Horton Smith (May 22, 1908 – October 15, 1963) was an American professional

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, best known as the winner of the first and third

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

Tournament career

Born in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, Smith turned professional in 1926 and won his first tournament, the

Oklahoma City Open The Oklahoma City Open Invitational was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour that played at various clubs in Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of th ...

in 1928. In 1929 he won eight titles. This was an era of expansion and reorganization for professional golf. The

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

was founded in 1934, and Smith was one of the leading players of the early years of the tour, topping the money list in 1936. He accumulated 30

titles in total, the last of them in 1941, and his two major championships came at the Masters, at the inaugural tournament in 1934 and again in 1936. Smith was a member of five Ryder Cup teams: 1929,

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, 1933, 1935, and 1937. His career Ryder Cup record was , his only blemish a halved singles match against Bill Cox in 1935 at

Ridgewood Country Club The Ridgewood Country Club (RCC) is a country club located in Paramus, New Jersey, a suburb northwest of New York City in Bergen County. It was founded in 1890 in neighboring Ho-Ho-Kus, but has been at its current location since 1926. Its facili ...

in New Jersey. Smith was the only golfer to defeat Bobby Jones during the latter's

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 ...

year of 1930, at the

stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In stroke play, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the ...

Savannah Open in February. He played in every Masters through 1963, the year of his death.

Post-playing career

Smith served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in the special services division coordinating athletics and was discharged as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. After the war, he became the club pro at

Detroit Golf Club The Detroit Golf Club (abbreviated to DGC) is a private golf club located in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan in the middle of a neighborhood area on north side of the city near the University of Detroit Mercy and Palmer Woods Historic District. B ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

in 1946, where he remained until his death. He was president of the

PGA of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...

from 1952 to 1954. During that time black professionals continued to be excluded from PGA events despite Smith stating that he would support reviewing this rule when, in January 1952,

Bill Spiller Bill Spiller (October 25, 1913 – 1988) was an American professional golfer who helped to break the color barrier in his sport. Biography Spiller was born in Tishomingo, Oklahoma and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma as a nine-year-old to live with h ...

was excluded from the San Diego Open while former boxer Joe Louis was allowed to play as an invited

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

. The "

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

only" clause in the PGA of America's constitution was not amended until November 1961. When he resigned as head professional of Oak Park Country Club in 1936, his elder brother Renshaw (1906–1971) replaced him at the club in

River Grove, Illinois River Grove is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,612 at the 2020 census. Geography River Grove is located at (41.925830, -87.840135). According to the 2010 census, River Grove has a total area of , all lan ...

Death

Smith died in 1963 at age 55 of Hodgkin's disease in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. He had lost a lung to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

six years earlier, and is buried in his hometown of Springfield, Missouri. He was the first of the former Masters champions to pass away, followed by Craig Wood in 1968 and

Jimmy Demaret James Newton Demaret (May 24, 1910 – December 28, 1983) was an American professional golfer. He won 31 PGA Tour events in a long career between 1935 and 1957, and was the first three-time winner of the Masters, with titles in 1940, 1947, and ...

in 1983.

Awards and honors

*Smith was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in 1984. *Smith was inducted into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

in 1990. *In 1960, awarded the Ben Hogan Award by the golf writers for overcoming a physical handicap and continued active participation in golf. *In 1962, he was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by 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 ...

in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. *The PGA of America bestowed the ''Horton Smith Award'', presented annually since 1965, to a PGA professional who has made "outstanding and continuing contributions to PGA education." On July 2, 2020, it was renamed the ''PGA Professional Development Award'' by the board of directors because Smith had been a supporter of the PGA's "Caucasian-only' membership clause that was part of their by-laws from 1934 to 1961. *A municipal golf course in his hometown of Springfield, Missouri, is named for him. *A golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club is named for him. *He is attributed with being the first professional golfer to study putting as a means to beat his opponents. *In September 2013, Horton's green jacket, awarded in 1949 for his Masters wins in 1934 and 1936, sold at auction for over $682,000; the highest price ever paid for a piece of golf memorabilia. It had been in the possession of his brother Ren's stepsons for decades.

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (30)

*1928 (2)

, Catalina Island Open *1929 (8) Berkeley Open Championship,

Pensacola Open Invitational The Pensacola Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour. The inaugural version of the tournament was played in 1956 and its last edition in 1988. Tournament highlights * 1960: Arnold Palmer birdies the 72nd hole to win by one shot over Doug San ...

Florida Open The Florida Open is the Florida state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is now organized by the Florida State Golf Association (FSGA). It has been played annually since 1942 at a variety of courses around the ...

La Gorce Open The La Gorce Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1928 to 1931. It was held at the La Gorce Country Club in Miami Beach, Florida. Winners *1931 Gene Sarazen *1930 Bill Mehlhorn *1929 Horton Smith Horton Smith (May 22, 1908 – Oct ...

, Fort Myers Open,

North and South Open The North and South Open was one of the most prestigious professional golf tournaments in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. It was played at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, long the largest golf resort in the world, ...

Oregon Open The Oregon Open is the Oregon state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Pacific Northwest section of the PGA of America. The tournament was first played in 1905 and has been played annually ...

, Pasadena Open (December) *1930 (4) Central Florida Open, Savannah Open, Berkeley Open, Bay District Open *1931 (1)

St. Paul Open The Saint Paul Open Invitational, which played as the Saint Paul Open from 1930 to 1956, and as the Minnesota Golf Classic from 1966 to 1969, was a PGA Tour event played at Keller Golf Course in St. Paul, Minnesota from 1930–1966 and 1968, a ...

*1932 (1) National Capital City Open *1933 (1)

Miami International Four-Ball The Miami International Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1924 to 1954. It was played primarily at what is now the Miami Springs Golf and Country Club in Miami, Florida. It was also played at the Miami Biltmore Golf Course in Co ...

(with

Paul Runyan Paul Scott Runyan (July 12, 1908 – March 17, 2002) was an American professional golfer. Among the world's best players in the mid-1930s, he won two PGA Championships, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Runyan was also a golf instruc ...

) *1934 (3)

, Grand Slam Open, California Open *1935 (3) Palm Springs Invitational,

Miami Biltmore Open The Coral Gables Open Invitational was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1931 to 1937 and 1959 to 1962. It was played at what is now the Miami Biltmore Golf Course in Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is ...

, Pasadena Open *1936 (2)

, Victoria Open *1937 (3)

Inverness Invitational Four-Ball The Inverness Invitational Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1935 to 1953. It was played at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Format The tournament featured an unusual team round robin format. From 1935 to 1951, the field co ...

(with Harry Cooper), Oklahoma Four-Ball (with Harry Cooper) *1941 (2) Florida West Coast Open,

Major championships are shown in bold. Source:

Other wins

''this list is probably incomplete'' *1929 French PGA Championship *1940

Massachusetts Open The Massachusetts Open is the Massachusetts state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by Mass Golf (formerly the Massachusetts Golf Association). It has been played annually since 1905 (except for wa ...

*1948 Michigan PGA Championship *1954 Michigan Open

Major championships

Wins (2)

Results timeline

NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 43 (1927 U.S. Open – 1946 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)

References

External links

*
PGA of America Hall of Fame
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Horton American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of men's major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Golfers from Missouri Golfers from Detroit Sportspeople from Springfield, Missouri Deaths from cancer in Michigan Deaths from Hodgkin lymphoma Burials at Springfield National Cemetery 1908 births 1963 deaths