Misplaced Pages

#116883

38-618: Thomas Morris (20 April 1851 – 25 December 1875), known as Tom Morris Junior , Young Tom Morris and also Tommy Morris , was a Scottish professional golfer . He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four consecutive titles in the Open Championship , and did this by the age of 21. Morris was born in St Andrews , the "Home of Golf", and died there on Christmas Day, 1875, aged 24. His father, Old Tom Morris ,

76-496: A telegram from home requesting his immediate return; his pregnant wife, Margaret Drinnen, had gone into a difficult labour. Only two holes remained in the match; Old Tom and Young Tom finished the match, winning, and hurried home by ship across the Firth of Forth and up the coast, but when Young Tom got there both his wife and newborn baby were dead. Young Tom was broken-hearted. Not quite four months later, on Christmas Day, he died at

114-587: A friendly personality, and was widely respected. Morris was ranked the 14th best golfer of all time in a survey published in Golf Magazine , September 2009. He was the top player whose career was entirely in the 19th century. His father, Old Tom, was ranked 19th. NT = No tournament WD = Withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place The 2016 film Tommy's Honour depicts the lives and careers of Old Tom ( Peter Mullan ) and Young Tom ( Jack Lowden ), and focuses on their complex and bittersweet relationship. It

152-654: A given standard over the Old Course, and won seven times straight. This form of betting was also an innovation at the time. Young Tom broke the course record over the Old Course at St Andrews by two strokes with a score of 77, to win an extended playoff over Musselburgh's star Bob Ferguson for the 1869 St Andrews Professional Tournament; this score then stood as the course record for 20 years. The previous mark of 79 (first set in 1858) had been scored by Allan Robertson and Old Tom Morris . Morris stood about 5'8" with

190-403: A living solely from playing tournament golf until some way into the 20th century ( Walter Hagen is sometimes considered to have been the first man to have done so). In the developed world, the class distinction is now almost entirely irrelevant. Golf is affordable at public courses to a large portion of the population, and most golf professionals are from middle-class backgrounds, which are often

228-413: A match over the course with a local youth champion. Young Tom won this match decisively and was awarded a prize of five pounds, a significant amount at the time; the two young stars had been followed by a large gallery. His match score would have won the professional tournament. Young Tom made his debut aged 14 in the Open Championship in 1865, performing creditably, but dropped out and failed to complete

266-575: A professional may not play in amateur tournaments unless the Committee is notified, acknowledges and confirms the participation. It is very difficult for a professional to regain their amateur status; simply agreeing not to take payment for a particular tournament is not enough. A player must apply to the governing body of the sport to have amateur status reinstated. Historically, the distinction between amateur and professional golfers had much to do with social class . In 18th and 19th century Britain, golf

304-496: A sturdy, wiry build, and had very strong wrists. He gripped the club with an interlocking grip as clearly seen on his famous photo with his father, in Gallery below. He had a lengthy backswing, and generally swung quite hard on most of his longer shots, but kept some power in reserve. His long shots were usually low to medium in trajectory, and ran out to very good distances, comparable with most of his main rivals; this technique kept

342-549: Is based on Kevin Cook's Herbert Warren Wind Book Award –winning 2007 biography, Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son . Professional golfer In golf, the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose said status. A golfer who has lost their amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;

380-490: Is engraved on the Claret Jug before it is presented to him. The BBC always shows the engraver poised to start work, and the commentators like to speculate about when he will be sure enough of the outcome to begin. Despite some suggestions, at the 1999 Open Championship , Jean van de Velde 's name was not engraved on the trophy before he famously choked with a triple-bogey on the 18th hole and Paul Lawrie subsequently won

418-598: Is on display in Prestwick's clubhouse. In keeping with the Rules of the Tournament, Young Tom was allowed to keep the original Challenge Belt , made of red Moroccan leather with an engraved golf scene on its front silver buckle and funded by Prestwick's members, after his hat-trick of victories. The famous Claret Jug was purchased for the tournament in 1873, and his became the first name to be engraved on it, as he had won

SECTION 10

#1732787081117

456-732: Is the case in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. Professional golfers from these countries are quite often from poor backgrounds and start their careers as caddies, for example, Ángel Cabrera of Argentina , and Zhang Lian-wei , who is the first significant tournament professional from the People's Republic of China . In various countries, Professional Golfers' Associations (PGAs) serve either or both of these categories of professionals. There are separate LPGAs (Ladies Professional Golf Associations) for women. Under

494-591: The Claret Jug dates from 1872, when a new trophy was needed after Young Tom Morris had won the original Challenge Belt (presented by Prestwick Golf Club ) outright in 1870 by winning the Championship three consecutive seasons. Prestwick had both hosted and organised the Championship from 1860 to 1870. By the time that Prestwick had reached agreement with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and

532-545: The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (based at Musselburgh) for the championship to rotate at these three venues, more than a year had passed. So, there was no event in 1871. Each club contributed £10 to the cost of the new trophy, which is inscribed 'The Golf Champion Trophy', and was made by Mackay Cunningham & Company of Edinburgh . When played the 1872 event trophy was unready to be presented to Morris (his fourth consecutive title), although his name

570-545: The 12-hole Prestwick course was the first competitive round anywhere which averaged under four strokes per hole. The Tom Morrises, father and son, frequently competed as partners against all challengers for match stakes, winning most of the time, although their success rate dropped once Old Tom passed 50, as he sometimes struggled with his putting. Young Tom also toured Scotland and parts of England, both on his own and with fellow golfer Davie Strath , playing exhibition matches on their own account, without official sanction; this

608-530: The Open Championship in 1872. During his 1870 win, he began the tournament by scoring a 3 on the first hole of 578 yards, using hickory shafts and a guttie ball, holing a long fairway shot of about 200 yards; given the distances which were possible at that time, this may have been the first-ever albatross (double eagle), assuming a par of 6 for that hole; the term 'par' had not yet been formally invented. His first-round Open score in 1870 of 47 over

646-538: The United States, the PGA of America has 31 distinct member classifications for professionals. Many of the classifications also have corresponding apprenticeship positions. Claret Jug The Golf Champion Trophy , commonly known as the Claret Jug , is the trophy presented to the winner of The Open Championship (also called the "British Open"), one of the four major championships in golf . The awarding of

684-439: The age of 24. The official cause of death, according to his death certificate, was pulmonary hemorrhage causing apnea . Young Tom had played and won a marathon challenge match in terrible weather a few weeks earlier, and this may have weakened him. Morris was a tremendous golf innovator who raised the playing standard significantly, and this, together with his aggressive promotion of his own skills, led to an enormous increase in

722-404: The ball in play, minimized trouble, and fought the wind very well. He was among the first players to intentionally shape shots to curve in flight for shot-making strategy. He invented a new use for the rut iron, a club designed to escape ruts from cart tracks on the course, not an unusual situation in the days before courses were extensively groomed. Morris used the rut iron (a lofted club similar to

760-400: The course where he had learned golf as a youth. Young Tom's 1868 win, at the age of 17, made him the youngest major champion in golf history, a record which still stands. That same year, his father finished second to him, a unique family occurrence in the Championship. In 1869, Young Tom achieved the tournament's first ever hole-in-one by holing out at the 166-yard 8th hole: the scorecard

798-454: The event. He was placed 9th in 1866, 18 shots behind the winner, and in 1867 Young Tom was placed fourth in the Open Championship. Also in 1867, the Morris duo travelled to Carnoustie Golf Links for a significant open tournament, which attracted a strong field of 32 players, the largest seen anywhere up to that time. Young Tom, at the age of 16, finished in a tie for first place, and then won

SECTION 20

#1732787081117

836-403: The modern sand wedge ) as a pitching club for short approaches, hitting high shots over hazards, which sometimes landed with backspin, another innovation. This was a very difficult shot requiring great skill. Prior to this, the pure running approach, together with the chip-and-run, were the usual methods. He used the niblick (like a modern 9-iron) for similar purposes from farther away; iron play

874-431: The player's score on a hole is not the primary goal, such as long drive and putting competitions, outside the amateurism rules. If an amateur accepts a prize of greater than this in a competition covered by the amateurism rules, they forfeit their amateur status, and are therefore by definition a professional golfer. Professional golfers are divided into two main groups, with a limited amount of overlap between them: In

912-434: The playoff over Willie Park Sr. (who would eventually win four Open Championships) and Robert "Bob" Andrew . With this win, he came to general notice and acclaim for the first time. Young Tom won the Open Championship in 1868, 1869, 1870, and 1872 (there was no Open Championship in 1871). No one else has since repeated this feat of four straight Open Championships. All four championships were played at Prestwick Golf Club ,

950-484: The playoff; engraver Alex Harvey stated, "No, I didn't start engraving the Jug with his name. I've got to wait until the secretary hands me a slip of paper with the winner's name on it, and they always wait until the last putt is dropped." Upon being awarded the Jug in 1989, Mark Calcavecchia said, "How's my name going to fit on that thing?" The Claret Jug has twice appeared on commemorative £5 Scottish banknotes issued by

988-479: The popularity of golf for spectators. Some of his challenge matches attracted thousands of spectators from all over Scotland. Such was the interest that major London newspapers and magazines sent correspondents to Scotland, a 400-mile trip by rail, to cover his challenge matches in the 1870s. Although Morris won a very high percentage of his matches and tournaments, he managed to minimise animosity among rivals, who had to improve their own games to stay competitive. He had

1026-433: The rules of golf and amateur status, the maximum value of a prize an amateur can accept is £700 or US$ 1000. Before the most recent increase in 2022, the maximum had been £500 or $ 750. The 2022 changes also significantly reduced the scope of competitions in which the prize limit applies. Before that time, the only competitions exempt from prize limits were hole in one contests. The 2022 changes took all competitions in which

1064-466: The same site, having been donated in 1908 by the Morris family. The current Claret Jug was first awarded to Walter Hagen for winning the 1928 Open. The winner must return the trophy before the next year's Open, and receives a replica to keep permanently. Three other replicas exist: one in the R&;A World Golf Museum at St Andrews, and two used for travelling exhibitions. Every year, the winner's name

1102-404: The same sort of backgrounds as the members of the clubs where they work or the people they teach the game, and are educated to university level. Leading tournament golfers are very wealthy; upper class in the modern U.S. usage of the term. However, in some developing countries, there is still a class distinction. Typically, golf is restricted to a much smaller and more elite section of society than

1140-492: The sons of noblemen and wealthy businessmen, and would put his schooling to good use in his golf game and in his personal relationships. Morris learned golf from a young age over the Prestwick Golf Club links, which had been laid out by his father, the club's professional and greenkeeper, in 1851. He bypassed the caddying and clubmaking roles, which were the usual entry to golf for young players at that time; he

1178-572: Was developed significantly by his examples, which were taken up by rivals. Morris was also an exceptional putter and chipper, virtually always giving the hole a chance, and he won many encounters with clutch short shots. One golf historian wrote that Morris missed fewer short putts than any player he had ever seen. His putting method was unusual: he took an open stance and played the ball very close to his right (back) foot. Morris managed his game well, generally choosing high-percentage shots and routes over more risky options (akin to his father's style), but

Young Tom Morris - Misplaced Pages Continue

1216-535: Was discovered in Edinburgh . Young Tom moved with his family as an infant from St Andrews to Prestwick , where his father took a new position as the golf professional and greenkeeper. Young Tom studied at Ayr Academy up to his early teens. The Morris family was becoming more prosperous, and hence able to afford the expensive private school fees, in the range of £15 per year. At the Academy, Young Tom studied with

1254-454: Was played by the rich, for pleasure. The early professionals were working-class men who made a living from the game in a variety of ways: caddying , greenkeeping, clubmaking, and playing challenge matches. When golf arrived in America at the end of the 19th century, it was an elite sport there, too. Early American golf clubs imported their professionals from Britain. It was not possible to make

1292-505: Was rarely afraid to take a calculated risk (being more daring than his father). Morris often was able to raise his game when the pressure increased. When on form, his game was complete and without weaknesses. He was the first golfer in that category, and one of no more than a handful throughout golf history. In a team match on 11 September 1875 at North Berwick , with the Morrises facing brothers Willie and Mungo Park , Young Tom received

1330-571: Was the first future top player to do this. Morris beat his father for the first time at the age of 13 in 1864 in a friendly game at St Andrews; at the time his father was Open Champion. Young Tom, just before his 13th birthday, travelled with his father to a tournament at Perth , at the King James VI Golf Club , in April 1864, but was not allowed to compete in either the professional or amateur sections. The organisers instead arranged

1368-491: Was the first time this had been done. Young Tom and Strath received some criticism for this, as it challenged the established structure of competition at that time. They were also the first players to insist on receiving money up front before a match was to be held; this was the foundation of appearance money, and prior to this the players were at the mercy of the result and the match's patrons. Morris also bet against members and other takers at St Andrews that he could score below

1406-416: Was the first to be engraved on it. In 1872, Morris was presented with a medal as have all subsequent winners. In 1873 Tom Kidd became the first winner to be actually presented with the Claret Jug after winning the Championship. The original Claret Jug has been on permanent display at the clubhouse of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews since 1928. The original Challenge Belt is also on display at

1444-524: Was the greenkeeper and professional of the St Andrews Links , and himself won four of the first eight Open Championships . Young Tom's first Open Championship win – in 1868 at age 17 – made him the youngest major champion in the PGA, a record which still stands. For many years it was thought on the basis of a baptismal certificate that Morris was born on 10 May 1851, but in 2006 his birth certificate

#116883