Arnaud Massy
Arnaud Massy | |
---|---|
Massy (c. 1919) | |
Personal information | |
Full name | Arnaud George Watson Massy |
Born | (1877-07-06)6 July 1877 Biarritz, France |
Died | 16 April 1950(1950-04-16) (aged 72) Étretat, France |
Sporting nationality | France |
Career | |
Status | Professional |
Professional wins | 20 |
Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |
Masters Tournament | DNP |
PGA Championship | DNP |
U.S. Open | DNP |
The Open Championship | Won: 1907 |
Arnaud George Watson Massy (French pronunciation: [aʁno masi]; 6 July 1877 – 16 April 1950) was one of France's most successful professional golfers, most notable for winning the 1907 Open Championship.
Early life
Massy was born in Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. The son of a sheep farmer, he worked on a sardine boat and supplemented his income by caddying at the new Biarritz golf course where a great many of the best professional golfers from Britain came to practice during the off-season in the warm climate of southern France. Blessed with natural abilities, he learned from these pro golfers and in 1898 traveled to North Berwick, Scotland to develop his skills for a professional career.
Golf career
In 1906, Massy won the first edition of the French Open played at a Paris course. The following year he won it again, defeating a strong contingent of British players including the great Harry Vardon. But Massy wasn't through, he followed up his French national championship by becoming the first non-Briton to win The Open Championship (British Open).[1] His victory raised the profile of the game in his native France, and with three other major players, he put on exhibition matches in various European cities that contributed significantly to the increased popularity of golf on the continent.
In 1910, Massy won the inaugural Belgian Open and in 1911 was the runner-up at the Open Championship to Harry Vardon. That year, Massy completed his book on golfing that was successfully published in France then translated into English for the British market. In 1912, he won the first Spanish Open ever played.
In 1913 he played in the France–United States Professional Match. In 1926 he won an exhibition match against Bobby Jones in France.
Massy's golfing career had to be put on hold as a result of World War I. While serving in the French army he was wounded at Verdun but at war's end was able to return to golfing. At age 41, he had lost four prime years and struggled to compete. Remarkably, in 1925 at age 48, he won the French Open for the fourth time and then won back-to-back Spanish Opens in 1927–28. When his career finally wound down he worked as a pro at courses in England, France and Morocco. Married to a British woman, Janet Henderson, originally from North Berwick, East Lothian, he lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, during the 1920s and early 1930s.
Death and legacy
Massy retired in Étretat, Seine-Maritime in Upper Normandy where he died in 1950 in poverty.[2] He remains the only French golfer to ever have won any of the four men's major championships. He was also the only golfer from continental Europe to win a men's major championship before Seve Ballesteros won The Open Championship in 1979.
He is buried in Newington Cemetery in Edinburgh, where a new headstone was recently erected by the European Golf Association, Golf Collectors and The R&A.[3] However shortly after the ceremony it was discovered that the actual burial site was located nearby in the cemetery. Despite this discrepancy, the headstone remains in its incorrect location. There is a plaque commemorating him fixed on the wall of the house he originally lived in North Berwick, East Lothian, in Forth Street there.
Tournament wins
Note: This list may be incomplete.
- 1906 French Open
- 1907 Grand Duke Michael's Tournament, The Open Championship, French Open
- 1908 Blackpool Professional Tournament (England), Turnberry Professional Tournament (Scotland)
- 1909 Pitlochry Professional Tournament (Scotland)
- 1910 Belgian Open
- 1911 French Open, Championnat de France Pro[4]
- 1912 Spanish Open
- 1913 Championnat de France Pro[4]
- 1914 Championnat de France Pro[4]
- 1919 Inter-Allied Games
- 1921 Tooting Bec Cup
- 1925 French Open, Championnat de France Pro[4]
- 1926 French Native Open
- 1927 Spanish Open
- 1928 Spanish Open
Major championships
Wins (1)
Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1907 | The Open Championship | 1 shot deficit | 76-81-78-77=312 | 2 strokes | J.H. Taylor |
Results timeline
Tournament | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Open Championship | T10 | T37 | WD | T5 | 6 | 1 | T9 | T35 |
Tournament | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Open Championship | T22 | 2 | 10 | T7 | T10 | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT |
Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Open Championship | T29 | T6 | WD | WD | WD | T41 | CUT | CUT |
Note: Massy only played in The Open Championship
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Team appearances
- Coronation Match (representing the Professionals): 1911 (winners)
- France–United States Professional Match (representing France): 1913 (winners)
- Inter-Allied Games (representing France): 1919 (winners)
- France–Great Britain Professional Match (representing France): 1929
References
- ^ "1907 Arnaud Massy". The Open. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ Corrigan, James (16 July 2014). "The Open 2014: The forgotten grave of Arnaud Massy, the man who changed the Open forever". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ Dempster, Martin (9 February 2013). "Edinburgh last resting place of Arnaud Massy". Scotsman.com.
- ^ a b c d "Championnat de France professionnel : Histoire et palmarès". Fédération Française de Golf. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
Adapted from the article Arnaud Massy, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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- 1860 Willie Park Sr.
- 1861 Tom Morris Sr.
- 1862 Tom Morris Sr.
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- 1867 Tom Morris Sr.
- 1868 Tom Morris Jr.
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- 1872 Tom Morris Jr.
- 1873 Tom Kidd
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- 1876 Bob Martin†
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- 1889 Willie Park Jr.†
- 1890 John Ball#
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- 1896 Harry Vardon†
- 1897 Harold Hilton#
- 1898 Harry Vardon
- 1899 Harry Vardon
- 1900 John Henry Taylor
- 1901 James Braid
- 1902 Sandy Herd
- 1903 Harry Vardon
- 1904 Jack White
- 1905 James Braid
- 1906 James Braid
- 1907 Arnaud Massy
- 1908 James Braid
- 1909 John Henry Taylor
- 1910 James Braid
- 1911 Harry Vardon†
- 1912‡ Edward Ray
- 1913 John Henry Taylor
- 1914 Harry Vardon
- 1920 George Duncan
- 1921 Jock Hutchison†
- 1922 Walter Hagen
- 1923 Arthur Havers
- 1924 Walter Hagen
- 1925 Jim Barnes
- 1926 Bobby Jones#
- 1927‡ Bobby Jones#
- 1928 Walter Hagen
- 1929 Walter Hagen
- 1930 Bobby Jones#
- 1931 Tommy Armour
- 1932‡ Gene Sarazen
- 1933 Denny Shute†
- 1934‡ Henry Cotton
- 1935 Alf Perry
- 1936 Alf Padgham
- 1937 Henry Cotton
- 1938 Reg Whitcombe
- 1939 Dick Burton
- 1946 Sam Snead
- 1947 Fred Daly
- 1948 Henry Cotton
- 1949 Bobby Locke†
- 1950 Bobby Locke
- 1951 Max Faulkner
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- 1953 Ben Hogan
- 1954 Peter Thomson
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- 1957 Bobby Locke
- 1958 Peter Thomson†
- 1959 Gary Player
- 1960 Kel Nagle
- 1961 Arnold Palmer
- 1962 Arnold Palmer
- 1963 Bob Charles†
- 1964 Tony Lema
- 1965 Peter Thomson
- 1966 Jack Nicklaus
- 1967 Roberto De Vicenzo
- 1968 Gary Player
- 1969 Tony Jacklin
- 1970 Jack Nicklaus†
- 1971 Lee Trevino
- 1972 Lee Trevino
- 1973‡ Tom Weiskopf
- 1974 Gary Player
- 1975 Tom Watson†
- 1976 Johnny Miller
- 1977 Tom Watson
- 1978 Jack Nicklaus
- 1979 Seve Ballesteros
- 1980 Tom Watson
- 1981 Bill Rogers
- 1982 Tom Watson
- 1983 Tom Watson
- 1984 Seve Ballesteros
- 1985 Sandy Lyle
- 1986 Greg Norman
- 1987 Nick Faldo
- 1988 Seve Ballesteros
- 1989 Mark Calcavecchia†
- 1990 Nick Faldo
- 1991 Ian Baker-Finch
- 1992 Nick Faldo
- 1993 Greg Norman
- 1994 Nick Price
- 1995 John Daly†
- 1996 Tom Lehman
- 1997 Justin Leonard
- 1998 Mark O'Meara†
- 1999 Paul Lawrie†
- 2000 Tiger Woods
- 2001 David Duval
- 2002 Ernie Els†
- 2003 Ben Curtis
- 2004 Todd Hamilton†
- 2005‡ Tiger Woods
- 2006 Tiger Woods
- 2007 Pádraig Harrington†
- 2008 Pádraig Harrington
- 2009 Stewart Cink†
- 2010 Louis Oosthuizen
- 2011 Darren Clarke
- 2012 Ernie Els
- 2013 Phil Mickelson
- 2014‡ Rory McIlroy
- 2015 Zach Johnson†
- 2016 Henrik Stenson
- 2017 Jordan Spieth
- 2018 Francesco Molinari
- 2019 Shane Lowry
- 2021 Collin Morikawa
- 2022 Cameron Smith
- 2023 Brian Harman
1871 No championship; 1915–1919 cancelled due to World War I; 1940–1945 cancelled due to World War II; 2020 cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic