Ross Somerville
Charles Ross "Sandy" Somerville (May 4, 1903 – May 17, 1991) was a Canadian golfer and all-around athlete.
| Ross Somerville | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Charles Ross Somerville |
| Nickname | Sandy |
| Born | May 4, 1903 London, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | May 17, 1991 (aged 88) |
| Sporting nationality | Canada |
| Career | |
| College | University of Toronto |
| Status | Amateur |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |
| Masters Tournament | T36: 1938 |
| PGA Championship | DNP |
| U.S. Open | CUT: 1929 |
| The Open Championship | T28: 1933 |
| U.S. Amateur | Won: 1932 |
| British Amateur | T3: 1938 |
Somerville was born in London, Ontario. He won six Canadian Amateur Championship golf titles between 1926 and 1937, and in 1932 became the first Canadian to win the U.S. Amateur. He was selected by the Canadian Press as Canada's athlete of the year for 1932, and in 1950 was picked as Canada's top golfer of the first half of the 20th century.
While at the University of Toronto, Somerville played for three years for the Varsity Blues football team and Varsity Blues men's ice hockey team (1921–24). He was also one of Canada's top cricket players.
Later, Somerville won three Canadian senior golf titles. and served as president of the Royal Canadian Golf Association in 1957.
Somerville was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1955), the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (1985), the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame (1971), the U of T Sports Hall of Fame (1987) and the London (Ontario) Sports Hall of Fame (2002). He died at age 88 in 1991.
The London Hunt Club, Somerville's home course for most of his life, has a room in its clubhouse honouring Somerville's golf achievements.
Tournament wins
- 1926 Canadian Amateur
- 1926 Manitoba Amateur
- 1928 Canadian Amateur
- 1930 Canadian Amateur
- 1931 Canadian Amateur
- 1932 U.S. Amateur
- 1935 Canadian Amateur
- 1937 Canadian Amateur
- 1960 Canadian Senior Championship
- 1961 Canadian Senior Championship
- 1965 Canadian Senior Championship
- 1966 Canadian Senior Championship
Professional and amateur majors shown in bold.
Major championships
Amateur wins (1)
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | U.S. Amateur | 2 & 1 | Johnny Goodman |
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | T43 | T36 | ||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | |||||||||||||
| The Open Championship | T28 | |||||||||||||
| U.S. Amateur | DNQ | DNQ | R16 | R32 | R16 | 1 | QF | R32 | R64 | R128 | R16 | R64 | QF | |
| The Amateur Championship | R16 | R256 | SF |
Note: As an amateur, Somerville did play in the PGA Championship.
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Source for U.S. Amateur:
Source for 1933 British Open: www.opengolf.com
Source for 1933 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, June 23, 1933, pg. 20.
Source for 1934 & 1938 Masters:
Source for 1935 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 21, 1935, pg. 3.
Source for 1938 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1938, pg. 11.
External links
- Silent Sandy, from Ontario Golf Magazine
- Profile at Canadian Golf Hall of Fame