Arnaud Massy

Arnaud Massy
— Golfer —
Massy (c. 1919)
Personal information
Full name	Arnaud George Watson Massy
Born	(1877-07-06)6 July 1877 Biarritz, France
Died	16 April 1950(1950-04-16) (aged 72) Étretat, France
Nationality	France
Career
Status	Professional
Professional wins	17
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	Won: 1907
PGA Championship	DNP

Arnaud George Watson Massy ([aʁ.no ma.si]; 6 July 1877 – 16 April 1950) was one of France's most successful professional golfers, most notable for winning the 1907 Open Championship.

Early life

Massy was born in Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. The son of a sheep farmer, he worked on a sardine boat and supplemented his income by caddying at the new Biarritz golf course where a great many of the best professional golfers from Britain came to practice during the off-season in the warm climate of southern France. Blessed with natural abilities, he learned from these pro golfers and in 1898 traveled to North Berwick, Scotland to develop his skills for a professional career.

Golf career

In 1906, Massy won the first edition of the French Open played at a Paris course. The following year he won it again, defeating a strong contingent of British players including the great Harry Vardon. But Massy wasn't through, he followed up his French national championship by becoming the first non-Briton to win The Open Championship (British Open).^[1] His victory raised the profile of the game in his native France, and with three other major players, he put on exhibition matches in various European cities that contributed significantly to the increased popularity of golf on the continent.

In 1910, Massy won the inaugural Belgian Open and in 1911 was the runner-up at the Open Championship to Harry Vardon. That year, Massy completed his book on golfing that was successfully published in France then translated into English for the British market. In 1912, he won the first Spanish Open ever played.

In 1913 he played in the France–United States Professional Match. In 1926 he won an exhibition match against Bobby Jones in France.

Massy's golfing career had to be put on hold as a result of World War I. While serving in the French army he was wounded at Verdun but at war's end was able to return to golfing. At age 41, he had lost four prime years and struggled to compete. Remarkably, in 1925 at age 48, he won the French Open for the fourth time and then won back-to-back Spanish Opens in 1927–28. When his career finally wound down he worked as a pro at courses in England, France and Morocco. Married to an English woman, he lived in Edinburgh, Scotland during the Second World War.

Death and legacy

Massy retired in Étretat, Seine-Maritime in Upper Normandy where he died in 1950 in poverty.^[2] He remains the only French golfer to ever have won any of the four men's major championships. He was also the only golfer from continental Europe to win a men's major championship before Seve Ballesteros won The Open Championship in 1979.

He is buried in Newington Cemetery in Edinburgh, where a new headstone was recently erected by the European Golf Association, Golf Collectors and the R&A.^[3]

Tournament wins

Note: This list may be incomplete.

1906 French Open
1907 Grand Duke Michael's Tournament, The Open Championship, French Open
1908 Blackpool Tournament (England), Turnberry Open (Scotland), Pitlochry Open (Scotland)
1910 Belgian Open
1911 French Open
1912 Spanish Open
1919 Inter-Allied Games
1921 Tooting Bec Cup
1925 French Open, Omnium National (France)
1926 Omnium National (France)
1927 Spanish Open
1928 Spanish Open

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1907	The Open Championship	1 shot deficit	76-81-78-77=312	2 strokes	J.H. Taylor

Results timeline

Massy played in only The Open Championship.

Tournament	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909
The Open Championship	T10	T37	WD	T5	6	1	T9	T35

Tournament	1910	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919
The Open Championship	T22	2	10	T7	T10	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT

Tournament	1920	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930
The Open Championship	T29	T6	WD	DNP	WD	WD	DNP	DNP	T41	CUT	CUT

NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Team appearances

Coronation Match (representing the Professionals): 1911 (winners)
France–United States Professional Match (representing France): 1913 (winners)
Inter-Allied Games (representing France): 1919 (winners)

References

↑ "1907 Arnaud Massy". The Open. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
↑ Corrigan, James (16 July 2014). "The Open 2014: The forgotten grave of Arnaud Massy, the man who changed the Open forever". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
↑ Dempster, Martin (9 February 2013). "Edinburgh last resting place of Arnaud Massy". Scotsman.com.

Adapted from the article Arnaud Massy, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

The Open Championship champions

1860 Willie Park Sr. 1861 Tom Morris Sr. 1862 Tom Morris Sr. 1863 Willie Park Sr. 1864 Tom Morris Sr. 1865 Andrew Strath 1866 Willie Park Sr. 1867 Tom Morris Sr. 1868 Tom Morris Jr. 1869 Tom Morris Jr. 1870 Tom Morris Jr. 1871 No championship 1872 Tom Morris Jr. 1873 Tom Kidd 1874 Mungo Park 1875 Willie Park Sr. 1876 Bob Martin† 1877 Jamie Anderson 1878 Jamie Anderson 1879 Jamie Anderson 1880 Bob Ferguson 1881 Bob Ferguson 1882 Bob Ferguson 1883 Willie Fernie† 1884 Jack Simpson 1885 Bob Martin 1886 David Brown 1887 Willie Park Jr. 1888 Jack Burns 1889 Willie Park Jr.† 1890 John Ball# 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy 1892 Harold Hilton# 1893 William Auchterlonie 1894 John Henry Taylor 1895 John Henry Taylor 1896 Harry Vardon† 1897 Harold Hilton# 1898 Harry Vardon 1899 Harry Vardon 1900 John Henry Taylor 1901 James Braid 1902 Sandy Herd 1903 Harry Vardon 1904 Jack White 1905 James Braid 1906 James Braid 1907 Arnaud Massy 1908 James Braid 1909 John Henry Taylor 1910 James Braid 1911 Harry Vardon† 1912‡ Edward Ray 1913 John Henry Taylor 1914 Harry Vardon 1915–19 No Championships due to World War I 1920 George Duncan 1921 Jock Hutchison† 1922 Walter Hagen 1923 Arthur Havers 1924 Walter Hagen 1925 Jim Barnes 1926 Bobby Jones# 1927‡ Bobby Jones# 1928 Walter Hagen 1929 Walter Hagen 1930 Bobby Jones# 1931 Tommy Armour 1932‡ Gene Sarazen 1933 Denny Shute† 1934‡ Henry Cotton 1935 Alf Perry 1936 Alf Padgham 1937 Henry Cotton 1938 Reg Whitcombe 1939 Dick Burton 1940–45 No Championships due to World War II 1946 Sam Snead 1947 Fred Daly 1948 Henry Cotton 1949 Bobby Locke† 1950 Bobby Locke 1951 Max Faulkner 1952 Bobby Locke 1953 Ben Hogan 1954 Peter Thomson 1955 Peter Thomson 1956 Peter Thomson 1957 Bobby Locke 1958 Peter Thomson† 1959 Gary Player 1960 Kel Nagle 1961 Arnold Palmer 1962 Arnold Palmer 1963 Bob Charles† 1964 Tony Lema 1965 Peter Thomson 1966 Jack Nicklaus 1967 Roberto De Vicenzo 1968 Gary Player 1969 Tony Jacklin 1970 Jack Nicklaus† 1971 Lee Trevino 1972 Lee Trevino 1973‡ Tom Weiskopf 1974 Gary Player 1975 Tom Watson† 1976 Johnny Miller 1977 Tom Watson 1978 Jack Nicklaus 1979 Seve Ballesteros 1980 Tom Watson 1981 Bill Rogers 1982 Tom Watson 1983 Tom Watson 1984 Seve Ballesteros 1985 Sandy Lyle 1986 Greg Norman 1987 Nick Faldo 1988 Seve Ballesteros 1989 Mark Calcavecchia† 1990 Nick Faldo 1991 Ian Baker-Finch 1992 Nick Faldo 1993 Greg Norman 1994 Nick Price 1995 John Daly† 1996 Tom Lehman 1997 Justin Leonard 1998 Mark O'Meara† 1999 Paul Lawrie† 2000 Tiger Woods 2001 David Duval 2002 Ernie Els† 2003 Ben Curtis 2004 Todd Hamilton† 2005‡ Tiger Woods 2006 Tiger Woods 2007 Pádraig Harrington† 2008 Pádraig Harrington 2009 Stewart Cink† 2010 Louis Oosthuizen 2011 Darren Clarke 2012 Ernie Els 2013 Phil Mickelson 2014‡ Rory McIlroy 2015 Zach Johnson† 2016 Henrik Stenson

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire in 72-holes; # indicates the event was won by an amateur

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 36907410 SUDOC: 084256907 BNF: cb102807870 (data)

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