José Jurado (1899–1971) was a professional golfer in the sport’s Golden Age. Born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, he was the first Argentine to travel to major international championships and is thus often credited as the “Father of Argentine Professional Golf” or the “Godfather of Argentinean Golf.” He is perhaps best known for his losing stroke to

Tommy Armour Thomas Dickson Armour (24 September 1896 – 11 September 1968) was a Scottish-American professional golfer. He was nicknamed The Silver Scot. He was the winner of three of golf's major championships: 1927 U.S. Open, 1930 PGA, and 1931 Open C ...

at the 1931 Open Championship at

Carnoustie Carnoustie (; sco, Carnoustie, gd, Càrn Ùstaidh) is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the 2011 census, Carnoustie had a population of 1 ...

. Jurado was personal friends with the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, who was reportedly enraged by his double bogey that lost him the championship.

Career

Jurado began his career as a caddie at The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. At the age of 21, he won his first of seven championships at the Argentine Open, and was also a seven-time winner of the

Argentine PGA Championship The Argentine PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Argentina since 1920. It was generally supported by the leading Argentine golfers and its list of champions includes Eduardo Romero (8 times), José Jurado (7 times), Vicente Fernández ...

. In 1932, Jurado traveled to the US, justifying these journeys as the only way to progress his skill as a professional golfer. After studying the operations of the American PGA, he undertook the organization of the AAPG (Asociación Argentina de Profesionales de Golf). Jurado also recruited international golf figures to teach Argentine enthusiasts the emerging and popular American-style swing. In 1931 he won an exhibition match against Aubrey Boomer in France. Jurado finished in the top ten in four majors: T8 at the British Open in 1926, T6 in the British Open in 1928, 2nd in the British Open in 1931 and 6th in the U.S. Open in 1932.

In literature

Jurado is referenced in ''The Book of Golfers: A Biographical History of the Royal & Ancient Game'', by Daniel Wexler. The book is an encyclopedia of the most important golfers since the 15th century, and in it Jurado is described as “... a golfing pioneer in the truest sense, for while early British professionals ventured out to parts unknown with the psychological might of the world’s biggest empire (both golfing and otherwise) behind them, Jurado traveled thousands of miles to challenge the British golf monolith on its own turf.” Jurado is also referenced in the 2005 biography ''Sir Walter: Walter Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf'', by Thomas Clavin. The biography details the life and career of Walter Hagen, who won eleven major professional golf tournaments over his career. In the book, Jurado is described as having “demonstrated the

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

” to a group of 1933 Ryder Cup golfers at a dancehall in Southport, UK. Jurado, who was there for the British Open, apparently “won the (dance) contest”.Clavin, Thomas. Sir Walter: Water Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf. Simon and Schuster, 2005

Tournament wins

:''this list may be incomplete'' :''all tournaments in Argentina'' *1920 Argentine Open *1921

*1922

*1924 Argentine Open, South Open *1925 Argentine Open,

, South Open *1927 Argentine Open,

*1928 Argentine Open,

*1929 Argentine Open,

, Center Open *1931 Argentine Open *1932 South Open *1933 South Open *1936 Center Open *1937

*1938 Palermo Masters

Results in major championships

''Note: Jurado never played in the Masters Tournament nor the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

.''
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

* Great Britain–Argentina Professional Match (representing Argentina): 1939 (captain)

References