William Davis

William Frederick Davis (1861–1902) was a Scottish professional golfer who designed two of the five charter clubs of the United States Golf Association (USGA) , Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and Newport Country Club. At the time of his death in 1902, Davis was credited as being the first individual to have come to America to make a professional living as a golfer. He was also remembered as leading the movement to establish a championship tournament for professionals.

Career According to a 1900 U.S. census, Once his application for employment at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada was accepted,

The success of Shinnecock established Davis' reputation as a golf course designer. It opened the door for him to make his way to Rhode Island where he laid out the course at Newport Country Club in 1894. One writer applauded Davis' work at Newport and proclaimed "what was last year but an unexplored swamp is now one of the finest golf links in this country." That same year, Davis laid out a golf course for the Point Judith Country Club in Narragansett. Davis spent several years at Newport and had a brief stint as the winter professional for the Washington Golf Club where he was hired for the winter season in December 1898. After a disagreement at Newport, Davis was wooed away by The Apawamis Club, becoming one of its earliest resident pros.

Following an offer in the fall of 1899 to join the newly constructed Rye country club, Davis began almost immediately. One of his first projects was working with golf committee member Maturin Ballou to improve drainage for the links in November 1899. By July 1900, Davis had made some changes to the Apawamis course that Tom Bendelow had originally laid out. Davis shortened several of Bendelow's holes but also increased the ninth hole in length to 600 yards. The resulting total yardage was 6205. Names of the holes included Fairview, Waterloo and Consolation. At that time, Davis held a record score of 78 that even famed British golfer Harry Vardon could not best.

Tournaments As a resident professional, Davis participated in many tournaments including those that took place on courses he had a hand in designing. He was regularly considered a top contender in any field along the likes of Willie Dunn, Willie Campbell and others. The first U.S. Open, held on Friday, October 4, 1895, was played on the Newport course Davis had designed and Davis placed fifth. Davis' assistant Horace Rawlins won the inaugural U.S. Open title, two strokes ahead of Dunn, the runner-up.

Davis' proudest accomplishment was defeating two-time Open Champion Willie Park, Jr. in 1895. Their combined efforts would not bear fruit until 1906 after Davis' death. The result was the Eastern Professional Golfers Association. Low would be the organization's first president.

Personal life and death Davis and his wife Mary