Unveiling Old Tom Morris statue

Fife Today

Statue to golf legend Old Tom Morris unveiled in St Andrews overlooking the Old Course

Transcript

00:00You

00:30all agree that David Anna and our sculptor has truly captured the integrity and ethos

00:57of the Grand Old Man of Golf, a very proud St. Andrean. We're grateful to the local clubs

01:06and organisations and in particular charities like the Pilgrim Foundation, the Kinburn Charitable

01:14Trust and the RNA Town Fund for their generous support. And some 265 golfers from all around

01:25the world have contributed to the cost of this historic project. The broad tapestry of countries

01:33is impressive. All around the UK, France, Sweden, Hungary, Bermuda, Mauritius, Canada, USA, New

01:46Zealand and Australia. Thank you, Ron. What a special day it truly is. Tom Morris was a North

01:59Street boy, son of a weaver, who became the greatest golfer in the world and helped spread

02:05the game of golf. He was a legend in his own lifetime, who stood in high esteem with everyone

02:13from young working-class caddies, who saw him as one of their own, to royalty such as Prince

02:21Leopold, son of Queen Victoria. Tom did many remarkable things. For the St. Andrew's links,

02:32we look to Tom Morris. For the front nine of the old course, including many bunkers, we look to

02:42Tom Morris. For the first and 18th greens, Tom Morris. For the growth of the game in the 1800s,

02:50we look to the over 100 courses created by Tom. For tin cups and holes, top dressing the links

02:59with sand, time and again, we in St. Andrew's look to Tom Morris. Tom believed in golf for all

03:11and that is the spirit of St. Andrew's. He nurtured young golfers. One staff member of Tom's,

03:18James Fowlis Jr., won the US Open. Another, Bob Martin, won two Opens. Tom was a strong advocate

03:29of ladies golf and created the course for the St. Andrew's Ladies Golf Club in 1867.

03:37He was also the starter for the Scottish Ladies Amateur Championship in 1903.

03:45When we consider the creation of the Open, again, Tom Morris. A four-time Open champion,

03:53Tom is still the oldest winner of the Open and in 1862, he won it by 13 shots.

04:02That record still stands today. He is the only father ever to come second to their son at the

04:10Open. Tommy Morris, his son, won it four times as well. Off the course, a church elder at Holy

04:18Trinity and a family man, Tom was kind and friendly and helped caddies who had fallen on hard times.

04:27Tom said that golf saved his life, but it's us in golf who are indebted to Tom.

04:36For this exceptional life, we celebrate Tom Morris, the champion golfer. He simply was a man apart.

04:46Thank you and good afternoon. Tom Morris was not just a champion golfer or a colossus of golf

04:54who created numerous golf courses. He was my great-great-grandfather. Tom opened his shop

05:03in 1866 and it is the oldest golf shop in the world, being previously occupied by Philip

05:13Forgan and Daniel Brown. For a time, he lived in his flat upstairs and it has remained in the family

05:22ever since. His home is my home, my mother having left it to me in 1996. My grandfather,

05:32William Bruce Hunter, whom I never knew, shared stories of Tom being a caring, devoted family man.

05:41In later years, Tom loved being with his grandchildren and his dog, Silver, his five

05:48children having pre-deceased him. We are thus immensely proud of Tom. As Commodore Samford and

05:56Roger have stated, his golfing record is remarkable, but this sculpture of Tom is a reflection of the

06:05person that he was, a generous and kind citizen of St Andrews. Tom loved St Andrews, whether it

06:14was swimming every morning, which he did in the sea, or being a church elder at Holy Trinity.

06:21St Andrews meant everything to Tom and it is appropriate that this sculpture will forevermore

06:28look down upon his beloved links, his house and shop, the R&A which employed him for almost

06:36four decades, and the memorial to Hugh Lyon Playfair, his contemporary.

06:43Time on a countdown before Sheila undoes the ribbon. Ready? Five, four, three, two, one.

07:06So

07:28you

07:36do.

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