8. Francis Ouimet
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Dubbed the “father of amateur golf,” Ouimet taught himself to play golf using his brother’s clubs and balls that he found around a country club that he caddied at. In 1913, at 20 years young, Ouimet won the Massachusetts Amateur (he would go on to win that title five more times). In that same year, Ouimet was invited to play in the U.S. Open – held at the same course he grew up caddying. The match ended in a three-way tie. In an 18-hole playoff the next day, which was followed by the largest crowds ever seen in American golf, Ouimet upset Brits Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, which was national news. He was the first amateur to win the U.S. Open.
