The match that changed the face of golf in America.

Rating: Null/10 (11 May 2006)

Historically, the invention of golf is credited to the Scots, and many consider St. Andrews, Scotland as the cradle of golf. In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, worldwide golf was dominated by the Brits and in America only a select few of the wealthy had the privilege to play the game. Young boys from working class families became caddies, the ones who carried the bags.
This movie is based on a true story, and is taken from the book of the same name. It was 1913 and the Brit Harry Vardon was generally considered the best golfer of the era, sort of a modern day Tiger Woods. In addition, his legacy lives on even today as he is credited with the modern way of gripping the golf club and overall game. So, it was almost a formality that he would travel to the USA one more time and bring back the US Open trophy.
Shia LaBeouf plays a young Francis Ouimet, working class boy, and former caddie at the country club across the street. That he even had the gall to try to play golf, a "gentleman's game" (meaning a wealthy game), was met with ridicule. But, as history witnesses, he not only played in the 1913 US Open, at the end he was tied with the great Harry Vardon and another Brit, Ted Ray.
Ouimet's play in that 1913 Open is widely credited with changing the face of golf in America. No longer was it considered a game only for the rich. In the next 10 years the number of people playing golf tripled. So, more than anything, young 20-year-old Francis Ouimet became the catalyst for making golf a popular game.
Overall this is a well-done movie, and worthwhile mainly for the story it tells, an important one in the history of golf.
SPOILERS. In case anyone doesn't know, Ouimet, Vardon, and Ray had an 18-hole playoff, and Ouimet beat Vardon by one stroke to win the 1913 US Open against professionals. One of the greatest victories in all of sport history.