brooklinema

That looks like a bad lie... I see galleries kept further back in those days.

houhou75 (see below) says that this is not Vardon, but Francis Ouimet, and he's just posing for the press -- a photographer wouldn't stand in front of a golfer on the course. Harry Vardon was a heavy favorite to win the 1913 U. S. Open at Brookline, but the surprise winner was Ouimet, 20, a former caddie at the Country Club.

Wystan, Thanks for the information on Mr. Vardon. We will expand the record when we update.

Harry Vardon also made famous the "Vardon grip" a way of holding the golf club where (for a right handed golfer) the small finger of the right hand overlaps the index finger of the left hand on the club. Also known as the overlapping grip. Used by many golf champions to the present day. His grip technique can be seen in this photograph. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Vardon#Vardon_Grip

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Ouimet en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Vardon

1913 U.S. Open: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913_U.S._Open

More: "The 1913 U.S. Open was held at The Country Club. The heavy favorites were English legends Harry Vardon (1900 U.S. Open winner; four-time British Open winner) and Ted Ray (reigning British Open champion). After 72 holes, the pair found themselves tied with 20-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet—who had grown up across the street from the course and was a former caddie at the club—forcing an 18-hole playoff the next day. In a shocking upset, Ouimet soundly defeated the two professional golfers in front of a large gallery, and the resulting newspaper stories captured the imagination of the American public. The number of golfers in the country at least tripled in the subsequent ten years, with a corresponding increase in golf courses (including many public courses, opening up the game to a larger segment of the population). " en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Country_Club

1913 US Open: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913_U.S._Open

Played at The Country Club in Brookline: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Country_Club

Can't imagine any of those folks yelling "Get in the hole!", can you?

jimflanny and Richard Arthur Norton, Thanks for the information on this photograph. If you search for Brookline in our Flickr set, you will see quite a few images from the 1913 open championship of the U.S. Golf Association! We will update this record with the details.