Stewart Gardner

Stewart Orr Gardner† (31 October 1878 – 12 April 1931) was a Scottish-American professional golfer who played in the late 19th and early 20th century. He had seven top-10 finishes in the U.S. Open. His best performance was a T2 finish in the 1902 U.S. Open. In 1924 he served as vice president at large of the PGA of America.

Not to be confused with Isabella Stewart Gardner.

Stewart Gardner
Gardner (c. 1905)
Personal information
Full nameStewart Orr Gardner
Born(1878-10-31)31 October 1878
Troon, Scotland
Died12 April 1931(1931-04-12) (aged 52)
Highland Park, Illinois
Sporting nationality Scotland
 United States
Career
Turned professionalc. 1899
Best results in major championships
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenT2: 1902
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Early life

Gardner was born on 31 October 1878 in Troon, Scotland,[1] the son of Robert Gardner and Agnes Gardner (née Snoddy) who were both born in Ireland. He grew to be a tall man, and had blue eyes and brown hair. He emigrated to the United States in 1899[2] and on 6 November 1919 he applied for, and was granted, U.S. citizenship.[3] He registered for the draft during World War I on 12 September 1918 but it is unknown whether he saw any combat since the war would be over only two months later. He occasionally took trips back to Scotland, presumably to visit his mother and other family members, but would then return to the U.S. One such trip was aboard the SS Cameronia which left Glasgow on 28 February 1914 and arrived in New York on 9 March 1914.[4]

Golf career

Gardner was best known for a strong finish in the 1902 U.S. Open where he finished tied second with Walter Travis,[5] but a distant six shots behind winner Laurie Auchterlonie. Gardner placed third in the 1903 U.S. Open and ninth in the 1900 U.S. Open.[6][7][8] Gardner also finished fourth in the 1901 U.S. Open held at Myopia Hunt Club. In 1901 the Myopia Hunt Club course played extraordinarily difficult; no players in the event broke 80.[9][10]

Gardner was one of the first of a large group of Scottish golf professionals to come to America around the turn of the 19th century. He arrived in the United States in 1899 and took his first position at Lenox, Massachusetts. He served as head professional at Garden City Golf Club on Long Island, New York, but his longest stint was a 10-year posting at Exmoor Country Club. In his prime, he won many tournaments between 1901 and 1904.[2]

In 1905 he was tied for the lead after the first day in the U.S. Open with Alex Smith but he had a third round 85 and eventually finished fifth. In 1909 he was runner-up in the Western Open, nine shots behind winner Willie Anderson.[11][12] The Western Open was considered to be a major tournament in the early 20th century.[13]

Death and legacy

By 1930 Gardner was single and rooming with the Alfred Stupple family in Highland Park, Illinois. Gardner died at his home in Highland Park on 12 April 1931 after a lingering illness at the age of 52.[2] He is best remembered for a T2 finish in the 1902 U.S. Open.[5] He was buried at North Shore Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

Results in major championships
Tournament 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907
U.S. Open 9 4 T2 3 T6 5 7 21

Note: Gardner played only in the U.S. Open.

"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

Notes

† It is possible that Gardner's middle name might be "Owen" as shown on his draft registration card.

References
  1. "Births in the District of Troon in the County of Ayr". Births 590/02 0077. ScotlandsPeople. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  2. "Stewart Gardner, Scotch Golf Pro, Dead". The Lewiston Daily Sun. 13 April 1931. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  3. "U.S. Naturalization Indexes". U.S. Department of Labor, Immigration and Naturalization Service – via ancestry.com. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  4. "List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States". U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor, Immigration Service. Retrieved 14 July 2015 – via ancestry.com.
  5. "Open Golf Champion". The Saint Paul Globe. Minnesota. 12 October 1902. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  6. "The American Open Championship". Golf Illustrated. 27 July 1903. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  7. "Scores of First Day's Golf Play". The Chicago Tribune. 5 October 1900.
  8. "Vardon Was the Winner - Took the Open Golf Championship at Wheaton Yesterday". The Saint Paul Globe. 6 October 1900. Retrieved 9 April 2015 – via Library of Congress.
  9. "Alexander Smith and Willie Anderson Tied for the Open Championship at 331". New York Tribune. 16 June 1901. p. 9. Retrieved 9 April 2015 – via Library of Congress.
  10. Labbance, Bob. "Myopia Hunt Club". Links. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  11. "Who's Who in Golf". Where2Golf. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  12. "Willie Anderson Retains Western Open Golf Championship and Breaks Grand Total Record". The American Golfer. 1908. Retrieved 10 October 2015 – via books.Google.com.
  13. Trenham, Peter C. "A Chronicle of the Philadelphia Section PGA and its Members" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
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