Thomas Alfred Vardon (11 October 1874 – 13 October 1938) was a

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf p ...

from

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

, and the brother of golfer

Harry Vardon Henry William Vardon (9 May 1870 – 20 March 1937) was a professional golfer from Jersey. He was a member of the Great Triumvirate with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. Vardon won The Open Championship a record six times, and also won the ...

, whom he sometimes played against professionally. From 1892 to 1909 he played in 18

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

s, finishing in the top-10 nine times. His best was a second-place finish to his brother Harry in 1903 at

Prestwick Prestwick ( gd, Preastabhaig) is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, an ...

, and other placings were 1897 at

Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a golf club in Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club. It received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of the Duke of ...

– 8th, 1902 at Hoylake – 5th, 1904 at

Royal St George's Golf Club The Royal St George's Golf Club located in Sandwich, Kent, England, is a golf club in the United Kingdom and one of the courses on The Open Championship rotation and is the only Open rota golf course to be located in South East England. It has ...

Sandwich, Kent Sandwich is a town and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, south-east England. It lies on the River Stour and has a population of 4,985. Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings, including ...

– 4th, 1907 at Hoylake – T3. Vardon tied for ninth place in the 1916 U.S. Open held June 29–30 at

Minikahda Club The Minikahda Club is a private country club in southwest Minneapolis, Minnesota. The club is located just west of Bde Maka Ska and is the oldest country club west of the Mississippi River. The clubhouse, which is situated on a high hill, overlo ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

. He continued playing professional golf for four decades and became the oldest competitor at the 1930 U.S. Open at

Interlachen Country Club The Interlachen Country Club is a private country club in Edina, Minnesota which has hosted several national golf tournaments, including the 1930 U.S. Open (golf), 1930 U.S. Open (won by Bobby Jones (golfer), Bobby Jones on his way to winning the ...

Early life

Vardon was born at

Grouville Grouville is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. The parish is around east of St Helier. The parish covers a surface area of 4,354 vergées (7.8 km²). The parish includes the south-east portion of the main island o ...

, Jersey, Channel Islands, to Philip George Vardon (1829–1914) and Elizabeth Augustine Bouchard (1837–1920). In 1894 he married Minnie Stevenson. They had two children, Stella F. Vardon and Leonard Harry Vardon. Vardon was the head professional at a number of golf clubs including Ilkley Golf Club from 1893 to 1900 and

. In 1909 Vardon emigrated to the United States, departing

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, aboard the SS ''Majestic'' on 16 June 1909 and arrived on 24 June 1909 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He had been given four months leave from Royal St George's to work at the

Onwentsia Club Onwentsia Club is an 18-hole golf course in the central United States, located in Lake Forest, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. Course history In Lake County, the par-71 course is from the back tees; it has a course rating of 72.8 with a s ...

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Fore ...

. This was part of a deal that allowed Vardon to enter that year's U.S. Open held at

Englewood Golf Club Englewood Golf Club was a private golf course in the eastern United States, located in Englewood and Leonia, New Jersey, just west of New York City. Opened as a nine-hole course in 1896, a second nine was added four years later; it hosted the U.S ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. He finished his career at White Bear Yacht Club, located at White Bear Lake in

, arriving in 1916 and remaining there until his death in 1938, although he retired on pension one year before his death.

Golf course architecture

Vardon was involved in golf course architecture, designing or helping with the design of 40 courses. Pamphlets that survived the clubhouse fire at White Bear Yacht Club in 1937 record that although the original golf course design was by William Watson, there was further development by Vardon and Donald Ross. Along with Robert W. Diehl, Vardon also wrote a how-to manual on golf, the ''Diehl-Vardon Golf Manual'' which was published in 1927 by the Western Golf Publishing Company.

Vardon designed courses

* Settle Golf Club,

Settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania * ''S ...

(1895) * Coventry Golf Club,

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

(1911) - Course design Vardon, bunkers laid out by his brother Harry * Kendal Golf Club,

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of t ...

- alterations to the original layout * Vardon Golf Club,

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

(1929) * Spooner Golf Club,

Spooner, Wisconsin Spooner is a city in Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,573 at the 2020 census. The city is located mostly within the southwest corner of the Town of Spooner, with a small portion extending into the Town of Beaver ...

(1930) * St. Augustines,

Cliffsend Cliffsend is a village (sometimes written, correctly, as Cliffs End) and civil parish situated almost west of Ramsgate, Kent, United Kingdom, in the Thanet local government district. Hengist and Horsa landed near here in 410AD, and St Augusti ...

(1907) * Meadow Lark Country Club,

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

(1920) * Stillwater Country Club,

Stillwater, Minnesota Stillwater is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Washington County. It is in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, on the west bank of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), St. Croix River, across from H ...

(1924) - Vardon designed the original 9-hole course * Strathpeffer Spa Golf Club, Strathpeffer,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

- added pot bunkers (1908) * University of Minnesota, Les Bolstad Golf Course,

Falcon Heights, Minnesota Falcon Heights is a suburb of Saint Paul and a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,321 at the 2010 census. It became a village in 1949 and a city in 1973. Falcon Heights is the home of the University of Minn ...

(1929) * White Bear Yacht Club,

White Bear Lake, Minnesota White Bear Lake is a city in Ramsey County in the state of Minnesota, United States. A small portion of the city also extends into Washington County. The population was 23,769 at the 2010 census. The city is located on White Bear Lake, one o ...

- Course design by William Watson, redevelopment by Vardon and Donald Ross * Southview Country Club, West St. Paul, Minnesota (1919) * Eau Claire Golf and Country Club (1928) - Tom Vardon and Charles H. Ramsdell.

Death

Vardon died on 13 October 1938 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Legacy

Vardon was posthumously inducted into the Minnesota PGA Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.

Results in major championships

''Note: Vardon only played in The Open Championship and the U.S. Open.''
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

England–Scotland Professional Match The England–Scotland Professional Match was an annual men's professional golf competition between teams representing England and Scotland. It was played from 1903 to the start of World War I and was then revived in 1932 and played until the star ...

(representing England): 1903, 1904 (tie), 1905 (tie), 1906 (winners), 1907 (winners), 1909 (winners), 1910 (winners)