Sandy Herd

Alexander "Sandy" Herd (24 April 1868 – 18 February 1944) was a Scottish professional golfer from St Andrews. He won The Open Championship in 1902 at Hoylake.[1]

This article is about the Scottish golfer. For the Scottish football player, see Sandy Herd (footballer).

Sandy Herd
Herd c. 1920
Personal information
Full nameAlexander Herd
NicknameSandy
Born(1868-04-24)24 April 1868
St Andrews, Scotland
Died18 February 1944(1944-02-18) (aged 75)
London, England
Nationality Scotland
Children2 sons, 4 daughters[1]
Career
StatusProfessional
Professional wins11
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipWon: 1902

Early life

Born in St Andrews, Scotland, on 24 April 1868,[2] to a golfing family, Herd had brothers who were also golf professionals.

Golf career

Herd was the club professional at Huddersfield Golf Club from 1892 to 1911. He won The Open Championship in 1902 at Hoylake.[1][3] Herd had a three-shot lead after 54 holes, but nearly let the title slip out of his hands by scoring an 81 in the final round. Harry Vardon and James Braid both had medium length putts at the final hole to force a playoff, but they missed and Herd took the Championship.

Herd was the first Open Champion to use the Haskell rubber-cored ball. In 1920, he became the oldest runner-up in The Open at age 52, which stood for 89 years, until Tom Watson (age 59) in 2009. Herd's appearances in the championship spanned fifty years, the last at age 71 at St Andrews in 1939, but failed to advance from qualifying. He last played in The Open six years earlier in 1933, but twisted an ankle during the first round and had to withdraw;[4] he last made the cut in 1927 and tied for tenth.

Herd's brother Fred won the U.S. Open in 1898.

Herd also got involved in golf course architect and worked with Alister MacKenzie to create Wakefield Golf Clubs 18-hole course.

Death

Following an operation, Herd died of pneumonia at age 75 in London in 1944.[1]

Tournament wins
Note: This list may be incomplete

Major championships are shown in bold.

Major championships
Sandy Herd c. 1900

Wins (1)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
1902The Open Championship3 shot lead77-76-73-81=3071 stroke James Braid, Harry Vardon

Results timeline
Tournament 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
The Open Championship WD 8 T15
Tournament 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
The Open Championship 13 T2 3 8 2 5 5 T17 T16
Tournament 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
The Open Championship T10 5 1 4 9 15 T19 12 4 T8
Tournament 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
The Open Championship 2 T3 6 T11 T29 NT NT NT NT NT
Tournament 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
The Open Championship 2 T6 T32 T22 T13 T14 T21 T10 CUT CUT
Tournament 1930 1931 1932 1933
The Open Championship WD

Note: Herd only played in The Open Championship

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

References
  1. "Obituary – Sandy Herd – Noted Scottish Golfer". Glasgow Herald. 19 February 1944. p. 5.
  2. "Births in the United District of St Andrews and St Leonards in the City of Fife". Statutory Births 453/00 0068. ScotlandsPeople. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  3. "1902 Sandy Herd". The Open. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  4. "Hagen sets the pace". Glasgow Herald. 6 July 1933. p. 11.
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