Ouimet’s victory not only holds a special place in golf history as a turning point in the sports’s popularity but was the subject of a 2005 Hollywood movie, “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” What made this athletic drama so engaging was that Ouimet (pronounced Wee-met), the son of immigrant parents of modest means, was a self-taught golfer who learned the game while caddying across the street from their home in the Boston suburb of Brookline, Mass.
In 1913 the US Open, an event dominated by professionals, came to Ouimet’s “home” course, The Country Club. He was a top amateur who almost didn’t enter because he felt a need to return to work at a sporting goods store after being away at an amateur event. But with the cooperation of his employer, he entered and then dueled to a three-way tie with his golfing hero, Harry Vardon, and Vardon’s fellow British pro, Ted Ray. In what was viewed as a stunning upset, Ouimet prevailed in an 18-hole playoff by a commanding five strokes, a result that was front-page news and was credited with growing the game.
Only 350,000 Americans played the game before 1913, but a decade later an estimated 2.1 million Americans were hitting the fairways. Ouimet remained a devoted amateur and proceeded to win two US Amateur championships and later became president of hockey’s Boston Bruins and vice president of baseball’s Boston Braves.
