US Amateur Archives - Silver Club Golfing Society

#36 – H.J. Whigham

Steve Scott — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 11:00:53 +0000

Henry James Whigham (24 December 1869 – 17 March 1954) was born in Tarbolton, Scotland, and was a Scottish writer and amateur golfer. He won the U.S. Amateur in 1896 and 1897. Following his first win in the U.S. Amateur, he wrote a golf instruction book. In 1896 he finished fifth in the U.S. Open held at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, New York.

Whigham was one of six brothers and four sisters. His sisters Molly and Sybil Whigham also played golf, and did so very well. In 1893, Whigham traveled to America and demonstrated golf at the Chicago World’s Fair. The demonstration was organized by famed golf course architect Charles B. (C.B.) Macdonald, who was acquainted with Whigham’s father, David Dundas, while they were students at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Whigham would go on to become Macdonald’s son-in-law, marrying his daughter Frances. They had a daughter, Sybil. Whigham learned the game under his instructors Willie Campbell and Joe Lloyd.

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#39 – Robert A. Gardner

Steve Scott — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 11:00:26 +0000

Robert Gardner, a sophomore at Yale won the 1909 USGA Amateur tournament over Chandler Egan at the Chicago Golf Club. He was 19 years, 5 months, at the time of his victory the youngest champion ever. His record stood for an amazing 85 years until Tiger Woods won his first of three Amateurs at age 18 years, 8 months at the TPC at Sawgrass. Gardner made the finals of the U.S. Amateur three more times, winning in 1915 and losing in 1916 & 1921. Unfortunately, he made it to two other important final matches but did not emerge victorious; the 1911 @westernamateur and the 1920 British Amateur.

Golf was not the only sport Gardner excelled at. On June 1, 1912, at an intercollegiate track and field competition in Philadelphia, he set the world pole vault record at 13 feet 1 inch (3.99 m), Gardner also was a racquets national champion. He and Howard Linn won the national doubles racquets championship in 1926 and 1929.

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#41 – Steve Melnyk

Steve Scott — Sun, 16 Sep 2018 12:00:47 +0000

Melnyk attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Buster Bishop’s Florida Gators men’s golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1967 to 1969. He was a two-time All-American at Florida, and was the number one golfer on the 1968 team that won their first NCAA Division I Golf Championship. Melnyk graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in industrial management in 1969. Melnyk won the 1969 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club, shooting a 2-over-par 286 to beat Vinny Giles by five shots at stroke play. He claimed the British Amateur with a 3 & 2 victory over fellow American Jim Simons at Carnoustie Golf Links in 1970. Melnyk also had wins at the Western Amateur and Eastern Amateur and played on the 1969 and 1971 Walker Cup teams. He won the 1965 Georgia Open as an amateur. He was low amateur in the 1970 British Open (tie for 41st) and at the 1971 Masters Tournament (tie for 24th). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Melnyk

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#42 – Marvin Harvey “Bud” Ward

Steve Scott — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 12:00:35 +0000

Marvin Harvey “Bud” Ward (May 1, 1913 – January 2, 1968) was an American golfer best known for twice winning the U.S. Amateur, in 1939 and 1941.

Ward was born in Elma, Washington. He excelled as an amateur golfer, winning the U.S. Amateur twice, the Western Am three times and his home state Washington Amateur twice. He played on the Walker Cup team in 1938 and 1947. His best performance in a major came in 1939 U.S. Open when he finished one shot out of a playoff with Byron Nelson, Craig Wood, and Denny Shute.

Ward was elected to the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Hall of Fame in 1979, the Pacific Northwest section of the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 1981, and the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame. Ward turned professional in 1949 and worked as a club pro until his death in 1968 from cancer. He died in San Mateo, California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Ward

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#44 – Matt Kuchar

Steve Scott — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 11:00:00 +0000

Matt Kuchar was born in Winter Park, Florida, to a Ukrainian family. He went on to graduate from Seminole High School in Sanford in 1996. Later he attended Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where he was a two-time first-team All-American on the Yellow Jackets’ golf team. Kuchar won the U.S. Amateur title in 1997 at Cog Hill in Chicago. He received the Haskins Award in 1998 as the nation’s top collegiate golfer, and was the low amateur at both The Masters and U.S. Open. He was a member of the United States Walker Cup Team and earned his bachelor’s degree in management. After considering staying a career am like another Georgia Tech grad, Bobby Jones, he turned pro in 2000. One of Kuchar’s teammates at Georgia Tech was future PGA Tour professional Bryce Molder. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Kuchar)

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The Top 50 Amateur Golfers of All Time

Christopher Hunt — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 22:00:34 +0000

Silver Club Golfing Society’s list of the top 50 Amateur Golfers of All Time (#50AMGOAT) is here in all its glory. While we had to make many tough choices and many great players didn’t make the cut, It was fun to dive into the history books to arrive at a comprehensive list. A couple of ground rules: while there is a special place for those like Bobby Jones who stayed career amateurs, this constraint would leave too many incredible golfers who either mastered or dabbled in professional golf like Phil Mickelson or Jay Sigel. Second, we had to weigh different eras and accomplishments. So we erred on the side of inclusivity. We didn’t bother with a point system or purely objective way of ordering these players. Instead, we sat around over a couple drinks and talked it out – we had a blast coming up with the list and we hope that you enjoy it as well. Without further ado…

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