George Seymour LYON

George Lyon came to golf very late, preferring more athletic pursuits. His first love was cricket and in 1894 he made 234 not out, at the time a world record. He took up golf when he was 37-years-old but quickly became the top amateur in Canada. He won the Canadian Amateur Championship in 1898 and would win that title eight times eventually. He lost in the final of the 1906 US Amateur, in 1908 went to the semi-finals of the British Amateur, and was 10-time Canadian Senior Champion between 1918-32. His athletic ability served him well for he was known for his unorthodox swing. His business career was in insurance and he served in the Canadian military with Queen’s Own Rifles, serving at the Metis uprising in 1885. Lyon served as President of the Royal Canadian Golf Association in 1923. He is still remembered by the George S. Lyon Championship, a team competition held by the Golf Association of Ontario at Toronto area courses.