# Tommy Armour

Thomas Dickson Armour (24 September 1896 – 11 September 1968) was a Scottish-born golfer who played primarily in the United States. He was nicknamed The Silver Scot. He was the winner of three of golf's major championships: 1927 U.S. Open, 1930 PGA, and 1931 Open Championship. Armour popularized the term yips, the colloquial term for a sudden and unexplained loss of skills in experienced athletes.

## Early life

Armour was born on 24 September 1896 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of Martha Dickson and her husband George Armour, a baker. He went to school at Boroughmuir High School, Edinburgh, (formerly Boroughmuir Senior Secondary School) and studied at the University of Edinburgh. During his early golf career, he played at Lothianburn Golf Club near the Pentland Hills. At the outbreak of World War I enlisted with the Black Watch and was a machine-gunner. He rose from private to Staff Major in the Tank Corps. His conduct earned him an audience with George V. However, he lost his sight to a mustard gas explosion and surgeons had to add a metal plate to his head and left arm. During his convalescence, he regained the sight of his right eye, and began playing much more golf.

## Amateur career

Armour won the 1920 French Amateur tournament. He moved to the United States and met Walter Hagen who gave him a job as secretary of the Westchester-Biltmore Club. In 1920, he won a PGA Tour event, the Pinehurst Fall Pro-Am Bestball, while still an amateur, pairing with professional Leo Diegel.

## Professional career

In 1924, he turned professional. Armour won the 1927 U.S. Open, 1930 PGA Championship, and the 1931 Open Championship. With Jim Barnes and Rory McIlroy, he is one of three natives of the United Kingdom to win three different professional majors.
At the Shawnee Open in 1927, Armour scored the first ever "archaeopteryx" (15 or more over par) when he made a 23 on a par 5, for 18 over par. It still stands as the highest score on a hole in PGA history. This historic performance happened just one week after he had won the U.S. Open. This claim is actually disputed. It appears, according to contemporary reports by the New York Times, that Armour actually scored an 11 on hole 17 during the third round of the Shawnee Open.
Armour retired from full-time professional golf after the 1935 season, although he competed periodically in top-class events for several years afterwards. He taught at the Boca Raton Club in Florida from 1926 to 1955, for $50 a lesson. His pupils included Babe Didrikson Zaharias and Lawson Little. He was also a member at the Winged Foot Golf Club in suburban New York City, where he spent much of his summers.
Armour co-wrote a book How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time (1953) with Herb Graffis. It became a best-seller and for many years was the biggest-selling book ever authored on golf. A series of 8mm films based on the book was released by Castle Films including Short Game Parts I and II, Long Hitting Clubs, Grip, and Stance.

## Personal life

Armour became an American citizen in November 1942.
Armour died in Larchmont, New York and was cremated at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York but not interred there. Some modern golf equipment is still marketed in his name.
Armour is succeeded by his grandson, Tommy Armour III, who is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour.

## Awards and honors

Armour was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1976.

## Amateur wins

* 1920 French Open Amateur Championship

## Professional wins
### PGA Tour wins (25)

* 1920 (1) Pinehurst Fall Pro-Am Bestball (as an amateur, with Leo Diegel)
* 1925 (1) Florida West Coast Open
* 1926 (1) Winter Pro Golf Championship
* 1927 (5) Long Beach Open, El Paso Open, U.S. Open, Canadian Open, Oregon Open
* 1928 (4) Metropolitan Open, Philadelphia Open Championship, Pennsylvania Open Championship, Sacramento Open
* 1929 (1) Western Open
* 1930 (3) Canadian Open, PGA Championship, St. Louis Open
* 1931 (1) The Open Championship
* 1932 (3) Miami Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Ed Dudley), Mid-South Bestball (with Al Watrous)
* 1934 (2) Canadian Open, Pinehurst Fall Pro-Pro (with Bobby Cruickshank)
* 1935 (1) Miami Open
* 1936 (1) Walter Olson Golf Tournament (tie with Willie Macfarlane)
* 1938 (1) Mid-South Open
Major championships are shown in bold.

### Other wins

* 1927 Miami International Four-Ball (with Bobby Cruickshank)
* 1938 Mid South Pro/Pro (with Bobby Cruickshank; tie with Henry Picard and Jack Grout)

## Major championships
### Wins (3)

| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
| 1927 | U.S. Open | 1 shot deficit | +13 (78-71-76-76=301) | Playoff $^1$ | Harry Cooper |
| 1930 | PGA Championship | n/a | 1 up | 1 up | Gene Sarazen |
| 1931 | The Open Championship | 5 shot deficit | +8 (73-75-77-71=296) | 1 stroke | José Jurado |
$^1$ Defeated Harry Cooper in an 18-hole playoff: Armour 76 (+4), Cooper 79 (+7). Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958

### Results timeline

| Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
| U.S. Open | T48 | | | WD | T13 | T38 | T9 | 1 | 16 | T5 |
| The Open Championship | T53 | | | | | | 13 | | CUT | 10 |
| PGA Championship | | | | | | QF | | QF | R32 | |
| U.S. Amateur | QF | R16 | R32 | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| The Amateur Championship | R64 | R64 | | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
| Masters Tournament | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | | T37 | T20 | T8 | | T12 |
| U.S. Open | 6 | T46 | T21 | T4 | T50 | WD | T22 | CUT | 23 | T22 |
| The Open Championship | | 1 | T17 | | | | | | | |
| PGA Championship | 1 | QF | | | R16 | 2 | R64 | R64 | | |
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1950 |
| Masters Tournament | 38 | 38 | T28 | NT | NT | NT | | | | |
| U.S. Open | T12 | CUT | NT | NT | NT | NT | CUT | CUT | WD | CUT |
| The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | | | | |
| PGA Championship | | | | NT | | | | | | |
NYF = tournament not yet founded NT = no tournament WD = withdrew CUT = missed the half-way cut R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in match play "T" indicates a tie for a place
Sources: U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur, Amateur Championship:1920, 1921

## Team appearances

Amateur
* Great Britain vs USA (representing Great Britain): 1921
Professional
* Great Britain vs USA (representing the United States): 1926