John McDermott (golfer)
John McDermott, Jr. | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Full name | John J. McDermott, Jr. |
Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | August 12, 1891
Died | August 1, 1971 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | (aged 79)
Sporting nationality | United States |
Career | |
Turned professional | 1908 |
Professional wins | 7 |
Best results in major championships (wins: 2) | |
U.S. Open | Won: 1911, 1912 |
The Open Championship | T5: 1913 |
John J. McDermott Jr. (August 12, 1891 – August 1, 1971) was the first U.S.-born
Early life
McDermott was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a mailman. He was a good student at West Philadelphia High School, but dropped out before graduation to become a professional golfer.[1] He worked as a caddie at the Aronimink Golf Club, and learned golf from its longtime head professional Walter Reynolds.
Turns professional
McDermott's first professional job was at the Merchantville Field Club (now the
"He had a long, loose, flowing swing," according to golf historian Robert Sommers, "somewhat like the old St. Andrew’s swing of the feather-ball period, but with more body turn".[2]
Hits peak form
The first sixteen Opens had all been won by British golfers who had learned the game in England or Scotland, and visited the United States to play in tournaments, or in most cases, lived in the U.S. and worked as club professionals. By 1910 the U.S. was starting to produce its own professionals in quantity.
McDermott improved his game dramatically in one year, and lost out in an 18-hole playoff to Alex Smith in the 1910 U.S. Open, held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club (St. Martin's course); Macdonald Smith, the younger brother of Alex, was also in the playoff. The three players had tied at 298 over 72 holes. Early in 1911, McDermott challenged Philadelphia-area professionals to matches at $1,000 each, after he won three straight, the competition vanished.[1]
Later that year he won the U.S. Open by three shots at the
In 1913, McDermott won the Western Open, then the second most prestigious professional tournament in the United States. He also won the Philadelphia Open Championship three times: 1910, 1911, and 1913.
Also in 1913, McDermott won the Open tournament at
Serious setbacks
After the 1912 British Open, McDermott lost heavily on investments. Then, following his 1913 win at Shawnee over Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, he boasted excessively, was criticized by his fellow players and the crowd for this, and had to apologize; it seems there were no lasting hard feelings. As the defending champion, he finished four strokes behind the leaders at the 1913 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Boston, in a tie for 8th place.[4] He tied for 9th place in the 1914 U.S. Open, as Walter Hagen won over the Midlothian Club near Chicago.
In 1914, McDermott visited the
Legacy
Although McDermott was the first American U.S. Open champion, it is Francis Ouimet's 1913 U.S. Open victory that is most often cited as the key event that sparked widespread interest in golf in the United States. Ouimet won a three-man playoff against Vardon and Ray (widely regarded as the best golfers in the world at the time), and this led to a dramatic rise in Americans' interest in golf. McDermott, along with Ouimet and Walter Hagen, all three of whom were born between 1891 and 1893, represented the new wave of American-born golf talent. The three showed they could compete on even terms with the best players in the world, and American dominance of golf would be established by the early 1920s, assisted by stars like Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones.
Golf historian Robert Sommers wrote that, if not for his illness, McDermott could have been the greatest of them all.[7]
In popular culture
McDermott is portrayed by actor Michael Weaver in the 2005 golf film The Greatest Game Ever Played, which tells the story of Ouimet's 1913 U.S. Open triumph. McDermott appears prominently in one memorable scene where, dashingly dressed and celebrating with a few drinks, he issues a loud, boastful challenge to a group of golfers in the clubhouse, before the start of the tournament; he also features in the golf sequences, contending for a while before falling back. The portrayal is apparently true to character, and based primarily on the infamous scene at the Shawnee tournament shortly before the Open began.[8]
Tournament wins
- 1910 Philadelphia Open Championship
- 1911 U.S. Open, Philadelphia Open Championship
- 1912 U.S. Open
- 1913 Philadelphia Open Championship, Western Open, Shawnee Open
Major championships
Wins (2)
Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1911 | U.S. Open | 3 shot deficit | +3 (81-72-75-79=307) | Playoff1 | Mike Brady, George Simpson |
1912 | U.S. Open (2) | 3 shot deficit | −2 (74-75-74-71=294) | 2 strokes | Tom McNamara |
1Defeated Mike Brady and George Simpson in an 18-hole playoff – McDermott 80 (+4), Brady 82 (+6), Simpson 85 (+9).
Results timeline
Tournament | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Open | T49 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | T9 |
The Open Championship | T5 |
Note: McDermott only played in the U.S. Open and The Open Championship.
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Team appearances
- France–United States Professional Match (representing the United States): 1913
References
- ^ ISBN 0-19-510049-2.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank (September 18, 2013). "The First Great American Golfer". Philly.com.
- ^ Sommers, p. 31.
- ^ a b Sommers pp. 31–32.
- New York Times. June 26, 1914. p. 13. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ The Golf Channel / NBC Sports, television broadcasts of 2011 U.S. Open, June 16–19, 2011
- ^ Sommers p. 32.
- ^ The Greatest Game Ever Played, 2005 film directed by Bill Paxton.