Product Code Database
Arnaud George Watson Massy (; 6 July 1877 – 16 April 1950) was one of France's most successful professional golfers, most notable for winning the 1907 Open Championship. He was the first player from outside Scotland and England to win a major golf championship.
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 1907 Open Championship. 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 1911 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 a British woman, Janet Henderson, originally from North Berwick, East Lothian, he lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, during the 1920s and early 1930s.
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. However shortly after the ceremony it was discovered that the actual burial site was located nearby in the cemetery. Despite this discrepancy, the headstone remains in its incorrect location. There is a plaque commemorating him fixed on the wall of the house he originally lived in North Berwick, East Lothian, in Forth Street there.
| J.H. Taylor |
| The Open Championship | T10 | T37 | WD | T5 | 6 | 1 | T9 | T35 |
| The Open Championship | T22 | 2 | 10 | T7 | T10 | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT |
| The Open Championship | T29 | T6 | WD | WD | WD | T41 | CUT | CUT |
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Adapted from the article Arnaud Massy, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
|
|
