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MysterySurrounds
Golf’s Olympic Medals
from 1900 & 1904
By
Ryan Ballengee, Golf News Net
Golf has been offered as a
sport in the modern Olympic
program just twice, the 1900
Games in Paris and four years
later in St. Louis, but few of
the gold medals awarded
remain in existence today.
In 1900, the Paris games
had two golf competitions,
a 36-hole stroke-play event
for men and a nine-hole
event for women. A total of
22 players from the United
States, France, Great Britain
and Greece competed.
Americans Charles Sands and
Margaret Abbott won their
respective events.
After the Olympics in 1900,
Colonel George McGrew,
founder and president of Glen
EchoCountryClub inSt. Louis,
announced his intention to
host a world championship
at his club, one of the finest
18-hole facilities in the U.S.
at the time. In 1903, St. Louis
landed the Olympics and
McGrew decided to turn his
world championship idea into
the Olympic golf tournament.
The 1904 Olympic golf
competition was held from
Sept. 16-24 at Glen Echo
Country Club. The current
U.S. Amateur Champion,
Chandler Egan led the
Americans to a win and the
Olympic gold medal in the
team portion of the event.
The individual match-play event
began with 77 players, 72 from
the U.S., three from Canada
and two from Great Britain, in
a 36-hole stroke-play qualifier.
Only 32 players moved on to
the match play bracket.
46-year-old Canadian, George
Lyon, who did not take up the
game until the age of 37, won
the 1904 St. Louis Olympics
by a 3 and 2 margin over U.S.
Amateur Champion, Egan.
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