Bobby Cruickshank - the war hero who became one of Scottish golf's nearly men in United States

WHEN Colin Montgomerie talks of Lee Westwood becoming one of golf's nearly men if he does not win a major, the Scot speaks from experience as a runner-up five times in majors, including three near misses at the US Open.

However, Montgomerie is by no means the first Scot to suffers this fate. Bobby Cruickshank was one of many Scots golfers who made their way to America in the early part of last century in search of fame and fortune. He came within touching distance of winning a major, but although he recorded nine top-six finishes in golf's four main championships, the closest he came to the elusive big one was twice being runner-up at the US Open, in 1923 and 1932.

Cruickshank's was no ordinary life. From a poor childhood in Scotland in the last years of Queen Victoria's reign to rubbing shoulders with film stars like Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Douglas Fairbanks at Hollywood parties in the 1930s while becoming one of the world's top golfers amounts to quite a journey. Then add in his experience of the horrors of the Somme and Passchendaele with the trauma of seeing his brother blown to smithereens.

Cruickshank was born in 1894 in Grantown-on-Spey, and learned to play golf at the local course, where he also caddied. At this time, sporting estates in Strathspey were often let out to prosperous brewing and distilling families like the Haigs, Walkers and Ushers. These visitors also played golf and young Bobby would caddy for them.

This connection would lead in 1909 to a life-changing move to Edinburgh for Bobby and his younger brother John. Mrs Isabella Usher, of the brewing family, was a regular visitor to Strathspey and its golf courses. The boys made a very favourable impression on this widow, whose own child had died in infancy, and, recognising their potential, she offered Bobby's family the opportunity of a good education for the boys at her expense in the capital. As a result, in September 1909, Bobby and John moved to live with Mrs Usher as their guardian at 5 Murrayfield Avenue and began attending Daniel Stewart's College.

Despite Bobby's lack of stature (as an adult he was only 5ft 4in), he soon demonstrated prowess as a sportsman. He was a gifted athlete, and in his last year at school, 1912, he set a record in the 100 yards of 10.4 seconds, a mark not bettered until 1960 by future Scottish rugby international Sandy Hinshelwood. A week later, at the Inter Scholastic Games, he notched three titles, in the 100 yards, long jump and throwing the cricket ball, shared one in the high jump and set records in the 100 yards (10.4s) and cricket ball (104 yards 2ft 8in). The Evening News described his feats as "quite remarkable".

Meantime, his golf was progressing and at the Braid Hills course he met and established a lifelong friendship with Tommy Armour, who would go on to win three majors - the US Open, USPGA and The Open. The pair's enthusiasm for the game soared after they watched a series of exhibition matches involving the "greats" - Vardon, Braid and Taylor.

But the black spectre of the First World War put a brake on their ambitions. Bobby and brother John enlisted with the Seaforth Highlanders, while Tommy joined the tank corps. In 1974, Bobby gave an interview in which he recalled the horrors of those times. "The Battle of the Somme was my first experience under fire and I'll tell you I was sure wishing there was a way to get out and go home. I lost my brother John in 1917 in Ypres. The Germans put a barrage on us something awful. Shells were bursting everywhere, you could feel the damned cordite in your mouth. 78 out of our company of 110 were killed, including John. There had been thousands of shells and John was never found. Yet he had been as close to me as from here to that door."

Bobby sustained a leg wound in that same action and after convalescence back home returned to France in 1918. Within days he was captured and held at Arras. Who should he meet there but Sandy Armour, Tommy's older brother and himself a very accomplished golfer.

"Sandy had acute dysentery and I tried giving him all the liquids I could get. We would be burying the dead which was something we always wanted to get out of. They gave us schnapps and we went out to bury the dead. We would find a horse killed by a shell and we'd cut it up. I'd take meat back to Sandy who was awfully weak".

Bobby longed to escape and about a month before the Armistice he succeeded with the help of a local woman he had befriended. He then rejoined his regiment and saw out the war with distinction as Sergeant RA Cruickshank.

With the war over, Bobby resumed his playing friendship with Tommy Armour who had lost an eye in the war. This, said Bobby, was the key to Armour's success as an outstanding putter.

Bobby won the Edinburgh Corporation Coronation Cup over Braid Hills in 1919 and 1920, then the Edinburgh area's premier amateur tournament. He also represented Stewart's FP golf club with success in the famous Evening Dispatch Trophy and reached the third round of the 1920 British Amateur Championship at Muirfield.

With the success he was enjoying, Bobby began to entertain thoughts of becoming a professional in the USA, where golf was experiencing a boom, and Scots golfers had been at the forefront of it. Following in the footsteps of many of his compatriots, Bobby and wife Helen left Scotland for America in February 1921. He was then aged 26, and on arrival was another unknown Scottish golfer with high hopes and empty pockets. But he would go on to become a household name and, in 1967, would be elected to the American PGA Golf Hall of Fame. A report stated: "The Wee Scot played golf with glorious zest. Because he was so tiny and played with such cheerful gusto, he was the darling of the galleryites - they were the forerunners of Arnie's Army - they might have been known as Bobby's Brigade".

Bobby made his mark within a year of arriving in the USA, winning three tournaments - the St Joseph's Open, Missouri, the Syracuse Open and the New York State Open. The following year, he reached the semi-finals of the PGA Championship at Oakmont, then a matchplay event, where he lost to Gene Sarazen, the eventual winner.

But it was in 1923 he truly announced his arrival when he tied for the US Open with the great Bobby Jones, over Inwood, New York, after finishing with a pressure cooker birdie on the 72nd. In the 18-hole play-off, the pair were all square on the final tee when Bobby hooked his drive, paving the way for Jones' last-gasp win. That year he also again reached the semi-final of the PGA.

In 1929 he returned to Scotland to play in the Open at Muirfield. He brought over only two clubs, a niblick and a putter, and, for the rest, he said he "was going to go and see Jack White [the 1904 Open champion] at Gullane". He wore his Stewart's College tie in the second round and finished sixth.

In 1932, Bobby again finished runner up in the US Open, this time to Gene Sarazen, who played the final 28 holes in an amazing 100 strokes. It was his misfortune to be playing at a time when giants of the game like Jones, Hagan and Sarazen were at their peak.

Misfortune was also to strike at Bobby's attempt to win the 1934 US Open at Merion, Pennsylvania. Leading going into the 11th hole of the final round, his approach shot to the green headed for a pond but struck a rock and bounced on to the green. Overjoyed, Bobby threw his club in the air exclaiming "Thank you Lord!" only for it to clatter down on his head. This required several stitches and meant he played the final seven holes in five over par to finish third. Two years later, he tied for fourth at the Masters while in 1937 he again finished third in the US Open at Birmingham.

Although 1937 would be his last "top-three" finish in a major, he continued a successful tournament career until the early 50s, all the time combining it with a lucrative coaching career. When his competitive career was over, he took on a series of pro jobs across the country, before his death in 1975.

He lived his life without regret, and remained philosophical about his "near misses". He made this clear in the 1974 interview: "I've no regrets. We had our chance, that's the way the Lord makes it. I think things work out for the best. If you win, you win, if you don't, you don't. It's fate's work, you see."