Ouimet, Francis

Francis Ouimet, (born May 8, 1893, Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.—died September 2, 1967, Newton, Massachusetts), American amateur golfer whose success did much to remove the British upper-class stigma from the game and to popularize it in the United States.

After starting as a caddie and working in a dry-goods store to earn his expenses, he gained a limited recognition until the 1913 U.S. Open championship. In that event he tied the English professionals Harry Vardon and Ted Ray and then defeated them in the play-off. That victory gave golf an impetus in the United States that has accelerated ever since. Ouimet won the U.S. Amateur championship in 1914 (when he also won the French Amateur) and in 1931. He played on the U.S. Walker Cup team from 1922 through 1936 and was nonplaying captain from 1936 through 1949, excluding the war years. Elected captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in 1951, he was the first non-Briton to receive this honour.