1923 Open Championship 'Bon Voyage To American Pros' Dinner Menu
Just two years prior, for the 1921 Open Championship, there was an effort made to increase the number of United States participants in the Open Championship and in-turn make a push to win the country's first Claret Jug. The Golf Monthly fundraiser which brought 12 top participants to The Open worked. On the RMS Aquitania was the eventual champion and recent US citizen Jock Hutchison. With the same idea in mind and effort to put more importance on the overseas Open Championship featuring top golfers from the United Kingdom, this dinner was the 'last supper' on American soil for the stateside 1923 Open Championship participants. From the Kirkwood family collection, this menu elegantly declared on the cover: 'A dinner given in honor of the American Golf Professionals leaving to compete in the British open Championships at Troon, Scotland.' Joe Kirkwood (from Australia) would actually lead the field after the first round on that Thursday morning with a 72 and while it wasn't a victory, with Englishman Arthur Havers taking the crown, the US had two members on the podium with Walter Hagen the runner-up and MacDonald Smith finishing third. This represents an exponentially difficult piece of Open Championship ephemera from over 100 years ago, saved by a contestant's family.
Kirkwood Family Collection
The same name and golf DNA, Joe Kirkwood Sr and Jr made history when both names were found above the cut like at the 1948 US Open. The Australian father and son found success no matter what they were doing, so that should come as no surprise. Born in 1897, Joe Kirkwood Sr. was the first from his country to win on the PGA Tour. It wasn't just once, but a lucky 13 times. A handful of top-5 major finishes, Kirkwood carved out a niche as a trick shot exhibitioner with his famous travels bringing him, with Walter Hagen, to Japan in 1930 - growing the sport there through exposure. Joe Kirkwood Jr. (b.1920) was also a victor on the PGA Tour, capturing three winner's trophies and even out-dueling Sam Snead at the 1951 Blue Ribbon Open. All the while the Hollywood actor Joe Kirkwood Jr. starred as boxer Joe Palooka in a popular film series, based off of the comic, from 1945-1951 and then again in 1954. These artifacts from the family tell the tale of Sr.'s travels and life through Jr.'s silver screen work. With thanks to Lark Kirkwood we offer The Kirkwood Family Collection.
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