Politics may have influenced the results of the 1913 US Open!

“Did You Know”
Politics may have influenced the results of the 1913 US Open!

The 1913 United States Open held more anticipation than any since 1900, which had been won by the renowned English professional, Harry Vardon. After 12 years of only transplanted professionals and Americans competing in the US Open, some of the great European professionals had filed entries. 

Vardon and Ted Ray arrived in New York on the third Friday of August for a series of exhibitions before and after the US Open. Traveling with them on the RMS Celtic were Englishman Wilfrid Reid and two French professionals, Louis Tellier and Arnaud Massy. Before setting sale for the states Vardon had stated that he did not think the Americans were very strong and he was sure the title would be going home with them.

In late August Philadelphia’s Johnny McDermott set the stage for the playing of the US Open by winning the 72-hole Shawnee Open by eight strokes. Vardon finished fifth.

The US Open was hosted by The Country Club at Brookline, Massachusetts in the third week of September. With the American born, McDermott having won the last two US Opens, there was a record 165 entries.  For the first time prequalifying was needed to trim the field to a manageable number for the two days of the 72-hole tournament. Even McDermott, the two-time defending champion, had to qualify. On Tuesday half the entries played 36 holes, and on Wednesday the other half played 36 holes, with the low 32 and ties making the grade each day. Vardon led the first day. Francis Ouimet, a little-known amateur who had won the Massachusetts Amateur earlier that summer, was second. On the second day of qualifying, Ted Ray led with Wilfrid Reid in second place.    

With qualifying settled, the 72-hole tournament was played on Thursday and Friday. At the end of day one, Wilfrid Reid and Harry Vardon were tied for the lead with 147s. Ted Ray and Herbert Strong were tied for third at 149.  

The foreign professionals were staying at the Copley Square Hotel. After dinner that evening some of the golfers were replaying the day’s golf in the hotel’s café. Conversation between Reid and Ray turned to the English tax system. Reid stated that the wealthy were more favored by the system than the less fortunate. Ray declared that the taxation levy was equitable. Ray said that Reid was from Surrey, and Surrey men lacked the proper understanding to grasp such a situation. Reid retaliated by stating that men of Jersey, Ray’s home, did not amount to very much at best. With that, Ray, who was 6-foot and 220 pounds, delivered two right-hand smashes to the nose of Reid, who was 5-foot-six inches tall. Reid was sent flying backwards over a table. With blood trickling from his nose, Reid rose to his feet and headed toward Ray, only to be separated by the head waiter.

Vardon threatened to withdraw from the tournament, but Reid, a protégé of Vardon, talked him out of it.

The next day Reid’s face was swollen from his nose to his left ear, and he had a terrible headache. The Boston Globe reported that when Reid arrived at the course on Friday it was evident that he was not his usual self. Right from the start he was off his game, which was usually quite good. He was no “one day wonder”, having won important tournaments in Europe. His final two rounds were 85 and 86. At the end of the day Reid had tied for 16th.

On the other hand, Ted Ray was around in 76 strokes in the morning versus a 78 for Vardon. Ouimet, the little-known amateur, was even better with a 74. Now Vardon, Ray and Ouimet were tied for the lead with one round to play. In the afternoon all three took 79 strokes, so there was a three-way tie for the US Open title. Because of rain in the afternoon, the golf balls picked up some mud, making for high scores. At that time you couldn’t clean your golf ball during the play of a hole, not even on the green. If a golf ball was in the line of another player it was lifted but not cleaned. Tellier was 4th and McDermott finished 8th.

In an 18-hole playoff the next day Ouimet shot a 72, defeating Vardon (77) and Ray (78).

If not for the altercation between Reid and Ray, Reid would certainly have played better and maybe well enough to win. Or just maybe, Ray would have had the energy or the concentration to find one stroke somewhere out on the golf course that day, and as a result been the 1913 US Open champion. Of the three, Ray at age 36 and a winner of the 1912 British Open, was more in the prime of his career, than Vardon at 43, and the 20-year-old Ouimet.

While in the states Reid had talked to transplanted Brits about golf in the states. With World War I under way in Europe jobs were becoming scarce. So in 1915 Wilfrid Reid returned to the USA as the professional at the nearly new Seaview Country Club near Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 1916, as the professional at the Wilmington Country Club (DE), Reid tied for 4th in the US Open.

Years later, Reid said that it was he who was at fault for the fracas and he never should have started a conversation about politics with Ted Ray.