Olin A. Dutra (January 17, 1901 – May 5, 1983) was an American
professional golfer who played on 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 ...
in the 1920s and 1930s. He won two
major titles, the
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
in
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...
and the
U.S. Open in
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...
, and was the first major champion born in the
western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...
.
Early life
Born in
Monterey, California,
Dutra was a descendant of early
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
settlers in California.
At age nine, he and his older brother Mortimer were introduced to
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 ...
as a caddies at the country club in
Del Monte, where the club professional was
Macdonald Smith.
For years, they woke up very early to practice golf before going to work. Early in his career, Dutra worked at a hardware store for five years.
Professional career
In 1923, Dutra resigned from a job at his father's hardware store to become a golf professional.
His best years as a golf professional were in the early 1930s, when he won his two majors
and played on the
1933 and
1935 Ryder Cup
The 5th Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey, a suburb northwest of New York City in Bergen County. The United States team won the competition by a score of 9–3 points to regain the cup.
The U.S. t ...
teams. In the 1932 PGA Championship in
St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, Dutra played 196 holes and finished an astounding 19-under-par. He was the medalist in the 36-hole qualifier
and won his five matches by comfortable margins (9 & 8, 5 & 3, 5 & 4, 3 & 2, and 4 & 3).
Dutra is best remembered for his performance at the
1934 U.S. Open at
Merion near
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. More than a year earlier, Dutra became afflicted with
amoebic dysentery
Amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is an infection of the intestines caused by a parasitic amoeba ''Entamoeba histolytica''. Amoebiasis can be present with no, mild, or severe symptoms. Symptoms may include lethargy, loss of weight, colonic u ...
, an often uncomfortable and painful intestinal infection. While traveling east from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, Dutra stopped in the
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 t ...
area to meet up with his brother Mortie, as both were entered in the Open, and began to feel very ill. He spent a short time in the hospital, casting doubt whether he could even play in the tournament. He resorted to unusual measures to cope with the infection, and lost close to off his , frame.
[ After the first two rounds, Dutra was eight strokes behind the leaders and in 18th place. On the eve of the 36-hole final day, he had an attack of dysentery, forcing him to snack on sugar cubes throughout the day. He was still able to shoot a 71-72, and held off 54-hole leader Gene Sarazen to win by a single stroke.][ (Mortie Dutra finished tied for 28th.)
Dutra began his career as a club pro in ]Fresno, California
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
at Fort Washington Country Club for several years and then was at Sunnyside Country Club for a year. He won his two majors as the pro at Brentwood Country Club in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, and moved over to Wilshire Country Club
Wilshire Country Club is an 18-hole private golf club on the West Coast of the United States, located in Los Angeles, California.
The club in Hancock Park was founded in 1919 and its Norman Macbeth-designed course opened the following year. So ...
in 1935. While at Brentwood in 1932, he gave Babe Didrickson a two-minute lesson before she played her "first" round of golf, shortly after the 1932 Olympics; her first tee shot was , outdriving her male playing partners. (It was later revealed she had previous golf experience.) Dutra later worked in Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
, then back in California in Avila Beach
Avila Beach (Spanish: ''Ávila'') is an unincorporated community in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, located on San Luis Obispo Bay about 160 miles (257 km) northwest of Los Angeles, and about south of San Francisco. The ...
and Watsonville. In 1966, Dutra was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame. He died after an extended illness at age 82 in Newman in Stanislaus County.[ Dutra and his wife Gladys are buried in the Hills Ferry Cemetery in Newman.
]
Professional wins
PGA Tour wins (10)
*1929 (1) National Orange Open
*1930 (2) Long Beach Open
The Long Beach Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It was held in Long Beach, California at the Virginia Country Club from 1926 to 1930 and at the Lakewood Country Club from 1949 to 1951.
In 1957 the Long Beach Open was a PGA Satellite Eve ...
(tie with Joe Kirkwood, Sr.), Southern California Pro
*1932 (3) Metropolitan Open
The Metropolitan Open is a golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. In the early 20th century it was one of the top events in the country and was retroactively given PGA Tour-level status.
History
The tournament has been ...
, North Shore Chicago Open, PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
*1934 (2) U.S. Open, Miami Biltmore Open
*1936 (2) Sunset Fields Open, True Temper Open
Other wins
*1922 Del Monte Match Play
*1930 Southern California PGA Championship
*1931 Southern California PGA Championship, California State Match Play, Pacific Southwest PGA
*1932 Southern California PGA Championship
*1933 Southern California PGA Championship
*1938 Southern California PGA Championship
*1940 Southern California PGA Championship, California State Open The California State Open is the California state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Southern California section of the PGA of America. It was first played in 1900 and has been played at a var ...
Major championships
Wins (2)
''The PGA Championship was match play
Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...
until 1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
.''
Results timeline
NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
DNQ = did not qualify for match play portion
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
References
External links
* – Looking back: 1934 U.S. Open
PGA Museum of Golf: Hall of Fame
– member profiles
*
– 1934 U.S. Open
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutra, Olin
American male golfers
PGA Tour golfers
Ryder Cup competitors for the United States
Winners of men's major golf championships
Golfers from California
Sportspeople from Monterey, California
People from Stanislaus County, California
1901 births
1983 deaths