Armour, "Tommy" (Thomas D.)
Golf
b. Sept. 24, 1895, Edinburgh, Scotland
d. Sept. 11, 1968
During World War I, Armour was blinded by a head wound but regained the sight in his right eye after a six-month convalescence. He had been a good golfer in his youth and, while recuperating, he decided to try to make a career in the sport.
After winning the French Amateur in 1920, he boarded a ship for the United States and met Walter Hagen, who was returning from the British Open. Hagen got Armour a job as secretary of the Westchester-Biltmore Club.
He became a professional golfer in 1924 and soon had a reputation as a teacher. Bobby Jones came to Armour for help with his swing in 1926 and went on to win both the U. S. and British Opens that year.
In 1927, Armour won the U. S. Open, his first major victory. He shot two under par on the last six holes to tie Henry Cooper and then beat Cooper in a playoff, 76 to 79. He also won the Canadian Open and four other tournaments. He won four more tournaments in 1928 and he set a 72-hole record of 273 in winning the 1929 Western Open.
Armour reached the finals of the PGA tournament twice, beating Gene Sarazen at Sarazen's home course in 1930 but losing to Johnny Revolta in 1935. He completed his sweep of the three most important tournaments open to professionals at the time by winning the 1931 British Open.
After 1935, Armour retired from major competition but continued teaching. Among his pupils were Lawson Little and Babe Didrikson Zaharias. He charged $50 a lesson, sitting under a beach umbrella at the Boca Raton Club in Florida and sipping a drink while he watched his pupil hit twenty balls. After Armour delivered an often caustic analysis of the swing, the pupil would hit another twenty balls and listen to another analysis.
Armour played exhibitions for the Red Cross, USO, and other causes during World War II. In 1952, he and Herb Graffis wrote How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time, which became the best-selling golf instruction book in history.