Young Tom Morris
Thomas Morris (20 April 1851 – 25 December 1875), known as Tom Morris Junior, Young Tom Morris and also Tommy Morris,[2] was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four consecutive titles in the Open Championship,[3] and did this by the age of 21.[4]
Young Tom Morris
Thomas Morris
Young Tom
20 April 1851
St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
25 December 1875 (aged 24)
St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Margaret Drinnen (or Drennan)[1]
Professional
Won: 1868, 1869, 1870, 1872
1975 (member page)
1975 (member page)
Morris was born in St Andrews, the "Home of Golf", and died there on Christmas Day, 1875, aged 24. His father, Old Tom Morris, was the greenkeeper and professional of the St Andrews Links, and himself won four of the first eight Open Championships. Young Tom's first Open Championship win – in 1868 at age 17 – made him the youngest major champion in the PGA, a record which still stands.[4]
Early life and education[edit]
For many years it was thought on the basis of a baptismal certificate that Morris was born on 10 May 1851, but in 2006 his birth certificate was discovered in Edinburgh.[5] Young Tom moved with his family as an infant from St Andrews to Prestwick, where his father took a new position as the golf professional and greenkeeper.
Young Tom studied at Ayr Academy up to his early teens. The Morris family was becoming more prosperous, and hence able to afford the expensive private school fees, in the range of £15 per year. At the Academy, Young Tom studied with the sons of noblemen and wealthy businessmen, and would put his schooling to good use in his golf game and in his personal relationships.[6]
Young champion[edit]
Young Tom made his debut aged 14 in the Open Championship in 1865, performing creditably, but dropped out and failed to complete the event. He was placed 9th in 1866, 18 shots behind the winner, and in 1867 Young Tom was placed fourth in the Open Championship.
Also in 1867, the Morris duo travelled to Carnoustie Golf Links for a significant open tournament, which attracted a strong field of 32 players, the largest seen anywhere up to that time. Young Tom, at the age of 16, finished in a tie for first place, and then won the playoff over Willie Park Sr. (who would eventually win four Open Championships) and Robert "Bob" Andrew. With this win, he came to general notice and acclaim for the first time.[9]
Playing style[edit]
Morris stood about 5'8" with a sturdy, wiry build, and had very strong wrists. He gripped the club with an interlocking grip as clearly seen on his famous photo with his father, in Gallery below. He had a lengthy backswing, and generally swung quite hard on most of his longer shots, but kept some power in reserve. His long shots were usually low to medium in trajectory, and ran out to very good distances, comparable with most of his main rivals; this technique kept the ball in play, minimized trouble, and fought the wind very well. He was among the first players to intentionally shape shots to curve in flight for shot-making strategy. He invented a new use for the rut iron, a club designed to escape ruts from cart tracks on the course, not an unusual situation in the days before courses were extensively groomed. Morris used the rut iron (a lofted club similar to the modern sand wedge) as a pitching club for short approaches, hitting high shots over hazards, which sometimes landed with backspin, another innovation. This was a very difficult shot requiring great skill. Prior to this, the pure running approach, together with the chip-and-run, were the usual methods. He used the niblick (like a modern 9-iron) for similar purposes from farther away; iron play was developed significantly by his examples, which were taken up by rivals.[13]
Morris was also an exceptional putter and chipper, virtually always giving the hole a chance, and he won many encounters with clutch short shots. One golf historian wrote that Morris missed fewer short putts than any player he had ever seen. His putting method was unusual: he took an open stance and played the ball very close to his right (back) foot. Morris managed his game well, generally choosing high-percentage shots and routes over more risky options (akin to his father's style), but was rarely afraid to take a calculated risk (being more daring than his father). Morris often was able to raise his game when the pressure increased. When on form, his game was complete and without weaknesses. He was the first golfer in that category, and one of no more than a handful throughout golf history.[13]
Legacy[edit]
Morris was a tremendous golf innovator who raised the playing standard significantly, and this, together with his aggressive promotion of his own skills, led to an enormous increase in the popularity of golf for spectators. Some of his challenge matches attracted thousands of spectators from all over Scotland. Such was the interest that major London newspapers and magazines sent correspondents to Scotland, a 400-mile trip by rail, to cover his challenge matches in the 1870s. Although Morris won a very high percentage of his matches and tournaments, he managed to minimise animosity among rivals, who had to improve their own games to stay competitive. He had a friendly personality, and was widely respected.[13]
Morris was ranked the 14th best golfer of all time in a survey published in Golf Magazine, September 2009. He was the top player whose career was entirely in the 19th century. His father, Old Tom, was ranked 19th.[17]
Depictions in film and print[edit]
The 2016 film Tommy's Honour depicts the lives and careers of Old Tom (Peter Mullan) and Young Tom (Jack Lowden), and focuses on their complex and bittersweet relationship. It is based on Kevin Cook's Herbert Warren Wind Book Award–winning 2007 biography, Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son.