Peter Joseph O'Hara (21 August 1885 – 11 April 1977) was an Irish-American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who played in the early-to-mid 20th century. His best major championship finishes were a fifth place tie in the

1920 PGA Championship The 1920 PGA Championship was the third PGA Championship, which is now considered one of golf's major championships. It was held August 17–21 at the Flossmoor Country Club outside Flossmoor, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago. The field of 32 ...

, a T7 finish in the 1924 U.S. Open, and a T8 result in the 1929 U.S. Open. He won the 1921 New Jersey Open and was a joint winner (with George Bowden) of the 1922

Houston Professional Golf The Houston Open was a golf tournament in Texas in the early years of the PGA Tour, played sporadically in Houston between 1922 and 1938. The last two editions were at par-71 River Oaks Country Club River Oaks Country Club is a country club in ...

tournament. O'Hara won the 1931 Western Pennsylvania Open Championship as well as the 1934 Bedford Open.

Early life

O'Hara was born in Greenore,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, in 1886. He emigrated to the United States on 7 April 1915 at age 27, sailing aboard the SS ''Cymric'' from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. He was the eldest of three brothers. His brothers Patrick and Jimmy were also golf professionals. Fellow Irish professional Pat Doyle was O'Hara's traveling companion aboard the ''Cymric'' which would find a watery grave just 13 months later on 8 May 1916 when it was sunk by a German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Golf career

Early career

In Ireland he was first engaged at the Greenore Golf Club at age 17 in 1903, a position he held until 1907. His next job was at Monkstown in Cork Harbour where he laid out a 9-hole course.

Emigration to the U.S.

After arrival in the U.S. in 1915, he first worked at Pittsburgh Field Golf Club from 1915–18. In late 1919, he took up a post at

Haworth Country Club The 18-hole private golf course at Haworth Country Club officially opened in 1965 is located in Haworth, New Jersey Haworth ( ) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's popul ...

in Haworth, New Jersey, and in 1920 was employed by Shackamaxon Country Club in

Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 201 ...

, where he joined forces with his brother Patrick. He remained at Shackamaxon until 1922. The two brothers were a tough pair to beat in four-ball matches on their home course as evidenced by a surprising 6 and 5 victory they had in 1920 over the highly favored duo of Harry Vardon and Ted Ray. O'Hara wasted no time getting his golf career going when he made a start in the 1915 U.S. Open at

Baltusrol Golf Club The Baltusrol Golf Club is a private 36-hole golf club in the eastern United States, located in Springfield, New Jersey, about west of New York City. It was founded in 1895 by Louis Keller. In 1985, Baltusrol became the first club to have ho ...

. He didn't play his best golf, shooting 85 and 79, and failed to make the cut. His results were better in the 1917

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...

where he finished tied for fifth behind

Jim Barnes James Martin Barnes (April 8, 1886 – May 24, 1966) was an English golfer and a leading figure in the early years of professional golf in the United States. He is one of three native Britons (with Tommy Armour and Rory McIlroy) to win three di ...

and

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger ...

. In the 1930 U.S. Open he finished tied for 11th place and at the time was professional at the Westmoreland Country Club in

Verona, Pennsylvania Verona is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is northeast of downtown Pittsburgh, along the left bank of the Allegheny River. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,474. History Verona was named by c ...

. O'Hara was known for not taking any backswing whatsoever on short putts. He would simply place his putter head about 3-4 inches behind the ball and hit the ball from that position.

1920 PGA Championship

In the

held at the Flossmore County Club, located south of Chicago, O'Hara got off to a good start with a 1 up victory over Pat Doyle in the first round. He rode that momentum into the second round and defeated Alex Cunningham by a convincing 5 and 4 margin. His upset bid in the third round was spoiled when he lost to George McLean in a closely contested match that wasn't decided until the 38th hole. His final position in the tournament was a tie for fifth place.

1924 U.S. Open

The 1924 U.S. Open was held 5–6 June at Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb northwest of

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 ...

. Cyril Walker, a relatively unknown Englishman, defeated defending champion Bobby Jones by three strokes at the South Course. O'Hara shot rounds of 76-79-74-76=305 (+18) and won $85, tying with

Abe Espinosa Abelard George "Abe" Espinsosa (February 9, 1889 – February 13, 1980) was an American professional golfer who is best known as the first Hispanic-American to win a significant professional championship. Born in Monterey, California, Espinosa wa ...

for seventh place.

1929 U.S. Open

The 1929 U.S. Open was held 27–30 June at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, a suburb northeast of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Bobby Jones won his third U.S. Open title in a 36-hole playoff, trouncing

Al Espinosa Abel Ruben "Al" Espinosa (March 24, 1891 – January 4, 1957) was an American professional golfer. Biography Espinosa was born on March 24, 1891 in Monterey, California. He was of Mexican American descent, and served in the U.S. Army in Worl ...

(brother of Abe Espinosa) by 23 strokes on the West Course. O'Hara played steady golf, carding rounds of 74-76-73-78=301 (+13), and won $300 in prize money. He finished tied for eighth place.

Death

O'Hara retired from Green Oaks Golf and Country Club (formerly Westmoreland Golf and Country Club) in 1948. He died on 11 April 1977, aged 91. Both he and his wife Hanora are interred in St. Joseph's Cemetery in

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is a city in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.New Jers ...

Tournament wins (4)

*1921 New Jersey Open *1922

(tie with George Bowden) *1931 Western Pennsylvania Open Championship *1934 Bedford Open

Results in major championships

''Note: O'Hara never played in the

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 ...

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 ...

.'' NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
CUT = Missed the half-way cut
? = Unknown
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
T = Tied for a place
Yellow background for top-10 Sources:

Note

Peter O'Hara is sometimes also known as Peter O'Hare.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OHara, Peter Irish male golfers American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Irish emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from County Louth 19th-century Irish people 20th-century Irish people 1885 births 1977 deaths