Tommy Armor

Tommy Armor
Personnel
Nation:	United States
Nickname:	Silver Scot
Career data
Tournament wins:	25th
Major wins :	3

Thomas Dickson Armor (born September 24, 1894 in Edinburgh , † September 11, 1968 ) was a Scottish-American professional golfer. He was a three-time major winner.

Origin and time as a professional

Armor was born in the Scottish capital Edinburgh . He studied at the renowned Fettes College and at the University of Edinburgh . He was seriously wounded while serving in World War I. He lost his eyesight completely in a mustard gas explosion and remained blind in the left eye for the rest of his life. He also wore metal plates in his head and left arm. He started playing golf while recovering.

Armor turned pro in 1924. He was now living in the United States and had become a US citizen. His record is worth seeing. As the third of a total of nine players, he won the three Majors Masters , British Open and the PGA Championship . His 25 victories on the PGA tour set a mark that was only exceeded by a good 20 other players. In particular, his precise play with irons was considered unsurpassed in his time.

Putting became a nuisance for him. He is considered to be the creator of the onomatopoeic term Yips , an uncontrolled muscle twitching that makes it impossible to play the ball accurately. The following quote is passed down: "Once you got 'em, you have' em." Armor was never to be cured by the Yips.

Bon vivant, golf instructor and club designer

The Silver Scot, as it was called because of its silver-gray hair, was popular not only for its elegant, fluid golf swing. Its charm and European fashion style contributed to its popularity.

He was ahead of his time with the publication of How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time . The work, published together with Herb Graffis, was a bestseller for years. In the year of publication, 1953, it was already selling 400,000 times. He also made a name for himself as a trainer, in Winged Foot in summer and in Boca Raton in winter. Babe Zaharias and US Open winner Lawson Little were among his students.

Armor also showed a good hand as a club designer. The 845 CB Silver Scot irons are considered the best-selling iron clubs to date. Even 40 years after his death, Tommy Armor still had such a good reputation as a brand that it was revived in 2008.

PGA Tour wins (25)

• 1920 (1) Pinehurst Fall Pro-Am Bestball (as amateur, with Leo Diegel)
• 1925 (1) Florida West Coast Open
• 1926 (1) Winter Pro Golf Championship
• 1927 (5) Long Beach California Open, El Paso Open, US Open , Canadian Open , Oregon Open
• 1928 (4) Metropolitan Open, Philadelphia Open Championship, Pennsylvania Open Championship, Sacramento Open
• 1929 (1) Western Open
• 1930 (3) Canadian Open , PGA Championship , St. Louis Open
• 1931 (1) British Open
• 1932 (3) Miami International Four-Ball (with Ed Dudley), Mid-South Bestball (with Al Watrous), Miami Open
• 1934 (2) Canadian Open , Pinehurst Fall Pro-Pro (with Bobby Cruickshank)
• 1935 (1) Miami Open
• 1936 (1) Walter Olson Golf Tournament
• 1938 (1) Mid-South Open

Major championships are in bold .

Results at major tournaments

Tournament	1920	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929
The Masters	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF
US Open	T48	DNP	DNP	WD	T13	T38	T9	1	16	T5
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	13	DNP	CUT	10
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	QF	DNP	QF	R32	DNP

Tournament	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
The Masters	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	DNP	T37	T20	T8	DNP	T12
US Open	6th	T46	T21	T4	T50	WD	T22	CUT	23	T22
The Open Championship	DNP	1	T15	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	1	QF	DNP	DNP	R16	F.	R64	R64	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950
The Masters	38	38	T29	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
US Open	T12	CUT	NT	NT	NT	NT	CUT	CUT	WD	DNP	CUT
The Open Championship	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

NYF = Masters has not yet been played this year
DNP = not started
WD = withdrawn
CUT = failed at the cut
"T" = split rank

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Between the ears . In: Der Spiegel . No. 34 , 1988, pp. 149-152 ( online ).
2. ^ G. Kleffmann, T. Lötz: Golf. The book . Süddeutsche Zeitung Edition, 2009, pages 91–92
3. ↑ laola1.at