In September 1913, a 20-year-old amateur named Francis Ouimet beat Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a playoff for the U.S. Open at Brookline. His caddie was 10 years old. It’s one of the best-known upsets in golf. What’s less known is where the two British stars went next. Vardon already had five Open Championships, and Ray was a pipe-smoking giant who could outdrive anyone alive. A London newspaper baron was paying for their American tour, and in October it reached Texas. Over three days they played exhibitions in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, and in Dallas two Texas amateurs took them all 18 holes before losing. In Episode 7 of Wise About Golf, Ken Wise follows the tour from the small parish on the island of Jersey where both men learned the game to the Texas courses where they played. One of those courses is still open to the public today. The episode shows how a single autumn of exhibitions helped Texas golf start catching up with the rest of the country.

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