In 1913, a soft-spoken and raw-boned 20-year-old named Francis Ouimet won a playoff over two British titans to claim the U.S. Open. American golf was permanently changed by that stunning victory, and the iconic image of Ouimet and caddie Eddie Lowery has imprinted itself on our golfing brains for the 98 years since. One of golf’s two leading caddie scholarship organizations, the Massachusetts-based Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund, is engaged in early preparations for a “Centennial Celebration” of their namesake’s bold performance at The Country Club that day.
In your travels through New England, keep an eye out for windshield decals with the Ouimet-Lowery photo image surrounded left and right by the dates “1913” and “2013.” Rather than return to the venerable Brookline, Mass., course where Ouimet made history, the USGA has misinterpreted the famous W.C. Field quote, “I’d rather be in Philadelphia,” and will stage its 1913 Open at Merion Golf Club, in the Philly suburb of Ardmore. However, the ’13 edition of the association’s prestigious U.S. Amateur Championship will unfold on the tumbling fairways of TCC—a reasonable nod to Ouimet’s status as an amateur when took that 1913 Open title.
There will be plenty more news coming out of Ouimet Scholarship headquarters over the coming 21 months, leading up to the centennial. We’ll keep you posted.
