Willie Campbell

Working as a caddie he caught the eye of Bob Ferguson and taught Willie the finer points of the game. Such was his faith he believed Willie would one day win the Open. His great moment came in 1886 when he was in a strong position playing the last nine holes at Musselburgh, but drove into Pandy bunker and took seven, losing the championship by two strokes.

He played his first big money match in 1884 winning by seven holes over Musselburgh and St Andrews. He then played a series of six matches against J.O.F. Morris in 1885-86 winning all but one.

He emigrated to the USA in March 1894, where he gained fame as an instructor and player. He lost the first unofficial US Open by two shots in 1894 to Willie Dunn.

That same year he became the first professional at the Country Club, Brookline Massachusetts. He established the foundations of its present course and planned other courses in the North East of America. His designs were very basic and completed in a matter of hours or days but he was among the earliest to design golf courses in America. He moved onto Myopia Hunt Club in 1896 and then, in 1897, he was put in charge of the public links at Franklin Park, Boston.

Willie’s wife, Georgina Campbell, was the first ladies golf professional in the USA. Mrs Campbell followed in her husband’s footsteps as instructress at Franklin Park in 1900; she had previously assisted him in the shop and in teaching the ladies. She also found time to instruct at Wellington Hill a spot adjoining the public links. It was nothing for her to be up at 6am and to teach until darkness fell.