Mungo Park Jr. (9 January 1877 – 12 February 1960) was a pioneer in South American golf and golf clubmaking. Park was also a successful golfer and golf course architect. He won the
Argentine Open
The Argentine Open or Abierto de la República or Abierto de Argentina is one of the oldest national golf open championships. First played in 1905, when it was called the Open Championship of the River Plate, it has featured numerous notable winn ...
three times, including the inaugural championship in 1905. He was part of the famous Park family from Musselburgh that won a total seven Open Championships in the 19th century.
Early years and family
Park was born in
Musselburgh
Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of .
History
The name Musselburgh is Ol ...
,
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 ...
(near
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
) on 9 January 1877.
His father,
Willie
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...
, was one of Scotland's top golfers, who won the first Open Championship in 1860 and Mungo (nicknamed Mungo Jr., although that was not his father's name) learned golf from childhood. Willie Park Sr. won three more Open Championships. His uncle,
Mungo, for whom Mungo "Jr." was named, also won the Open in 1874. His brother
Willie Park Jr
William Park Jr. (4 February 1864 – 22 May 1925) was a Scottish professional golfer. He won The Open Championship twice. Park was also a successful golf equipment maker and golf writer. In his later years, Park built a significant career as on ...
. was also an Open champion (1887 and 1889)
At age 19, in 1897, he went to New York, sailing on the
RMS ''Teutonic'', to open a branch of his brother's business but this only lasted one, or at most two, years as Mungo was advertising for a professional position for 1898. During his time in New York, he laid out the nine hole Dutchess Golf Club course at
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
in 1897 then began 1898 as the professional to the Dyker Meadow Club in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
He worked at Mount Anthony in
Bennington, Vermont
Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 ...
until the end of 1900, when he returned to Scotland to marry and take up the post of General Manager at Huntecombe, his brother Willie's enterprise in
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
.
Argentina
By 1903, Park went to Argentina where golf was not new, there were already six courses and an amateur championship had been contested since 1895, and served as a professional. He won the country's first
Argentine Open
The Argentine Open or Abierto de la República or Abierto de Argentina is one of the oldest national golf open championships. First played in 1905, when it was called the Open Championship of the River Plate, it has featured numerous notable winn ...
in 1905, a feat he repeated in 1907 and 1912, and laid out a course in Buenos Aires at San Andrés, in 1907. His wife, Grace, a formidable player over many years, was the country's first Ladies' Open champion.
[
]
Later years
Park was reported as "newly returned from South America" when he competed in the Scottish Professional Championship
The Scottish Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament which was open only for Scottish players. The final champion was John Higgins.
History
The Scottish Professional Championship was held in Edinburgh in Dece ...
in May 1914. In February 1915, he enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps and served as a private with the 73rd Field Ambulance in France until his discharge in May 1919.
After the war, he returned to Argentina and again to the United States in 1923 to complete the work done by Willie, now in failing health, at St Johnsbury Country Club in Vermont.
Although he spent that winter, and the next, in Argentina, Mungo remained in the United States until 1936 with spells as professional at rather eccentric resorts, including the Victorian castle run on Quaker principles at Lake Mohonk, New York, and the Castle Hot Springs resort in Arizona.
Golf course architect
He built many courses in Argentina, but many have disappeared. The most prestigious of the courses he had built is the San Andres Golf Club in 1907. The course remains active.
Family
Park married Grace Morrison in 1901. They had three children Mungo III, Catherine and Jack
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
. Grace was a useful golfer. In May 1902 she played for Scotland against Ireland and England in international matches at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club
Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club is an 18-hole links golf course in southeastern England, in the town of Deal in the County of Kent (the course is often known simply as "Deal").
Founded in 1892, its name derives from Deal's membership of an ancient ...
and reached the semi-final of the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship
The Women's Amateur Championship, previously known as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union. It is organised by The R&A, which merged with the Ladies' Golf Union in 2017. Until the dawn of the ...
the following week. She won the Argentine Ladies Open in 1904, 1909 and 1910. Catherine, known as Katie, was also a Scottish international golfer.[
]
Death
He died in Haddington, East Lothian
The Royal Burgh of Haddington ( sco, Haidintoun, gd, Baile Adainn) is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is ...
, Scotland on 12 February 1960.
Results in major championships
''Note: Park played only in The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
and U.S. Open.''
DNP = Did not play
CUT = Missed the cut
WD = Withdrew
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Mungo 02
Scottish male golfers
Golf course architects
Golfers from Musselburgh
Golf equipment manufacturers
Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers
Military personnel from East Lothian
British military personnel of World War I
Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Argentina
Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
1877 births
1960 deaths