Findlay Small Douglas (17 November 1874 – 29 March 1959) was a Scottish amateur

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er who won the

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

in 1898, and later became President of the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

(USGA).

Life and career

Born in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, Douglas learned to play golf as a boy. He attended the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

from 1892 to 1896, and played on the golf team. After graduation, he followed his oldest brother Robert and emigrated to the United States in 1897. Douglas qualified for the

in 1897, but lost in the semifinal. In 1898 he won the event, defeating Walter B. Smith 5 & 3 in the final match. He was the last Scot to win the tournament until 2006, when

Richie Ramsay } Richie Ramsay (born 15 June 1983) is a Scottish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. Ramsay played in the 2005 Walker Cup and, in 2006, became the first British golfer in almost a century to win the U.S. Amateur. Ramsay turned ...

won. Douglas made it to the final match in 1899 and again in 1900, but lost to H.M. Harriman and

Walter Travis Walter J. Travis (January 10, 1862 – July 31, 1927) was an American amateur golfer during the early 1900s. He was also a noted golf journalist and publisher, an innovator in all aspects of golf, a teacher, and golf course architect. Golfing ca ...

respectively. In his only U.S. Open appearance in 1903, Douglas finished 8th, winning low amateur. He won the

Metropolitan Amateur The Metropolitan Amateur or Met Amateur is an amateur golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1899 and is one of the oldest amateur golf tournaments in the United States along with the U.S. ...

in 1901 and 1903. Douglas joined several golf clubs in the New York area, and helped start others. In 1908, he was one of the 70 founders of the

National Golf Links of America National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. Eventually, Douglas got involved in administrative roles, and served in various capacities at the Metropolitan Golf Association for 17 years, including president from 1922 to 1924. In 1926, Douglas became vice-president of the

, and then from 1929 to 1930 served as president. He presented Bobby Jones with the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur trophies during Jones'

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in 1930. Douglas later got involved with senior golf, winning the championship of the United States Senior's Golf Association (not affiliated with the USGA) in 1932, and later served as the organization's president from 1937 to 1941. This was the forerunner to the USGA's

U.S. Senior Amateur The United States Senior Men's Amateur Golf Championship is a national tournament for amateur golf competitors at least 55 years of age. It is operated by the United States Golf Association (USGA). The tournament starts with 36 holes of stroke pl ...

, which was started in 1955. Douglas was the USGA's

Bob Jones Award The Bob Jones Award is the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It is named in honor of Bobby Jones. Winners *1955 Francis Ouimet *1956 William C. Campbell *1957 Babe Za ...

winner in 1959, given in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He died on Easter Sunday in 1959 with no surviving family, and his ashes were buried in a family plot in St Andrews. In the late 1990s, the Royal and Ancient club restored the headstone, which had deteriorated, and added an inscription with Douglas' name, which had not been there.

Tournament wins (3)

*1898

*1901

*1903

Results in major championships

Amateur wins (1)

Results timeline

Note: Douglas played in only the U.S. Open,

, and

The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

. LA = Low amateur
NT = No tournament
"T" indicates a tie for a place
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur
USGA Championship Database
Source for 1913 British Amateur
The American Golfer, July 1913, pg. 222.
Source for 1920 British Amateur
The Glasgow Herald, 8 June 1920, pg. 12.

References and notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Findlay S. Scottish male golfers Amateur golfers Golf administrators Golfers from St Andrews Alumni of the University of St Andrews British emigrants to the United States 1874 births 1959 deaths