One can look back at the history of golf and spot important dates. Some on a world scale, others more bound to the American home front. (Or should I say Course front?) Majors won. Ryder Cup victories and defeats. Some triumphs. Others tragedies.
But for all American golfers there is but one date that should stand out above all others. This date was — in my view — the day that America became a legitimate golfing presence. Like the American Revolution and July 4th, 1776 go inseparably together, American golf and September 20th, 1913 should go together like ... well ... dimples and golf balls! What's so special about that date? Some of you know, but for those who don't...
AN MOST UNLIKELY "TRIUMVIRATE"
Harry Vardon (left in photo) was considered by many to be the greatest Englishman to play the game. Arguably he till is. Up from the most humble of beginnings, Vardon would amass a championship record that included winning six Open Championships (a record that still stands today). The Vardon grip was named for him.
In 1913 he might have lost a step or two but was still considered a major golfing threat to the fledgling United States Open being played that year in Brookline, Massachusetts. Although not as shining a star in the golfing firmament, Vardon's friend and partner, Ted Ray (right in photo) was nearly as formidable an opponent as was Vardon. So when these two British giants came to the States with the intent of carrying away the U.S. Open Championship most believed them capable of doing it.
I won't go into additional biographical detail for Vardon and Ray. Suffice it to say that they were preeminent golfers and champions — as golf writer, Bernard Darwin would later put it — "Two Goliaths" that struck fear into the hearts of most of the competitors of the day.
Which brings us to the third member of the trio in question.
Francis DeSales Ouimet (at center in photo) was, in every sense, a golfing "David" when pitted against the gigantic foes considered here. Not a golfing hack in the least, Ouimet was a champion in his own right having won the Massachusetts State Amateur and other events. But to consider the notion that he could stand with the likes of Vardon and Ray was something that no one seriously entertained.
THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED
And so it was that the fray was joined and, in the end, a three-way tie resulted at the 1913 U.S. Open. A playoff was scheduled for September 20, 1913 and included Vardon, Ray and Ouimet. The story is one that has been appropriately told and retold. In my opinion, the best accounts are to be found in the book The Greatest Game Ever Played by Mark Frost and in the excellent Disney movie of the same title with Frost contributing the screenplay.
It is history that every American golfer, at least, should know about.
It has been appropriately argued that, without Francis Ouimet and his unlikely victory at the Country Club in Brookline, there would have been no Bobby Jones. No Arnold Palmer. No Jack Nicklaus. And, if we must, no Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods. Oh, sure things might have rolled out in subsequent years to legitimize golf in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. But Francis Ouimet was the perfect hero to give golf the boost into America's sporting mainstream that it needed. American's dearly love the underdog — especially when he is a stripling 20-year-old and one of their very own.
In the end, Ouimet was able to proudly raise the U.S. Open trophy high, having defeated his two professional foes in classic style. And, like all good stories, Ouimet, Vardon and Ray remained fast friends over the course of their lives.
PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR — REMEMBER IT!
And so, September 2oth, which just happens to be today, should be a day that is inscribed in ink on your collective calendars. Commemorate it just as you would the 4th of July. Why not? After all, prior to Ouimet's striking championship, British golfers dominated championship golf in these United States. No, we have no record of them wearing red coats or harassing the citizens of Boston. But isn't it fitting that, in 1913, a golfing George Washington stepped forward — in the same vicinity as the famous military shots heard round the world! — and put golf solidly on the map of the American sporting psyche!
Pick up Frost's excellent book. Watch and enjoy the Disney movie.
Get out there today — on this day of days in American Golf — and celebrate! What better day to tee it up, waggle proudly at the thought of our golfing history and...
Hit 'em Long and Straight!
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