Ross Somerville
{{short description|Canadian amateur golfer}}
{{Infobox golfer
| name = Ross Somerville
| image =
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| caption =
| fullname = Charles Ross Somerville
| nickname = Sandy
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1903|5|4}}
| birth_place = London, Ontario, Canada
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1991|5|17|1903|5|4}}
| death_place =
| height =
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| nationality = {{CAN}}
| spouse =
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| college = University of Toronto
| status = Amateur
| yearpro =
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| prowins =
| otherwins =
| majorwins = 1
| masters = T36: 1938
| usopen = CUT: 1929
| open = T28: 1933
| pga = DNP
| usamateur = Won: 1932
| britamateur = T3: 1938
| wghofid =
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}}
Charles Ross "Sandy" Somerville (May 4, 1903 – May 17, 1991) was a Canadian golfer and all-around athlete.
Career
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 leading cricketers earning selection as a member of the Canadian side that toured England in 1922, his score of 92 against the Free Foresters being Canada's highest individual innings of the tour.{{cite book |title=Wisden Cricketers' Almanack |date=1993 |chapter-url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/228731.html |via=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=4 July 2024 |chapter=Obituaries in 1992}}
Later, Somerville won three Canadian senior golf titles. and served as president of the Royal Canadian Golf Association in 1957.
Death and legacy
In 1991, Somerville died at age 88. The London Hunt Club, Somerville's home course for most of his life, has a room in its clubhouse honouring Somerville's golf achievements. In 2002, the London, Ontario posthumously inducted him into their Sports Hall of Fame.
Awards and honors
- In 1955, Somerville was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
- In 1971, he was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame
- In 1985, Somerville was inducted into Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame
- In 1987, he was inducted into the U of T Sports Hall of Fame
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)=
| class="wikitable"
!Year!!Championship!!Winning score!!Runner-up | |||
| 1932 | U.S. Amateur | align=center|2 & 1 | {{flagicon|USA}} Johnny Goodman |
=Results timeline=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
!Tournament !1926 !1927 !1928 !1929 !1930 !1931 !1932 !1933 !1934 !1935 !1936 !1937 !1938 !1939 |
| align=left|Masters Tournament
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NYF |style="background:#eeeeee;"|NYF |style="background:#eeeeee;"|NYF |style="background:#eeeeee;"|NYF |style="background:#eeeeee;"|NYF |style="background:#eeeeee;"|NYF |style="background:#eeeeee;"|NYF |style="background:#eeeeee;"|NYF |T43 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |T36 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |
| align=left|U.S. Open
|style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |
| align=left|The Open Championship
|style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |T28 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |
| align=left|U.S. Amateur
|DNQ |DNQ |style="background:yellow;"|R16 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |R32 |style="background:yellow;"|R16 |style="background:lime;"|1 |style="background:yellow;"|QF |R32 |R64 |R128 |style="background:yellow;"|R16 |R64 |style="background:yellow;"|QF |
| align=left|The Amateur Championship
|style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:yellow;"|R16 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |R256 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:yellow;"|SF |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |
Note: As an amateur, Somerville did play in the PGA Championship.
{{legend|lime|Win}}
{{legend|yellow|Top 10}}
{{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}}
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: [https://web.archive.org/web/20101221024412/http://champsdatabase.usga.org/ USGA Championship Database]
Source for 1933 British Open: [http://www.opengolf.com/en/History/PreviousOpens.aspx?leaderboard=1&eventid=1933000&view=year www.opengolf.com]
Source for 1933 British Amateur: [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19330623&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, June 23, 1933, pg. 20.]
Source for 1934 & 1938 Masters: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100326225029/http://www.masters.com/en_US/history/past_winners.html www.masters.com]
Source for 1935 British Amateur: [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19350521&printsec=frontpage The Glasgow Herald, May 21, 1935, pg. 3.]
Source for 1938 British Amateur: [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19380528&printsec=frontpage&hl=en The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1938, pg. 11.]
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.golfontario.ca/features/20040616_sandysommerville.shtml Silent Sandy, from Ontario Golf Magazine]
- [https://heritage.golfcanada.ca/hall-of-fame-members/sandy-somerville/ Profile at Canadian Golf Hall of Fame]
{{U.S. Amateur champions}}
{{Lionel Conacher Award}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerville, Sandy}}
Category:Canadian male golfers
Category:Golfing people from Ontario
Category:Ridley College alumni
Category:Toronto Varsity Blues football players
Category:Toronto Varsity Blues ice hockey players
Category:Canadian football people from London, Ontario