In late October, several GHS members visited Columbia CC in Chevy Chase, Md., site of the 1921 U.S. Open won by Jim Barnes. Second, tied with Walter Hagen, was local favorite Fred McLeod.
McLeod was a Scottish-American professional golfer who had a distinguished career in the United States, which included victory in the 1908 U.S. Open. He was born in Kirk Ports, North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland.
He was nicknamed “the wasp” by fellow professionals, apparently because of the sting his first-rate tournament play could impart to others. Among several other championships, McLeod won the U.S. Open in 1908 at Myopia Hunt Club in Massachusetts. He would compete in the U.S. Open 22 times and had eight top 10 finishes.
McLeod died in Washington, D.C., at the age of 94. He was buried at the last club where he had worked as a professional, the Columbia Country Club.
GHS players at Columbia CC included Col. Dick Johns (ret.), Dr. Bern Bernacki, current president of the GHS, Frank Cantrel Jr., Kathy Fitzpatrick, and Rob Rendely.
