| Tommy Armour | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Armour in 1927 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Thomas Dickson Armour | ||
| Nickname | The Silver Scot | ||
| Born | (1896-09-24)24 September 1896 Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Died | 11 September 1968(1968-09-11) (aged 71) Larchmont, New York, US | ||
| Sporting nationality |  Scotland United States | ||
| Career | |||
| College | University of Edinburgh | ||
| Turned professional | 1924 | ||
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 27 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| PGA Tour | 25 | ||
| Other | 2 | ||
| Best results in major championships (wins: 3) | |||
| Masters Tournament | T8:1937 | ||
| PGA Championship | Won:1930 | ||
| U.S. Open | Won:1927 | ||
| The Open Championship | Won:1931 | ||
| U.S. Amateur | T5: 1920 | ||
| British Amateur | T33: 1920, 1921 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Thomas Dickson Armour (24 September 1896[1] – 11 September 1968) was a Scottish-born golfer who played primarily in the United States. He was nicknamedThe Silver Scot. He was the winner of three of golf's major championships: 1927U.S. Open, 1930PGA, and 1931Open Championship. Armour popularized the termyips, the colloquial term for a sudden and unexplained loss of skills in experienced athletes.[2]
Armour was born on 24 September 1896 inEdinburgh, Scotland, the son of Martha Dickson and her husband George Armour, a baker. He went to school atBoroughmuir High School, Edinburgh, (formerly Boroughmuir Senior Secondary School) and studied at theUniversity of Edinburgh.[3] During his early golf career, he played at Lothianburn Golf Club near the Pentland Hills. At the outbreak of World War I enlisted with theBlack Watch and was a machine-gunner. He rose from private to Staff Major in theTank Corps. His conduct earned him an audience withGeorge V. However, he lost his sight to amustard gas explosion and surgeons had to add a metal plate to his head and left arm. During his convalescence, he regained the sight of his right eye, and began playing much more golf.[4]
Armour won the 1920 French Amateur tournament. He moved to the United States and metWalter Hagen who gave him a job as secretary of theWestchester-Biltmore Club.[3] In 1920, he won a PGA Tour event, the Pinehurst Fall Pro-Am Bestball, while still an amateur, pairing with professionalLeo Diegel.
In 1924, he turned professional. Armour won the1927 U.S. Open,1930 PGA Championship, and the1931 Open Championship. WithJim Barnes andRory McIlroy, he is one of three natives of theUnited Kingdom to win three different professional majors.[5]
At theShawnee Open in 1927, Armour scored the first ever "archaeopteryx" (15 or more over par) when he made a 23 on a par 5, for 18 over par. It still stands as the highest score on a hole in PGA history. This historic performance happened just one week after he had won the U.S. Open. This claim is actually disputed. It appears, according to contemporary reports by the New York Times, that Armour actually scored an 11 on hole 17 during the third round of the Shawnee Open.
Armour retired from full-time professional golf after the 1935 season, although he competed periodically in top-class events for several years afterwards. He taught at theBoca Raton Club in Florida from 1926 to 1955,[6] for $50 a lesson. His pupils includedBabe Didrikson Zaharias andLawson Little. He was also a member at theWinged Foot Golf Club in suburbanNew York City, where he spent much of his summers.[7]
Armour co-wrote a bookHow to Play Your Best Golf All the Time (1953) withHerb Graffis. It became a best-seller and for many years was the biggest-selling book ever authored on golf. A series of 8mm films based on the book was released by Castle Films including Short Game Parts I and II, Long Hitting Clubs, Grip, and Stance.
Armour became an American citizen in November 1942.[8]
Armour died inLarchmont, New York and was cremated at theFerncliff Cemetery inHartsdale, New York but not interred there. Some modern golf equipment is still marketed in his name.
Armour is succeeded by his grandson,Tommy Armour III, who is a two-time winner on thePGA Tour.
Armour was inducted into theWorld Golf Hall of Fame in 1976.
Major championships are shown inbold.
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | U.S. Open | 1 shot deficit | +13 (78-71-76-76=301) | Playoff1 |  Harry Cooper |
| 1930 | PGA Championship | n/a | 1 up | Gene Sarazen | |
| 1931 | The Open Championship | 5 shot deficit | +8 (73-75-77-71=296) | 1 stroke |  José Jurado |
1 Defeated Harry Cooper in an 18-hole playoff: Armour 76 (+4), Cooper 79 (+7).
Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
| Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | T48 | WD | T13 | T38 | T9 | 1 | 16 | T5 | ||
| The Open Championship | T53 | 13 | CUT | 10 | ||||||
| PGA Championship | QF | QF | R32 | |||||||
| U.S. Amateur | QF | R16 | R32 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| The Amateur Championship | R64 | R64 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | T37 | T20 | T8 | T12 | ||
| U.S. Open | 6 | T46 | T21 | T4 | T50 | WD | T22 | CUT | 23 | T22 |
| The Open Championship | 1 | T17 | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | 1 | QF | R16 | 2 | R64 | R64 |
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 38 | 38 | T28 | NT | NT | NT | |||||
| U.S. Open | T12 | CUT | NT | NT | NT | NT | CUT | CUT | WD | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | |||||
| PGA Championship | NT |
NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Sources: U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur,[9] Amateur Championship:1920,[10] 1921[11]
Amateur
Professional
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
