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Horton Smith

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox golfer Horton Smith (May 22, 1908 – October 15, 1963) was an American professional golfer, best known as the winner of the first and third Masters Tournaments.

Tournament careerEdit

Born in Springfield, Missouri, Smith turned professional in 1926 and won his first tournament, the Oklahoma City Open in 1928. In 1929 he won eight titles. This was an era of expansion and reorganization for professional golf. The PGA Tour was founded in 1934, and Smith was one of the leading players of the early years of the tour, topping the money list in 1936. He accumulated 30 PGA Tour titles in total, the last of them in 1941, and his two major championships came at the Masters, at the inaugural tournament in 1934 and again in 1936 (the latter was the first Masters to end on a Monday due to rain).<ref name=hswfmtrn>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=hswagtl>Template:Cite news</ref>

Smith was a member of five Ryder Cup teams: 1929, 1931, 1933, 1935, and 1937. His career Ryder Cup record was Template:Nowrap, his only blemish a halved singles match against Bill Cox in 1935 at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey. Smith was the only golfer to defeat Bobby Jones during the latter's Grand Slam year of 1930, at the stroke play Savannah Open in February.<ref name=hswfmtrn/><ref name=hsbbjos>Template:Cite news</ref> He played in every Masters through 1963, the year of his death.<ref name=emkhsd>Template:Cite news</ref>

Post-playing careerEdit

Smith served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II<ref name=hsnhpp>Template:Cite news</ref> in the special services division coordinating athletics<ref name=lhsgaap>Template:Cite news</ref> and was discharged as a captain.<ref name=nrcmufs>Template:Cite news</ref>

After the war, he became the club pro at Detroit Golf Club in Michigan in 1946, where he remained until his death.<ref name=hofghsdaff>Template:Cite news</ref> He was president of the PGA of America from 1952 to 1954. During that time black professionals continued to be excluded from PGA events despite Smith stating that he would support reviewing this rule when, in January 1952, Bill Spiller was excluded from the San Diego Open while former boxer Joe Louis was allowed to play as an invited amateur.<ref name=pclrway>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The "Caucasian only" clause in the PGA of America's constitution was not amended until November 1961.<ref name=podfldrs>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=pgashtr >Template:Cite news</ref>

When he resigned as head professional of Oak Park Country Club in 1936, his elder brother Renshaw (1906–1971) replaced him at the club in River Grove, Illinois.

DeathEdit

Smith died in 1963 at age 55 of Hodgkin's disease in Detroit. He had lost a lung to cancer six years earlier,<ref name=emkhsd/> and is buried in his hometown of Springfield, Missouri. He was the first of the former Masters champions to pass away, followed by Craig Wood in 1968 and Jimmy Demaret in 1983.

Awards and honorsEdit

  • Smith was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in 1984.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Smith was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1990.
  • In 1960, awarded the Ben Hogan Award by the golf writers for overcoming a physical handicap and continued active participation in golf.<ref name=hswbha >Template:Cite news</ref>
  • In 1962, he was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
  • The PGA of America bestowed the Horton Smith Award, presented annually since 1965, to a PGA professional who has made "outstanding and continuing contributions to PGA education."<ref name="nbcsportsgolf">Template:Cite news</ref> On July 2, 2020, it was renamed the PGA Professional Development Award by the board of directors because Smith had been a supporter of the PGA's "Caucasian-only' membership clause that was part of their by-laws from 1934 to 1961.<ref name="nbcsportsgolf"/>
  • A municipal golf course in his hometown of Springfield, Missouri, is named for him.<ref name=hsmgc>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • A golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club is named for him.<ref name=dgchstrn>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • He is attributed with being the first professional golfer to study putting as a means to beat his opponents.<ref name=sotip>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • In September 2013, Horton's green jacket, awarded in 1949 for his Masters wins in 1934 and 1936, sold at auction for over $682,000; the highest price ever paid for a piece of golf memorabilia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=gjcauc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> It had been in the possession of his brother Ren's stepsons for decades.<ref name=tcotmgj>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Professional winsEdit

PGA Tour wins (30)Edit

Major championships are shown in bold.

Source:<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Other winsEdit

this list is probably incomplete

Major championshipsEdit

Wins (2)Edit

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1934 Masters Tournament 1 shot lead −4 (70-72-70-72=284) 1 stroke Template:Flagicon Craig Wood
1936 Masters Tournament (2) 3 shot deficit −3 (74-71-68-72=285) 1 stroke Template:Flagicon Harry Cooper

Results timelineEdit

Tournament 1927 1928 1929
U.S. Open T44 T28 10
The Open Championship T25
PGA Championship SF R32
Tournament 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
Masters Tournament NYF NYF NYF NYF 1 T19 1 T19 T22 T26
U.S. Open 3 T27 T55 T24 T17 T6 T22 T36 T19 15
The Open Championship T4 T12 T14 10
PGA Championship QF QF R32 R32 QF QF R16 QF QF
Tournament 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
Masters Tournament T47 T19 5 NT NT NT T21 T22 34 T23
U.S. Open 3 T13 NT NT NT NT CUT WD CUT T23
The Open Championship NT NT NT NT NT NT
PGA Championship R64 R16 NT R64 R32
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament T12 T32 T30 T45 T38 T59 76 CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT T15 CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship R64 R16
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend 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 PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

SummaryEdit

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 2 0 0 3 3 11 27 20
U.S. Open 0 0 2 2 4 12 23 17
The Open Championship 0 0 0 1 2 5 5 5
PGA Championship 0 0 1 7 10 14 17 17
Totals 2 0 3 13 19 42 72 59
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 43 (1927 U.S. Open – 1946 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Template:The Masters champions Template:Navboxes

Template:Authority control

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