Two giants of golf, George Knutson and George Lyon at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto

On my walk through Mt. Pleasant Cemetery today, I stumbled upon the resting places of two Canadian golf legends: George Knutson and George Seymour Lyon.

George Knutson made his mark on the world stage by finishing second in the 1969 Masters, just one stroke behind George Archer. And long before that, George S. Lyon etched his name in Olympic history by winning gold for Canada at the 1904 Games — at the remarkable age of 46 — defeating 19-year-old U.S. Amateur champion Chandler Egan.

It truly felt like a hole-in-one today, discovering and honouring these great Canadian athletes.

I had to pause for a moment when I noticed the grave monument in front of George Knutson’s plot bore the name McIlroy— no direct relation to Rory, but a fitting coincidence.