26 Facts About Macdonald Smith

Macdonald "Mac" Smith was one of the top professional golfers in the world from about 1910 into the mid-1930s.

Macdonald Smith was a member of a famous Scottish golfing family.

Macdonald Smith won 25 official events on the PGA Tour, and placed in the top ten of major championships a total of 17 times.

Macdonald Smith emigrated to the United States on March 8,1908, at age 17 to seek better golfing opportunities, which he eventually found in America.

Macdonald Smith applied for, and was granted, American citizenship on July 31,1918, from the Superior Court of San Diego County, California.

Related searches

Macdonald Smith was the club professional at the country club in Del Monte, California, where future two-time major champion Olin Dutra and his brother Mortie started as caddies.

Early in his career, Macdonald Smith was in a three-man playoff at the US Open in 1910 won by his brother Alex; John McDermott finished second and Macdonald Smith finished third.

Macdonald Smith won 25 times on the early PGA Tour, with his five wins in 1926 marking his peak season.

Macdonald Smith finished in the top ten at modern majors 17 times, including three second-place finishes: at the US Open in 1930 and The Open Championship in 1930 and 1932, both in England.

Macdonald Smith scored four more wins in significant US tournaments, between 1912 and 1926, all of which came in events later classified as PGA Tour events.

Macdonald Smith suffered a heartbreaking near-miss at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland in the 1925 Open Championship, when he was the 54-hole leader.

Macdonald Smith shot a disappointing 82 in the final round and finished three strokes back, in fourth place; Jim Barnes won.

Macdonald Smith related to the teacher and author Harvey Penick an unfortunate story about another near-miss in an Open Championship.

Macdonald Smith was leading at lunch on the final day, with 18 holes to play.

Macdonald Smith's majors were primarily the two Opens; he never entered the PGA Championship, then a match play competition, and played in just one Masters Tournament, the first in 1934.

Macdonald Smith won the Western Open three times, in 1912,1925, and 1933, when it was a prestigious tournament rivaling the majors in stature.

Macdonald Smith won the 1925 North and South Open, which during this era was considered a major by many.

Macdonald Smith had a near decade-long dry spell, between 1915 and 1923, without winning a tournament.

Macdonald Smith employed a strong grip, with both hands turned more to the right on the club, which produced a draw on the majority of his full shots.

Macdonald Smith had a 25-season span between his first and last PGA Tour wins, and only four players have longer spans: Sam Snead, Phil Mickelson, Raymond Floyd, and Davis Love III; all four of those players are in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Macdonald Smith became the resident golf professional at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, California, from 1934 to 1949.

Macdonald Smith won a PGA Tour event, the Oakmont Open, there in 1935.

Macdonald Smith continued to play a few PGA Tour events per season into the early 1940s.

Macdonald Smith was playing with Babe Didrikson at Oakmont when she scored her first hole in one in 1936.

Macdonald Smith died of a heart attack on August 31,1949, in Glendale, California.

Related searches

Macdonald Smith is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time who never won a major championship.