Frederick Guthrie Tait
Frederick Tait redirects here. For those of a similar name, Frederick Tate (disambiguation)
| Frederick Guthrie Tait | |
|---|---|
| — Golfer — | |
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Frederick Guthrie Tait |
| Born |
11 January 1870 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 7 February 1900 (aged 30) |
| Height | 5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m) |
| Weight | 174 lb (79 kg; 12.4 st) |
| Nationality |
 Scotland |
| Career | |
| Status | Amateur |
| Best results in major championships (Wins: 2) | |
| U.S. Open | DNP |
| The Open Championship | T3: 1896, 1897 |
| U.S. Amateur | DNP |
| British Amateur | Won: 1896, 1898 |
Frederick Guthrie Tait (11 January 1870 – 7 February 1900) was a Scottish soldier and amateur golfer.
Born in Edinburgh, the third son of eminent physicist and fanatical amateur golfer Peter Guthrie Tait, the young Tait was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and Sedbergh School. He was admitted to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, at his second attempt, and is credited with introducing golf there. Tait was commissioned into the 2nd battalion the Leinster Regiment (109th foot) and then transferred to the 2nd battalion the Black Watch.
Tait was an extremely powerful and long hitter of the ball. At The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews on 11 January 1893, he hit the ball 250 yards, the ball then rolling on frozen ground and coming to rest 341 yards from the tee. Interestingly, 250 yards was the exact driving distance predicted possible through a careful application of backspin by Tait's father in a paper of 1891, significantly further than the 180 yards achieved at that time.[1] Tait won The Amateur Championship twice (1896 and 1898), finished third in The Open Championship twice (1896 and 1897) and was leading amateur in the same competition on three occasions.
Tait was killed in action at Koodoosberg during the Second Boer War.
Tournament wins (27)
- this list may be incomplete
- 1893 Royal and Ancient Golf Club Spring Club Gold Medal
- 1894 Royal and Ancient Golf Club Royal Medal
- 1895 Royal and Ancient Golf Club Autumn Bombay Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Jubilee Vase, New Luffness Leconfield Medal, New Luffness Silver Quaich, New Luffness Hope Medal
- 1896 The Amateur Championship, St. George's Challenge Cup, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Silver Cross Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Royal Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Glennie Aggregate Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Calcutta Cup
- 1897 Royal and Ancient Golf Club Silver Cross Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Spring Club Gold Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Glennie Aggregate Medal, New Luffness Leconfield Medal
- 1898 The Amateur Championship,[2] St. George's Challenge Cup, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Spring Club Gold Medal, New Luffness Hope Medal, New Luffness East Lothian County Cup
- 1899 St. George's Challenge Cup, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Silver Cross Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Calcutta Cup, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Royal Medal, Royal and Ancient Golf Club Glennie Aggregate Medal
Major championships
Amateur wins (2)
| Year | Championship | Winning Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | The Amateur Championship | 8 & 7 |  Harold Hilton |
| 1898 | The Amateur Championship | 7 & 5 | Samuel Mure Fergusson |
Results timeline
Note: Tait played in only The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship.
| Tournament | 1891 | 1892 | 1893 | 1894 | 1895 | 1896 | 1897 | 1898 | 1899 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Open Championship | T30 | T21 | DNP | 9 LA | T15 | T3 LA | T3 | 5 | T7 LA |
| The Amateur Championship | DNP | R32 | SF | SF | SF | 1 | R32 | 1 | 2 |
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
Source for British Open: www.opengolf.com
Source for 1892 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 12 May 1892, pg. 11.
Source for 1893 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 12 May 1893, pg. 11.
Source for 1894 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 28 April 1894, pg. 11.
Source for 1895 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, 10 May 1895, pg. 11.
Source for 1897 British Amateur: The Scotsman, 29 April 1897, pg. 4.
Death
Tait was killed in action during the Second Boer War.
.
Honours
- The Freddie Tait Cup is awarded annually to the leading amateur in the South African Open.
Bibliography
- Darwin, B. (1933). "Memories of Freddie Tait". The American Golfer. selections reprinted in Price, C. (ed.) (1964). The American golfer.
- Durran, R.A. (2004). "Tait, Frederick Guthrie (1870–1900)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 26 June 2006. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- Low, J.L. (1900). F. G. Tait: A Record.
- Low, J.L (ed.) (1909). Nisbet's Golf Yearbook.
- Ryde, P. (ed.) (1981). Royal & Ancient Championship Records, 1860–1980.
References
- ↑ On the path of a rotating spherical projectile, Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin. 37, 427-440; Scientific Papers II, 356-370
- ↑ "The World Almanac and Book of Facts (1908)". books.google.com. Retrieved 16 April 2015.