John Joseph Farrell (April 1, 1901 – June 14, 1988) was an American

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 pr ...

, best known for winning the U.S. Open in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

. Over the course of his career, he won 22

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

events.

Early life

Born in

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

, Farrell started as a

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is a companion to the player, providing both practical support and strategic guidance on the course. Caddies are responsible for carrying the player’s bag, managing clubs, and assisting with basic course maintena ...

and turned professional in 1922.

Professional career

At the 1928 U.S. Open, held at

Olympia Fields Country Club Olympia Fields Country Club is a private golf club in the Midwestern United States, central United States, located in Olympia Fields, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, about south of Chicago Loop, The Loop. It contains two eighteen-hole courses, N ...

near

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Farrell tied with amateur Bobby Jones, then a two-time champion, after the regulation 72 holes and won the 36-hole playoff by one stroke. Farrell was voted the 1927 and 1928 Best

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

Professional in the United States, after a winning streak of six consecutive tournaments, on his road to a total of 22 career

wins. He played for the United States in the first three

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

, 1929, and

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. Farrell was the head professional at the Quaker Ridge Golf Club in New York from 1919 to 1930. In 1931, Farrell played in his third

and also met and married Catherine Hush. In 1934, Farrell accepted the head professional job at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey. In 1948, the AP's Frank Eck reported that there had been, to that point, eight rounds as low as 62 posted in competitive golf, and that Farrell had been the first to do so, in the late 1920s, at the La Gorce Country Club course in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

Personal life

Farrell was married to Catherine. They had five children: Johnny, Jimmy, Billy, Peggy, and Cathy. The Farrell family dedicated itself to golf, becoming Golf Family of the Year in 1966. Billy Farrell played professional golf and is best known for being the first ever to hit the par-5 17th hole at Baltusrol's Lower Course in two shots, which he did during the 1967 U.S. Open. Farrell died in

Boynton Beach, Florida Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is situated about north of Miami. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded a population of 80,380. Boynton Beach is located in the Mi ...

after a stroke at age 87.

Awards and honors

Farrell was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2023 and was inducted in 2024.

Professional wins (27)

PGA Tour wins (22)

*1921 (1) Garden City Open *1922 (1)

Shawnee Open The Shawnee Open was a golf tournament that was first held in 1912. It was played at The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort in Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The course was completed in 1911, the first design by renowned architect A. W. ...

*1924 (1) Florida West Coast Open *1925 (2) Philadelphia Open Championship, Mid-South All Pro *1926 (4) Florida Central Competition, Florida Open,

, Mid-Winter Tournament *1927 (7) Metropolitan Open,

, Eastern Open Championship, Massachusetts Open, Pennsylvania Open Championship, Philadelphia Open Championship, Chicago Open Championship *1928 (2) La Gorce Open, U.S. Open *1930 (2) Pensacola Open Invitational, New York State Open *1931 (1) Pensacola Open Invitational *1936 (1) New Jersey Open Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins (5)

''Note: This list may be incomplete.'' *1925 Miami International Four-Ball (with Bobby Cruickshank) *1926 Westchester Open *1928 Miami International Four-Ball (with Gene Sarazen) *1940

Rhode Island Open The Rhode Island Open is the Rhode Island state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Rhode Island Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1929 at a variety of courses around the stat ...

*1941

Major championships

Wins (1)

¹ Defeated Bobby Jones in a 36-hole playoff – Farrell 70-73=143 (+1), Jones 73-71=144 (+2).

Results timeline

NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 18 (1919 PGA – 1928 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 6 (twice)

References

External links

Johnny Farrell website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Johnny American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from New Jersey Sportspeople from White Plains, New York Golfers from Westchester County, New York Sportspeople from Boynton Beach, Florida 1901 births 1988 deaths