Stewart Orr Gardner^† (31 October 1878 – 12 April 1931) was a Scottish-American professional golfer who played in the late 19th and early 20th century. He had seven top-10 finishes in the U.S. Open. His best performance was a T2 finish in the 1902 U.S. Open. In 1924 he served as vice president at large 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 ...

Early life

Gardner was born on 31 October 1878 in

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O ope ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, the son of Robert Gardner and Agnes Gardner (née Snoddy) who were both born in

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 ...

. He grew to be a tall man, and had blue eyes and brown hair. He emigrated to the United States in 1899 and on 6 November 1919 he applied for, and was granted, U.S. citizenship. He registered for the draft during

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on 12 September 1918 but it is unknown whether he saw any combat since the war would be over only two months later. He occasionally took trips back to Scotland, presumably to visit his mother and other family members, but would then return to the U.S. One such trip was aboard the SS ''Cameronia'' which left

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 28 February 1914 and arrived in New York on 9 March 1914.

Golf career

Gardner was best known for a strong finish in the 1902 U.S. Open where he finished tied second with

Walter Travis Walter J. Travis (January 10, 1862 – July 31, 1927) was an American amateur golfer during the early 1900s. He was also a noted golf journalist and publisher, an innovator in all aspects of golf, a teacher, and golf course architect. Golfing ca ...

, but a distant six shots behind winner

Laurie Auchterlonie Lawrence Auchterlonie (8 December 1867 – 20 January 1948) was a Scottish professional golfer, a native of St Andrews. In 1902 U.S. Open (golf), 1902, representing the Glen View Club, he won the eighth U.S. Open (golf), U.S. Open at Garden City ...

. Gardner placed third in the 1903 U.S. Open and ninth in the 1900 U.S. Open. Gardner also finished fourth in the 1901 U.S. Open held at

Myopia Hunt Club Myopia Hunt Club is a foxhunting and private country club in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, northeast of Boston. In the early years of the U.S. Open, the club hosted it four times: 1898, 1901, 1905, and 1908. History Myopia Hunt Club was foun ...

. In 1901 the Myopia Hunt Club course played extraordinarily difficult; no players in the event broke 80. Gardner was one of the first of a large group of Scottish golf professionals to come to America around the turn of the 19th century. He arrived in the United States in 1899 and took his first position at Lenox, Massachusetts. He served as head professional at Garden City Golf Club on Long Island, New York, but his longest stint was a 10-year posting at Exmoor Country Club. In his prime, he won many tournaments between 1901 and 1904. In 1905 he was tied for the lead after the first day in the U.S. Open with

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but he had a third round 85 and eventually finished fifth. In 1909 he was runner-up in the

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 ...

, nine shots behind winner Willie Anderson. The Western Open was considered to be a major tournament in the early 20th century.

Death and legacy

By 1930 Gardner was single and rooming with the Alfred Stupple family in Highland Park, Illinois. Gardner died at his home in Highland Park on 12 April 1931 after a lingering illness at the age of 52. He is best remembered for a T2 finish in the 1902 U.S. Open. He was buried at North Shore Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

Results in major championships

''Note: Gardner played only in the U.S. Open.'' "T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

Notes

^† It is possible that Gardner's middle name might be "Owen" as shown on his draft registration card.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Stewart Scottish male golfers Scottish emigrants to the United States Golf administrators 1878 births 1931 deaths