By Kim Jeong-kyoo
Golfers have competed twice in the Olympics: in 1900 in Paris and in 1904 at St. Louis.
Taking place at Glen Echo Country Club in St. Louis in September, the 1904 Summer Olympics featured two golf events ― men’s individual and team tournaments. Lack of woman golfers led to canceling the women’s event.
A difference from the current Olympics was that the players represented their golf associations rather than their countries.
Three Canadians and 72 Americans joined the individual event. Competitors played two 18-hole qualifying rounds. The top 32 players advanced to match play and George Lyon, the then-46-year-old from Toronto, played his final match in a rainstorm with 21-year-old American Chandler Egan. There, Lyon won gold after setting up a course record with an 18-hole score of 77.
Both of them were long hitters. Lyon had a flat swing and made the most use of his great power. Egan, a classic stylist, was the winner of the long driving event with his 234 yards.
Lyon’s prodigious tee shots forced Egan to strive to keep up with the Canadian. Egan hit many wayward, erratic shots off the tee. However, the two players remained in a close match until the 15th hole, where Egan put his tee shot into the lake.
Winning the hole, Lyon stood 2-up with 3 to play. At the demanding 16th hole, Lyon’s tee shot found the fairway while Egan hit another poor shot off the tee. Lyon reached the green in regulation to end the match. Lyon tapped in his fourth stroke for a 3-and-2 victory. Egan failed to par the hole.
In an interview with the Toronto Star, Lyon was asked if the victory indicated he was the best golfer in the world. Lyon said, “While the winning of this trophy carries with it the title of Champion of the World, I am not foolish enough to think that I am the best golfer in the world, but I am satisfied that I am certainly not the worst!”
The 1904 Olympic golfing events also featured a long driving contest and putting contest played at night under the lights. Lyon did not take part in the long driving contest.
George Lyon died in Toronto on May 11, 1938, at age 79. He was known to be good at all sports including baseball, hockey, football and tennis. He even set a record for pole vaulting at age 19. He took up golf at the age of 38, immediately falling in love with the game and dominating the golf circuit in Canada.
Kim Jeong-kyoo is a Korea Times golf columnist. He can be reached at kimjstar@hanmail.net.