Legacy
Although McDermott was the first American U.S. Open champion, it is Francis Ouimet's 1913 U.S. Open victory that is most often cited as the key event that sparked widespread interest in golf in the United States. Ouimet won a three-man playoff against Vardon and Ray (widely regarded as the best golfers in the world at the time), and this led to a dramatic rise in Americans' interest in golf. McDermott, along with Ouimet and Walter Hagen, all three of whom were born between 1891 and 1893, represented the new wave of American-born golf talent. The three showed they could compete on even terms with the best players in the world, and American dominance of golf would be established by the early 1920s, assisted by stars like Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones.
Golf historian Robert Sommers wrote that, if not for his illness, McDermott could have been the greatest of them all.
Read more about this topic: John Mc Dermott (golfer)
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)