The Golf with the US dates back to 1888 with the first American golf course designed by golf pioneer John Reid. The 20th century with the First World War has redefined the global hierarchy where the Americans manage to end the hegemony of the British.
Origins
Golf was first introduced to North America in 1873, thanks to a Scottish immigrant Alexander Dennistoun who founded the very first golf course in Montreal, known today as Royal Montreal. It was the same for the United States, thanks to John Reid and some Scottish friends living in the town of Yonkers located in the south of New York State. February 22, 1888, they managed to negotiate a rudimentary three hole that John Reid had in a field near his house. A few months later, the November 14, 1888John Reid drew up a constitution for a golf club, and the first golf club in the United States was born.
In 1894, the first national American amateur golf championship that was first played was at the Newport club on Rhode Island Golf. It was played on 36 holes.
The tournament first went well until a confident Charles Blair MacDonald collapsed in the second round with a score of 100, losing behind William G. Lawrence. MacDonald protested that a controversial decision had unfairly penalized him. The organizers were convinced to replay the tournament in the form of a match-play month later. This time MacDonald lost in the final to a Mr. Stoddard (after almost failing to overcome the effects of a bottle of champagne he had drunk during lunch). MacDonald’s criticisms of the winner once again were confirmed, and the championship did not count. Despite these incredible events, MacDonald later significantly contributed to the game. In 1895, the United States Amateur Golf Championship was much more successful than the previous edition and was run under the auspices of United States Golf.
Association(USGA) and its first president Theodore Havemeyer. It was to be considered the first “official” American amateur championship. Like the controversial first edition, the tournament was played at the Newport golf club in Rhode Island. Organizer Theodore Havemeyer invited representatives from the five most essential clubs: St Andrew’s, Shinnecock Hills, Chicago, Newport, and the Brookline Country Club. MacDonald was once again in the competition he won against Charles Sands and was considered a success.
The very next day, on October 4-1895, the first US Open on the same course of the Newport club on Rhode Island Golf. It was played in 36 holes over a single day, and 11 players participated with ten professionals and an amateur. Horace Rawlins, an Englishman, won the first edition.
From 1895, golf became established in America and flourished in the Roaring Twenties (1920) as it had in the Gay Nineties (1890) for the same reason: an economic boom. In 1896, the number of golf courses was 80. Four years later, it was already 982. This significant increase showed that at the end of the century, there were more golf courses in the United States than in the whole UK. The game survived the Great Depression and World War II and was revitalized in the 1960s thanks to Arnold Palmer, President Eisenhower, and television.
Modern Times
In April 1997, Tiger Woods won his first major tournament, the Masters, by establishing 20 records and equaling six others (including the most massive victory with 12 strokes ahead of the second and best score with -18). At the same time, he became the first African American to win a Major
Today’s Major Golf Competitions
- US Championship
- PGA Tours
- USA Open
- Masters Tournaments
- Golf Majors