It is hoped the recently reconsecrated Edinburgh gravesite of French champion, Arnaud Massy will become a focal point for those travelling to the Home of Golf.
That’s the view of those present last weekend to reconsecrate Massy’s resting place.
Massy was born in France in 1877 and in 1907 he became the first non-British player ever to capture the Open Championship in winning by two shots at Royal Liverpool.
However for nearly 10 years before his victory Massy had been honing his golfing skills at the famed North Berwick course to the east of Edinburgh.
A year earlier in 1906 Massy became the first-ever winner of the French Open at the La Boulie course and successfully defended his title a year later. He also captured the French Open in 1911 and 1925.
Champion French-born golfer Arnaud Massy and the first non-Brit to win The Open.
In 1910, he became the winner of the inaugural Belgian Open while in 1912, Massy was crowned the first-ever Spanish Open winner before again winning the tournament in 1927 and 1928.
The champion French golfer, who also captured the 1912 Monte Carlo Open, passed away aged 72 in 1950 in Etretat, France.
However it was only recently Massy’s grave was located in Newington Cementary in Edinburgh.
A service was held last weekend and attended by Pierrie-Alain Coffinier, the French Consul in Edinburgh, and a representative of the French Golf Federation.
Joining them were representatives of the R&A, the British Golf Collectors Society, the European Association of Golf Historians and Collectors as well as Douglas Seaton, the North Berwick golf historian who discovered the then unkempt grave, and Hugh Henderson, a great nephew of Massy.
Martin Dempster, writing in today’s edition of The Scotsman, spoke with Coffinier.
“Hopefully many golfers will come here as a pilgrimege,” said Coffinier.
“Arnaud Massy was one of golf’s biggest champions and we are very proud that he has been honoured with such a service in Scotland, where golf is at the core of its identity.”
On behalf of the French Golf Federation, Francois Illouz, who won the Scottish Open Stroke-Play Championship at Blairgowrie in 1989, paid a warm tribute to Massy, who also won the inaugural staging of his home Open in 1906.
“It is very emotional for me to be standing close to Arnaud Massy, who, without knowing it, wrote the golden letters of French golf history,” said Illouz.
“He felt more comfortable in Scotland [than he did in France] and now rests in peace here. I hope this burial site will now be visited by many golfers to give their tribute to the best French golfer of the 20th Century.”
Douglas Seaton, who discovered Massy’s gravesite, recalls:- Massy used a two-handed grip and an open stance. A powerful man, he was a long hitter and highly thought of as a cleek player. He had an unusual action, described as a ‘Pig Tail’ swing which was very upright with a curious flourish at the top.
Francois Illouz pays tribute to his countryman Arnaud Massy at his grave in Newington, Edinburgh. (Photo – Greg Macvean)
Massy played regularly with the best Scottish ‘cracks’, amateur and professional, until he gained the necessary experience to compete at the highest level. He entered his first Open Championship from Biarritz G.C in 1902, and finished tied for tenth place with Andrew Kirkaldy. This was the first time a foreign player had entered the Open Championship.
In 1903 he joined the PGA and listed his employment as assistant to Ben Sayers. That year he married North Berwick girl Janet Punton Henderson known as ‘Jinty’, daughter of Captain Henderson. Jinty worked as a Telephone Operator and her family lived in Harmony Cottage which was demolished to make way for 9 Forth Street.
In 1905 Massy entered the Open Championship at St. Andrews from North Berwick, when he finished in 5th place and received £ 7-10s.
The following year he won the inaugural French Open at La Boulie where he was later appointed professional, this was his first of a record four wins in the French Open. In 1907, Arnaud and his wife Jinty entertained a number of North Berwick pros at his club La Boulie, near Versailles about a dozen miles from Paris when they played in the French Open Championship that year. The group included Ben Sayers, Jack White, Ben Sayers Jnr. and Arthur Grant travelled from Biarritz. Despite the distraction Arnaud successfully retained the title with rounds of 77, 72, 74, 75 = 298. The winning of this event meant a good deal to Massy as he had an engagement hanging on the championship which would not have matured had he failed to win.
Massy finished in 6th place at the 1906 Open at Muirfield.
However the weather was appalling at Hoylake in 1907, but Massy had the game to combat the strong winds and torrential rain. His putting was steady and he used a driving-iron given to him by Andrew Kirkaldy to great effect. Massy led, or tied for the lead, throughout and scored 76, 81, 78, and 77, for an aggregate of 312, two stokes ahead of J.H. Taylor one of the best bad-weather players of them all.
The entry for the 1907 Open was over subscribed, and a qualifying round was introduced for the first time, which Massy also won. During the championship, his wife gave birth to a daughter, and he cut short his celebrations to return to Scotland. He arrived back in North Berwick accompanied by Ben Sayers and when news spread that the Champion was arriving at 3 o’clock, a large crowd gathered at the Railway Station.
A string-band in town for the summer season was hastily assembled, and an open top charabanc put at their disposal. As Massy alighted from the carriage he was greeted by his father-in-law Captain Henderson, who was Lloyds North Berwick agent, and he was escorted to his house by a band playing ‘See the Conquering Hero’.
