Albert Andrew Watrous (February 1, 1899 – December 3, 1983)Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014. was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1920s and 1930s.
Early life Watrous was born in Yonkers, New York, of Polish descent. He moved to Michigan at an early age.
Professional career Watrous played on the first two Ryder Cup teams in 1927 and 1929. Watrous was the club pro at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, for 37 years. Watrous had tremendous success in Michigan events, winning the Michigan PGA Championship nine times and the Michigan Open six times.
Watrous never won a major championship, but came very close in the 1926 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club. Playing with Bobby Jones in the final round, and tied with him, Watrous hit the green in two shots on the difficult par-4 17th hole, with Jones in trouble after his tee shot finished in sandy dunes and tall grass far left of the fairway. But from this very difficult position, Jones hit one of the greatest recovery shots in golf history from 175 yards, as his ball finished on the green nearer than Watrous', who three-putted, and finished second to Jones.
Watrous had much success as a senior. He won the PGA Seniors Championship three times after he turned 50.
Death Watrous died on December 3, 1983, in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Awards and honors On June 14, 1979, Watrous was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum In 1982, he was inducted with the charter class at the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame A collegiate golf tournament named in his honor, the Al Watrous Memorial Intercollegiate Invitational, was first played in 2009.
Professional wins PGA Tour wins (8) 1922 (1) Canadian Open 1925 (2) South Central Open, Corpus Christi Open 1927 (1) Michigan Open 1929 (1) Michigan Open 1932 (2) Mid-South Open (tie with Henry Picard and Al Houghton), Mid-South Bestball (with Tommy Armour) 1933 (1) Lakeland Open
Sources:
Other wins Note: This list is probably incomplete. 1922 Michigan PGA Championship 1924 Michigan PGA Championship 1926 Michigan Open 1930 Michigan Open 1932 Michigan PGA Championship 1936 Michigan PGA Championship 1938 Michigan PGA Championship 1939 Michigan PGA Championship 1941 Michigan PGA Championship 1943 Michigan Open 1949 Michigan Open 1952 Michigan PGA Championship 1954 Michigan PGA Championship
Senior wins 1950 PGA Seniors' Championship 1951 PGA Seniors' Championship 1953 Michigan PGA Senior Championship 1954 Michigan PGA Senior Championship 1956 Michigan PGA Senior Championship 1957 PGA Seniors' Championship, Michigan PGA Senior Championship, World Senior Championship 1961 Michigan PGA Senior Championship
Results in major championships Tournament192119221923192419251926192719281929U.S. Open3237T8WDT13WDT18T41T32The Open Championship2T8PGA ChampionshipR32R64R16R32R32R16SF
Tournament1930193119321933193419351936193719381939Masters TournamentNYFNYFNYFNYFT1134T297T2725U.S. OpenT17T15T35T13T14T33T32CUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipR16R32QFSFR32R16
Tournament1940194119421943194419451946194719481949Masters TournamentT2132NTNTNTT32U.S. OpenCUT52NTNTNTNTT43The Open ChampionshipNTNTNTNTNTNTPGA ChampionshipR32NTR64R64
Tournament1950195119521953195419551956195719581959Masters TournamentU.S. OpenT35The Open ChampionshipT42PGA ChampionshipR32R64R64R64
Tournament19601961Masters TournamentU.S. OpenCUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipCUT
NYF = tournament not yet founded NT = no tournament WD = withdrew 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 Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 1 4 9 9U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 1 7 22 17The Open Championship 0 1 0 1 2 2 3 3PGA Championship 0 0 2 3 7 14 21 20Totals 0 1 2 4 11 27 55 49 Most consecutive cuts made – 23 (1926 Open Championship – 1937 Masters) Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1929 Open Championship – 1929 PGA)
See also List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
References