Al Watrous
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Albert Andrew Watrous (February 1, 1899 – December 3, 1983)[1][2] was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1920s and 1930s.
| Al Watrous | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Watrous in 1926 | |||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Full name | Albert Andrew Watrous | ||||
| Born | February 1, 1899 Yonkers, New York, U.S. | ||||
| Died | December 3, 1983 (aged 84) Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S. | ||||
| Height | 5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m) | ||||
| Weight | 178 lb (81 kg; 12.7 st) | ||||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||||
| Spouse | Agnes J. Watrous | ||||
| Children | 5 | ||||
| Career | |||||
| Status | Professional | ||||
| Former tour | PGA Tour | ||||
| Professional wins | 34 | ||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||
| PGA Tour | 8 | ||||
| Other | 26 | ||||
| Best results in major championships | |||||
| Masters Tournament | 7th: 1937 | ||||
| PGA Championship | T3: 1935 | ||||
| U.S. Open | T8: 1923 | ||||
| The Open Championship | 2nd: 1926 | ||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||
| |||||
Early life
Watrous was born in Yonkers, New York, of Polish descent.[3] He moved to Michigan at an early age.
Professional career
Watrous played on the first two Ryder Cup teams in 1927 and 1929. Watrous was the club pro at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, for 37 years.[4] Watrous had tremendous success in Michigan events, winning the Michigan PGA Championship nine times and the Michigan Open six times.
Watrous never won a major championship, but came very close in the 1926 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club. Playing with Bobby Jones in the final round, and tied with him, Watrous hit the green in two shots on the difficult par-4 17th hole, with Jones in trouble after his tee shot finished in sandy dunes and tall grass far left of the fairway. But from this very difficult position, Jones hit one of the greatest recovery shots in golf history from 175 yards, as his ball finished on the green nearer than Watrous', who three-putted, and finished second to Jones.[5]
Watrous had much success as a senior. He won the PGA Seniors Championship three times after he turned 50.
Death
Watrous died on December 3, 1983, in Royal Oak, Michigan.[2]
Awards and honors
- On June 14, 1979, Watrous was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum[4]
- In 1982, he was inducted with the charter class at the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame
- A collegiate golf tournament named in his honor, the Al Watrous Memorial Intercollegiate Invitational, was first played in 2009.
Professional wins
PGA Tour wins (8)
- 1922 (1) Canadian Open[6]
- 1925 (2) South Central Open, Corpus Christi Open
- 1927 (1) Michigan Open
- 1929 (1) Michigan Open
- 1932 (2) Mid-South Open (tie with Henry Picard and Al Houghton), Mid-South Bestball (with Tommy Armour)
- 1933 (1) Lakeland Open
Other wins
- Note: This list is probably incomplete.
- 1922 Michigan PGA Championship
- 1924 Michigan PGA Championship
- 1926 Michigan Open
- 1930 Michigan Open
- 1932 Michigan PGA Championship
- 1936 Michigan PGA Championship
- 1938 Michigan PGA Championship
- 1939 Michigan PGA Championship
- 1941 Michigan PGA Championship
- 1943 Michigan Open
- 1949 Michigan Open
- 1952 Michigan PGA Championship
- 1954 Michigan PGA Championship
Senior wins
- 1950 PGA Seniors' Championship
- 1951 PGA Seniors' Championship
- 1953 Michigan PGA Senior Championship
- 1954 Michigan PGA Senior Championship
- 1956 Michigan PGA Senior Championship
- 1957 PGA Seniors' Championship, Michigan PGA Senior Championship, World Senior Championship
- 1961 Michigan PGA Senior Championship
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | 32 | 37 | T8 | WD | T13 | WD | T18 | T41 | T32 |
| The Open Championship | 2 | T8 | |||||||
| PGA Championship | R32 | R64 | R16 | R32 | R32 | R16 | SF |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | T11 | 34 | T29 | 7 | T27 | 25 |
| U.S. Open | T17 | T15 | T35 | T13 | T14 | T33 | T32 | CUT | ||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | R16 | R32 | QF | SF | R32 | R16 |
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T21 | 32 | NT | NT | NT | T32 | ||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | 52 | NT | NT | NT | NT | T43 | |||
| The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| PGA Championship | R32 | NT | R64 | R64 |
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||||||||
| U.S. Open | T35 | |||||||||
| The Open Championship | T42 | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | R32 | R64 | R64 | R64 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 |
|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||
| U.S. Open | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | ||
| PGA Championship | CUT |
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
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 9 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 22 | 17 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 20 |
| Totals | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 27 | 55 | 49 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 23 (1926 Open Championship – 1937 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1929 Open Championship – 1929 PGA)