Walter Egan

Walter Egan was the older cousin of the more renowned Chandler Egan. But Walter was quite a golfer in his own right. Egan first played in the U.S. Amateur in 1899, losing in the first round. In his next appearance he made it to the finals where he was slated to play Walter Travis. But the finals were postponed for a week due to the assassination of President McKinley. Egan, a Harvard student, had to return to Cambridge to take some exams, did not play for an entire week, and lost to Travis in the finals, 5 & 4. In that tournament, Egan played the new, wound Haskell ball, one of the first players to use the ball which quickly replaced the old gutta percha models. Walter Egan was frustrated by his cousin in many attempts to win major titles. But in 1903, Walter beat Chandler to win the Western Amateur championship. Walter Egan also lost in the finals of that event in 1902 and 1905 – to Chandler Egan. Egan eventually joined Chandler in Monterey, California, where they both played their golf at Cypress Point Golf Club.