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Expatriate Scot Tommy Armour - first Open winner at Carnoustie

Posted by Big G under Features, General, Latest Golf News, Mens Pro Golf, Scotch Corner, Tartan Tour

Edinburgh-born Tommy Armour(below) had become a naturalised American by the time he won the Open title at Carnoustie when the Championship was played for the first time on the giant Tayside links in 1931.

He had already gained significant success in his adopted homeland, winning the 1927 US Open and 1930 USPGA Championships, but he trailed Open leader Jose Jurado of Argentina by five shots with one round to play at Carnoustie.

Armour had a reputation as a strong finisher, having played the final six holes in his US Open victory in two under par to tie ‘Light-horse’ Harry Cooper and then wiping out a two-shot defiicit in the closing holes to win the play-off. He was to prove the point again at Carnoustie, playing the last three holes in 3-4-5 to equal the course record of 71 in the final round.

That set a clubhouse total of 296 and Jurado put himself in a desperate position when his tee shot at the 17th finished in the burn and he took six. Not realising that he needed a four at the last to tie Armour, he played short of the burn in two, pitched to nine feet and missed the putt and a chance of the title.

When his tournament career was over Armour gained a huge repuation as a teacher and published two of the most successful golf books of all time. In later life he recalled a strange incident from the Carnoustie Open. Unsighted for an approach shot, his caddie advised him to aim at a distant pole. He played the iron shot with his legendary accuracy and was less than pleased to find the ball in sand well wide of the green. As he and the caddie were exchanging words on the subject they both realised that the pole was on the move. In reality it was the mast of a ship heading from Dundee to the open sea along the Tay estuary.

Like many fine golfers before and since, Armour was afflicted with putting problems towards the end of his career and it was he who coined the expression ‘the yips’. He described it as “that ghastly time when, with the first movement of the putter, the golfer blacks out”.