Tommy Armour

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This article describes the early 20th century golfer Tommy Armour. If you are looking for the current golfer, see Tommy Armour III.

Thomas Dickson Armour (September 24, 1894 – September 12, 1968) was a Scottish-American professional golfer. He was nicknamed The Silver Scot. (Birth year sometimes listed as 1895.) He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland .

During his service in the World War I he rose from a private to Staff Major in the Tank Corps. His conduct earned him an audience with George V. However, he lost his sight to a mustard 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 took to golfing.

Armour won the French Amateur tournament in 1920. He moved to the United States and met Walter Hagen, who gave him a job as secretary of the Westchester-Biltmore Club. He became a U.S citizen at this time. In 1924 Armour became a professional golfer.

Armour won the 1927 U.S. Open, 1930 PGA Championship, and the 1931 British Open. His 1930 campaign was overshadowed by Bobby Jones' Grand Slam, and Armour seems to have been overlooked.

At the Shawnee Open in 1927, Armour shot the first ever "Archaeopteryx"(15 or more-over par) when he shot a 23 on a par 5, for 18-over par. This still stands as the highest score on one hole in PGA history. This historic performance happened just one week after winning the U.S. Open.

Armour retired from major competitions after 1935 and begun to teach at the Boca Raton Club in Florida, with $50 a lesson. His pupils included Babe Didrikson Zaharias and Lawson Little. He watched the pupil hit 20 balls, gave a sharp analysis and made him hit 20 more, with more analysis.

During World War II, Armour played in exhibitions for USO and Red Cross.

Armour cowrote a book How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time (1952) with Herb Graffis. It became a best seller and for many years was the biggest-selling book ever authored on golf.

Armour died in Larchmont, New York and was interred in the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Some modern golf equipment is still marketed in his name.

He is succeeded by his grandson, Tommy Armour III, who is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour and currently holds the record for the lowest total score on 72 holes (254), which he set while winning his second PGA Tour victory at the Valero Texas Open.

He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1976.

1 PGA Tour wins (25)
2 Results in major championships
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] PGA Tour wins (25)

1920 (1) Pinehurst Fall Pro-Am Bestball (as an amateur, with Leo Diegel)
1925 (1) Florida West Coast Open
1926 (1) Winter Pro Golf Championship
1927 (5) Long Beach California Open, El Paso Open, U.S. Open, Canadian Open, Oregon Open Championship
1928 (4) Metropolitan Open, Philadelphia Open Championship, Pennsylvania Open Championship, Sacramento Open
1929 (1) Western Open
1930 (3) Canadian Open, PGA Championship, St. Louis Open
1931 (1) British Open
1932 (3) Four-Ball at Miami (with Ed Dudley), Mid-South Bestball (with Al Watrous), Miami Open
1934 (2) Canadian Open, Pinehurst Fall Pro-Pro (with Bobby Cruickshank)
1935 (1) Miami Open
1936 (1) Walter Olson Golf Tournament
1938 (1) Mid-South Open

Major championships are shown in bold.

[edit] Results in major championships

Tournament	1920	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929
The Masters	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF
U.S. Open	T48	DNP	DNP	WD	T13	T38	T9	1	16	T5
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	13	DNP	CUT	10
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T5	DNP	T5	T17	DNP

Tournament	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
The Masters	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	DNP	T37	T20	T8	DNP	T12
U.S. Open	6	T46	T21	T4	T50	WD	T22	CUT	23	T22
The Open Championship	DNP	1	T15	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	1	T5	DNP	DNP	T9	2	T33	T33	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950
The Masters	38	38	T29	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T12	CUT	NT	NT	NT	NT	CUT	CUT	WD	DNP	CUT
The Open Championship	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10