Johnny Farrell

Golfer

• Born: April 4, 1901
• Birthplace: White Plains, New York
• Died: June 14, 1988
• Place of death: Boynton Beach, Florida

Sport: Golf

Early Life

Johnny Joseph Farrell was born in White Plains, New York, on April 1, 1901. He acquired an interest in golf as a teenager when he saw the first tournament ever run by the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA), held at the Siwanoy Country Club in New York. Johnny found tournament play exciting and immediately decided to become a professional golfer. He embarked devotedly on a training program that enabled him to master all aspects of golf. He secured a job as a caddy at the Westchester Golf Club and acquired a thorough knowledge of this and other New York courses. By the time he was twenty years old, Johnny was ready to commit to playing professionally.

The Road to Excellence

Johnny quickly demonstrated that he was capable of competing with the best professionals. In the 1922 U.S. Open, he finished eleventh, a good showing for a newcomer. In that tournament, he encountered a situation that plagued him throughout his golf career. Although an outstanding player, he was often upstaged by even better golfers. In the 1922 Open, his playing partner was another newcomer, Gene Sarazen, who astonished the golf world by winning the tournament. Sarazen, one of the greatest golfers of all time, was, however, not the most formidable obstacle standing in Johnny’s way.

During the 1920’s, golf was dominated by Bobby Jones. Although a number of other great golfers, such as Sarazen, Walter Hagen, and Tommy Armour, achieved enviable records during this decade, Jones was far and away the best. A lifelong amateur, he was ineligible to play in professional ranks. That was fortunate for the professionals, because Jones finished at or near the top of nearly every major tournament he entered. Most likely, Johnny Farrell would have achieved more had he not been faced with Jones during much of his career.

Johnny’s golf game had both strengths and weaknesses. Although not an exceptionally long hitter from the tee, he was an excellent wood player. Even more important was his putting. In a par round of 72 shots, 36 strokes, or 2 per green, are allowed for putts. A golfer who excels at this “game within the game” is in a good position to better par, and the winner of a tournament often turns out to be a golfer on a streak of excellent putting. Few golfers of the 1920’s, perhaps only Jones and Hagen, could match Johnny in this vital area. Against these many strengths stood an important weakness. Johnny was highly temperamental; frequently, he failed to perform well under pressure. Although his swing was easy and effortless, he required a great deal of time before each shot to calm himself. As a result, he was one of golf’s slowest players.

The Emerging Champion

In spite of his problematic temperament, Johnny’s skill and determination enabled him to acquit himself creditably on the course. In 1927, he won six tournaments in succession. In the 1927 PGA Championship, he seemed well on the way to victory. At that time, the PGA was a match play event, and Johnny’s opponent in the final was the great Hagen. Except for his comparable putting excellence, Hagen’s game was opposite to Johnny’s. Hagen’s swing was choppy, while Johnny’s was smooth and elegant. Hagen was a master of psychological tactics and the best match player in golf. He almost always played at his best under pressure. At the end of the morning, Johnny was up by four strokes, normally a commanding lead. The players then broke for lunch; when play resumed, Hagen pulled out all the stops. The cunning tactician proved too much for the perpetually nervous Johnny, and Hagen, overcoming Johnny’s lead, took the title.

Johnny refused to be discouraged by losing a major championship that was within his grasp. In the 1928 U.S. Open, he tied for first. After the first three rounds, Jones held his usual secure lock on the lead. Jones proceeded to suffer a rare slump and finished with a poor 77. Johnny had an excellent last round and managed to tie Jones. The winner of the tournament was decided by a 36-hole playoff. Johnny had the task of defeating the greatest golfer of the era in one-on-one play. Johnny demonstrated his niche among golf’s outstanding players, turning in an excellent first round of 70, while Jones continued on his slump. Jones’s poor play ended as suddenly as it had begun, and in the final 18 holes, he was clearly back in form. Johnny saw his first-round lead nearly erased. This time, Johnny overcame his unsteady nerves. He birdied the seventeenth hole and repeated the feat on the eighteenth, sinking a 7-foot putt. That enabled him to win the U.S. Open by one stroke. After Johnny’s formidable achievement, many predicted that he would become Jones’s successor as the game’s premier player.

Continuing the Story

Although Johnny retained his smooth swing to the end of his career, his nervousness and poor health prevented him from reaching supremacy. He never again won a major title after his 1928 victory in the U.S. Open. He did, however, remain one of the top players on the circuit for many years. He finished in the top five in the U.S. Open on three occasions aside from his 1928 victory. He was once runner-up in the British Open, and he scored a number of high finishes in the PGA Championship, in which he played every year from 1922 to 1937. Johnny’s smooth swing stood him in good stead, enabling him to play outstanding golf many more years than most of his contemporaries. During his years on the tour, the dapper Irishman was acclaimed golf’s best-dressed player. He died on June 14, 1988, in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Summary

Johnny Farrell was entranced by golf as a youngster. He intended to become a professional golfer after he viewed his first tournament and joined the tour while barely out of his teens. He won recognition almost at once. He was an excellent putter and wood player, and his smooth swing attracted widespread admiration. He defeated the greatest golfer of the 1920’s, Bobby Jones, to win the 1928 U.S. Open. He had a number of other successes, but poor nerves and intense competition kept him from additional major titles.

Bibliography

Golf Magazine’s Encyclopedia of Golf: The Complete Reference. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.

Rapoport, Ron. The Immortal Bobby: Bobby Jones and the Golden Age of Golf. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2005.