Gannon golfers honor Ouimet with tournament

LYNN – When you make a list of the greatest golfers in American history, names like Nicklaus, Watson, Jones, Palmer and of course Woods roll off the tongue first.Not many people come up with the name of Francis Ouimet. But Ouimet is probably one of the best American golfers in history that not many people know about.In an era when professionals ruled the links, amateurs weren’t supposed to be able to compete on their level.But in 1913, Ouimet beat two of the best golfers of the time, Britain’s Ted Ray and Harry Vardon, in an 18-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline.To this day, most golf experts call it the greatest upset in major championship history as Ouimet was a 20-year old amateur who lived across the street from the 17th hole at Brookline.He later won two U.S. Amateur championships (1914 and 1931) and in 1951 became the first American elected captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. Ouimet’s 1913 Open win was immortalized in a 2002 book,”The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf” by Mark Frost. Frost’s book was later turned into a movie by Walt Disney Pictures in 2005.Ten years after Ouimet’s win, the number of American golfers had nearly tripled and public courses were springing up all over the country to accommodate the boom.Ouimet’s legacy extends far off the golf course, however, as a scholarship fund bares his name. Scholarships are given to applicants that have completed at least two years service to golf as caddies or worked in pro shop or course superintendent operations in Massachusetts.The applicants evaluated based upon golf service, academic excellence, school and community activities, character and certified financial need.On Friday, an annual Independence Day tradition was continued at Gannon Golf Course as the Ouimet Scholarship Fund tournament was held.Play was delayed for an hour on Friday morning because of rains that moved through the area just before dawn. But the weather cleared and turned beautiful for the rest of the day.In the AA/BB flight of the one-best ball net competition, the team of Barry Eager-Tom Newhall-Jim Stafford-Jim Lally prevailed with a score of 15-under par 55, one shot ahead of J.J. McManus-Lou Ricci-Brian Hathaway-Matt Civiello.Sharing third were the teams of John Boland-Joe Crowley-Dwight Brothers, Jr.-Frank Spathanas and Ryan McDermott-James Friedman-Bob Cross-Wayne Johnson.The CC/DD flight was won by the quartet of Dick Lyle-Fred Brandl-Bill Wozny-Bill Harvey, who bested the field by four shots with a score of 20-under. Second went to Mike Sullivan-Jim Rex-Ted Carritte-Rich Marotta and third was Pat Barry-Tim Perullo-Steve Richardson-Gerry Cashman.