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

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

, and the brother of golfer Harry Vardon, 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, and other placings were 1897 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake – 8th, 1902 at Hoylake – 5th, 1904 at

Royal St George's Golf Club The Royal St George's Golf Club is a golf club located in Sandwich, Kent, England. It is one of the courses on The Open Championship rota, and the only one in South East England. It has hosted 15 Open championships, the first in 1894 when it b ...

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

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

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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

Early life

Vardon was born at Grouville, 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 status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, 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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 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 t ...

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

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. 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,

(1895) * Coventry Golf Club,

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

(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 unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary 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 (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 August ...

(1907) * Meadow Lark Country Club,

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the List of cities and towns in Montana, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

(1920) * Stillwater Country Club, Stillwater, Minnesota (1924) - Vardon designed the original 9-hole course * Strathpeffer Spa Golf Club, Strathpeffer,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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

Falcon Heights, Minnesota Falcon Heights is a suburb of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul and a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,369 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It became a village on Apri ...

(1929) * White Bear Yacht Club, White Bear Lake, Minnesota - 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 (representing England): 1903, 1904 (tie), 1905 (tie), 1906 (winners), 1907 (winners), 1909 (winners), 1910 (winners)