Golf at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's individual

A men's golf tournament was held at the 1900 Summer Olympics. It was the first of the three times such a tournament would be featured.[1] There were 12 competitors from 4 nations.[2] The event was won by Charles Sands of the United States. Great Britain took the next two spots, with Walter Rutherford finishing one stroke behind Sands and David Robertson in third at 8 strokes behind Sands.

Men's individual golf
at the Games of the II Olympiad
Golf pictogram
VenueCompiègne Golf Club
Date2 October 1900
Competitors12 from 4 nations
Winning score167
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Charles Sands
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Walter Rutherford
 Great Britain
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) David Robertson
 Great Britain
1904 →

Background

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In the preparation for the 1900 Games, a Special Advisory Committee led by Jacques de Pourtalès (a cousin of Hermann de Pourtalès, who along with his wife Hélène de Pourtalès won a gold medal in sailing in 1900[3]) proposed a golf tournament be included given that the sport was popular in many countries (though not well known in France).[4] The result was the first Olympic golf tournament, held at the Compiègne golf club. Divisions for both men and women, as well as a men's handicap division (not considered Olympic) were set.[5][1]

Golf would be held again in 1904. In 1908, a dispute among the host nation's golfers resulted in all the British competitors boycotting and the event being cancelled. The sport would not be held again at the Olympics until 2016.

Competition format

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The men's event consisted of a 36-hole stroke play tournament. The scores for each of the 36 holes were summed to give a total for each player, with the lowest score winning. In the event of a tie, a replayed hole would be used.[5]

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Tuesday, 2 October 1900 Final

Results

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The men played two rounds (36 holes), summing the scores. The entire competition was held on 2 October.

Rank Player Nation Round 1 Round 2 Total
  Charles Sands   United States 82 85 167
  Walter Rutherford   Great Britain Unknown 168
  David Robertson   Great Britain Unknown 175
4 Frederick Taylor   United States Unknown 182
5 John Daunt   Great Britain Unknown 184
6 George Thorne   Great Britain Unknown 185
7 William Dove   Great Britain Unknown 186
8 Albert Bond Lambert   United States 94 95 189
9 Arthur Lord   United States Unknown 221
10 Pierre Deschamps   France Unknown 231
11 Alexandros Merkati   Greece Unknown 246
12 J. Van de Wynckélé   France Unknown 252

References

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  1. ^ a b "Golf at the 1900 Summer Olympics: Individual, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  2. ^ The count of 4 nations includes Alexandros Merkati as Greek. He was a Greek national who was affiliated with the French golf club of Compiègne Club. The IOC lists him as competing for Greece but other sources (such as Olympedia) consider him a competitor for France, which would result in 3 nations competing in this event.
  3. ^ "Hélène, Countess de Pourtalès". Olympedia. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  4. ^ Official Report, pp. 77–78.
  5. ^ a b Official Report, p. 79.

Sources

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