Charles Ross "Sandy" Somerville (May 4, 1903 – May 17, 1991) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 and all-around athlete. Somerville was born in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

. He won six

Canadian Amateur Championship The Canadian Amateur Championship, begun in 1895, is the men's amateur golf championship of Canada. It is staged annually by Golf Canada. It was played at match play until 1968, went to stroke play beginning in 1969, and reverted to match play in 1 ...

golf titles between 1926 and 1937, and in 1932 became the first Canadian to win 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 ...

. He was selected by the

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

as Canada's

athlete of the year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participat ...

for 1932, and in 1950 was picked as Canada's top golfer of the first half of the 20th century. While at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, Somerville played for three years for the Varsity Blues football team and

Varsity Blues men's ice hockey team The Toronto Varsity Blues men's ice hockey team is an ice hockey team operated by the Varsity Blues athletics program of the University of Toronto. They are members of the Ontario University Athletics conference and compete in U Sports. The Varsi ...

(1921–24). He was also one of Canada's top

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players. Later, Somerville won three Canadian senior golf titles. and served as president of the

Royal Canadian Golf Association The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA), branded as Golf Canada, is the sports governing body, governing body of golf in Canada. Beginnings Golf Canada was founded on June 6, 1895, as the ''Canadian Golf Association'' at the Royal Ottawa Golf ...

in 1957. Somerville was inducted into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

(1955), the

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Canad ...

(1985), the

Canadian Golf Hall of Fame The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame covering the history of the game of golf in Canada, and celebrating the careers and accomplishments of the most significant contributors to the game in that country. Operated by ...

(1971), the U of T Sports Hall of Fame (1987) and the London (Ontario) Sports Hall of Fame (2002). He died at age 88 in 1991. The London Hunt Club, Somerville's home course for most of his life, has a room in its clubhouse honouring Somerville's golf achievements.

Tournament wins

* 1926

Canadian Amateur The Canadian Amateur Championship, begun in 1895, is the men's amateur golf championship of Canada. It is staged annually by Golf Canada. It was played at match play until 1968, went to stroke play beginning in 1969, and reverted to match play in 1 ...

* 1926 Manitoba Amateur * 1928

* 1930

* 1931

* 1932

* 1935

* 1937

* 1960 Canadian Senior Championship * 1961 Canadian Senior Championship * 1965 Canadian Senior Championship * 1966 Canadian Senior Championship Professional and amateur

majors Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989)Majors in is an American actor. He rose to prominence after starring in the independent feature film ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' (2019). In 2020, he garnered wider notice for portraying ...

shown in bold.

Major championships

Amateur wins (1)

Results timeline

''Note: As an amateur, Somerville did play in 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 ...

.''
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place Source for U.S. Amateur
USGA Championship Database
Source for 1933 British Open
www.opengolf.com
Source for 1933 British Amateur
The Glasgow Herald, June 23, 1933, pg. 20.
Source for 1934 & 1938 Masters

Source for 1935 British Amateur
The Glasgow Herald, May 21, 1935, pg. 3.
Source for 1938 British Amateur
The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1938, pg. 11.

External links

Silent Sandy, from Ontario Golf MagazineProfile at Canadian Golf Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerville, Sandy Canadian male golfers Amateur golfers Golfing people from Ontario Ridley College alumni Toronto Varsity Blues football players Toronto Varsity Blues ice hockey players Sportspeople from London, Ontario 1903 births 1991 deaths