet lost several close matches to Bobby Jones, who dominated amateur golf for that decade. 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.

Later achievements

Ouimet also won the U.S. Amateur twice, in 1914 and 1931. 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 one of his idols, Harry Vardon, who is often, though erroneously, credited with developing the grip (though the grip bears Vardon's namesake, the Vardon grip, Vardon himself probably adapted it from Scottish amateur Johnny Laidlay). 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.

Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund

In 1949 a group of Ouimet's friends started a scholarship in his honor, and named it the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund. The scholarship was created to give college scholarship aid to kids 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 pro shop or 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).

Depictions

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

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

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

Tournament wins (25)

• 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)

Major championships (1)

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)

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

Results timeline

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

Tournament	1910	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919
Masters Tournament	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	1 LA	T5	T35	DNP	NT	NT	T18
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T56	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT
U.S. Amateur	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	R16	1	R16	DNP	NT	NT	QF
The Amateur Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	R128	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT

Tournament	1920	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929
Masters Tournament	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	T29	DNP	T3	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Amateur	2	R16	R16	SF	SF	DNQ	SF	SF	R32	SF
The Amateur Championship	DNP	R128	DNP	SF	DNP	DNP	R64	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
Masters Tournament	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Amateur	R32	1	SF	DNP	R256	R256	R64	WD	DNP	DNQ
The Amateur Championship	R32	DNP	DNP	DNP	R256	DNP	DNP	DNP	R64	DNP

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949
Masters Tournament	DNP	WD	DNP	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Amateur	DNQ	DNP	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Amateur Championship	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	R32	DNP	R128

Tournament	1950
Masters Tournament	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP
U.S. Amateur	DNP
The Amateur Championship	R128

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

• 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

General references

• Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database
• Source for 1914 British Open: www.opengolf.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

• 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