Michael Scott (golfer)

The Hon. Michael Scott OBE (31 August 1878 – 9 January 1959) was an English amateur golfer, most famous for being the oldest winner of The Amateur Championship.

Michael Scott
Personal information
Born	(1878-08-31)31 August 1878
Died	9 January 1959(1959-01-09) (aged 80)
Sporting nationality	England
Career
Status	Amateur
Professional wins	2
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	T20: 1922
U.S. Amateur	DNQ
British Amateur	Won: 1933

Michael Scott was the son of John Scott, 3rd Earl of Eldon, and the youngest of seven children. He attended Winchester College.[1] He emigrated to Australia in about 1900 but returned to the United Kingdom between July 1906 and early 1907, missing the main Australian golf events of 1906.[2][3] Scott won a number of important amateur tournaments in Australia, including four Australian Amateur titles (1905, 1907, 1909, and 1910), six Victorian Amateur Championship titles (all between 1904 and 1910), and several others. He won the inaugural Australian Open in 1904, and again in 1907. He returned to England in 1911.[4]

Scott fought in World War I, and was decorated with the Order of Aviz of Portugal and the Order of the Black Star of France. In 1918, he was invested as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.[1]

While he won the French Amateur in 1912 and 1922, Scott was not able to win in England itself, though he was a member of Great Britain's 1924 Walker Cup team. Finally, in 1933 when he was nearly 55 years old, he won The Amateur Championship by beating Thomas A. Bourn 4 & 3 at Hoylake.[5] The following year, Scott played for and captained the 1934 Walker Cup team, setting the record for the oldest player in that event as well (which still stands). He later won a West of England Amateur title at the age of 57, and was the Captain at Royal St George's Golf Club.[6][7]

Several of Scott's siblings were also golfers. The most famous was Lady Margaret Scott, a dominant player in early women's golf who won the first three British Ladies Championships from 1893 to 1895 before retiring from tournament play. Osmund Scott was the runner-up at the 1905 Amateur Championship, and Denys Scott also competed. Michael Scott was married three times, had at least one daughter, and died at the age of 80 in 1959.[1]