Francis Ouimet Collection

No single person has had a greater impact on the game of golf in America than Francis Ouimet. Though gaining in popularity, golf was still a fringe sport until a 20 year old Francis Ouimet shocked the world by winning the 1913 US Open. It was front page news throughout the country. Ten years after Ouimet’s surprise victory, the number of golfers in the United States had tripled, and hundreds of new golf courses had been built. All it took was a largely unknown caddie from Brookline, Massachusetts defeating the greatest golfers in the world. 

Ouimet’s collection of golf medals, trophies, and memorabilia was acquired by the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund after Ouimet’s death in 1967. The collection has remained in the Ouimet Fund’s possession ever since. Many of these relics were displayed in the Francis Ouimet Museum that was in Weston, MA from 1984-2002, but have been sitting in storage ever since. Collectors often point to the dearth of quality Ouimet memorabilia in the collecting market. Well, with this auction, that’s about to change...

Now, approximately 50 years after it first took possession, the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund has chosen to auction its entire collection of Francis Ouimet medals and trophies. Francis Ouimet himself often said “…of all the things I have accomplished, I am proudest of the establishment of the Ouimet Scholarship Fund.” Money raised by this sale will go towards the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund’s primary objective - providing scholarships so that deserving young men and women who have worked at golf courses can obtain a college education.

Francis Ouimet’s 1910 The Country Club Cup's Medalist Winner's Trophy

This is the earliest known trophy won by Francis Ouimet, and a trophy he was quite fond of. This trophy, and the story of the tournament, are written about extensively by Ouimet in his autobiography, The Game of Golf. According to Ouimet, The Country Club Cup ranked next in importance to him behind the Massachusetts Amateur. Like many tournaments back then, there was a medalist winner for the qualifying portion of the tournament, and then a winner of the overall tournament. Ouimet and Buck Whittemore were tied for medalist honors, so they had a playoff for the Medal Prize after the conclusion of the tournament. Ouimet was victorious - resulting in this early victory in his career. And it happened at the very course that would make him famous just 3 years later. Francis Ouimet specifically references this trophy and its engraving in The Game of Golf. 10" diameter.