- Frederick Guthrie Tait
Frederick Guthrie Tait (
January 11 ,1870 -February 7 ,1900 ) was a Scottishsoldier andamateur golf er.Born in
Edinburgh , the third son of eminentphysicist and fanatical amateur golferPeter Guthrie Tait , Frederick was educated at theEdinburgh Academy andSedbergh School . He entered theRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst at the second attempt and is credited with introducing golf there. Tait joined the 2nd battalion, theLeinster regiment (109th foot) and then the 2nd battalion, theBlack Watch .Tait was an extremely powerful and long hitter of the ball. At
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews onJanuary 11 ,1893 , he hit the ball 250 yards, the ball then rolling on frozen ground and coming to rest 341 yards from thetee , thereby refuting his father's calculation that 190 yards was the maximum possible flight. Tait won theThe Amateur Championship twice (1896 and 1898), finished third inThe Open Championship twice (1896 and 1897) and was leading amateur in the same competition on six occasions.Tait was
killed in action atKoodoosberg during theSecond Boer War .Honours
*The
Freddie Tait Cup is awarded annually to the leading amateur in theSouth African Open .Bibliography
*cite journal | author=Darwin, B. | title=Memories of Freddie Tait | journal=The American Golfer | year=1933 selections reprinted in cite book | author=Price, C. (ed.) | year=1964 | title=The American golfer
*cite web | author=Durran, R.A. | year=2004 | title=Tait, Frederick Guthrie (1870–1900) | work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | publisher=Oxford University Press | url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36405 | accessdate=2006-06-26 ODNBsub
*cite book | author=Low, J.L. | title=F. G. Tait: A Record | year=1900
*cite book | author=Low, J.L (ed.) | title=Nisbet's Golf Yearbook | year=1909
*cite book | author=Ryde, P. (ed.) | title=Royal & Ancient Championship Records, 1860–1980 | year=1981
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