Walter Hagen
Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. He was born in Rochester, New York, United States. His tally of eleven majors is 3rd behind Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. He won the U.S. Open twice and in 1922 he became the first American to win the British Open, which he went on to win four times in total. He also won the PGA Championship five times (1921, 24-27), the Western Open five times, totalled 44 PGA wins in his career, and was a six time Ryder Cup captain.
Hagen was also very skilled at baseball. He cancelled a tryout for the Philadelphia Phillies in order to play in a golf tournament. Later that week, Hagen was the U.S. Open Champion, and his career was changed forever.
Hagen was a key figure in the development of professional golf. He emerged in an era when the division between amateurs and professionals was often stark, with the amateurs having the upper hand in some sports, golf among them. This was especially true in the United Kingdom, which was the leading country in competitive golf when Hagen began his career. Golf professionals were often not allowed to partake of the facilities of the clubhouse and were sometimes not allowed to enter the clubhouse by the front door. On one occasion he hired a Rolls Royce to serve as his dressing room because he was refused entrance to the clubhouse dressing room. On another occasion he refused to enter a clubhouse to claim his prize because he had earlier been denied entrance.
Walter Hagen served as the first club professional at the now legendary Oakland Hills Country Club, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Hagen was a dashing and assertive character who raised the status of professional golfers and improved their earnings as well. He may have been the first sportsman to earn a million dollars in his career. He once stated that he "never wanted to be a millionaire, just to live like one". Hagen once expressed his creed in these words: "You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry. Don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way." Gene Sarazen, who was ten years Hagen's junior commented, "All the professionals ... should say a silent thanks to Walter Hagen each time they stretch a check between their fingers. It was Walter who made professional golf what it is."
Hagen died in Traverse City, Michigan at the age of 76. He now rests at the Holy Sepulchre Mausoleum, Southfield, Michigan, next to his grandson. At the time of his death, Hagen was well-respected. His pall bearers included some legendary sport figures, Arnold Palmer and George Morris.
Hagen's major victories were as follows:
- U.S. Open: 1914, 1919.
- British Open: 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929.
- PGA Championship:1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927.
He was past his peak by the time the other major, The Masters Tournament, was established, but finished T13, T15, T11 in 1934-1936.
There is some debate among golf historians as to whether Hagen should actually be credited with sixteen major championships. Hagen captured the Western Open five times (1916, '21, '26, '27, and '32) at a time when the Western Open was considered one of the premier events on the world golf schedule. (The concept of "four majors" wasn't initiated until Arnold Palmer's Masters and U. S. Open wins in 1960.) In Hagen's prime, the Masters had not yet been founded, and the Western Open (the championship of the Western Golf Association) was, by today's definition a "Major": one of four elite tournaments in which all of the top golfers in the world could be counted on to participate each year.
Hagen captained the United States in the first six Ryder Cups and played on the first five: 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933, and 1935.
Walter Hagen has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
PGA Tour wins (44)
- 1916 (3) Metropolitan Open, Shawnee Open, Western Open
- 1918 (1) North and South Open
- 1919 (2) U.S. Open, Metropolitan Open
- 1920 (3) Florida West Coast Open, Metropolitan Open, Bellevue C.C. Open
- 1921 (2) Western Open, PGA Championship
- 1922 (4) Deland Open Championship, Florida West Coast Open, White Sulphur Springs Open, British Open
- 1923 (5) Texas Open, Florida West Coast Open, Asheville-Biltmore Open Championship, North and South Open, Kansas Mid-Continent Pro Championship (tie with Joe Kirkwood, Sr.)
- 1924 (5) North and South Open, Metropolitan PGA, British Open, PGA Championship, Princess Anne C.C. Open
- 1925 (1) PGA Championship
- 1926 (4) Florida West Coast Open, Eastern Open Championship, Western Open, PGA Championship
- 1927 (2) Western Open, PGA Championship
- 1928 (1) British Open
- 1929 (4) Long Beach Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Leo Diegel), British Open, Great Lakes Open
- 1931 (2) Coral Gables Open, Canadian Open
- 1932 (2) Western Open, St. Louis Open
- 1933 (1) Tournament of the Gardens Open
- 1935 (1) Gasparilla Open-Tampa
- 1936 (1) Inverness Four-Ball (with Ky Laffoon)
Major championships are shown in bold.
Other wins
- 1915 Massachusetts Open, California State Open
- 1920 French Open
- 1924 Belgian Open
Major Championships
Wins (11)
| Year | Championship | 54 Holes | Winning Score | Margin | Runners Up |
| 1914 | U.S. Open | 2 shot lead | +2 (68-74-75-73=290) | 1 stroke |  Chick Evans
|
| 1919 | U.S. Open (2) | 5 shot deficit | +17 (78-73-75-75=301) | Playoff 1 | Mike Brady
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| 1921 | PGA Championship | N/A | 3 & 2 | 3 strokes |  Jim Barnes
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| 1922 | The Open Championship | 2 shot deficit | 76-73-79-72=300 | 1 stroke | Jim Barnes
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| 1924 | The Open Championship (2) | Tied for lead | 77-73-74-77=301 | 1 stroke | Ernest Whitcombe
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| 1924 | PGA Championship (2) | N/A | 2 up | 2 strokes | Jim Barnes
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| 1925 | PGA Championship (3) | N/A | 6 & 5 | 6 strokes | William Mehlhorn
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| 1926 | PGA Championship (4) | N/A | 5 & 3 | 5 strokes | Leo Diegel
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| 1927 | PGA Championship (5) | N/A | 1 up | 1 stroke | Joe Turnesa
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| 1928 | The Open Championship (3) | 75-73-72-72=292 | 2 strokes | Gene Sarazen
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| 1929 | The Open Championship (4) | 4 shot lead | 75-67-75-75=292 | 6 strokes | Johnny Farrell
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Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
1 Defeated Mike Brady in 18-hole playoff - Hagen (77), Brady (78)
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF |
| U.S. Open | T4 | 1 | T10 | 7 | NT | NT | 1 |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | T3 | NT | NT | DNP |
| Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF |
| U.S. Open | 11 | T2 | 5 | T18 | T4 | T5 | 7 | 6 | T4 | T19 |
| The Open Championship | T52 | T7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | DNP | T3 | DNP | 1 | 1 |
| PGA Championship | DNP | 1 | DNP | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | T5 | T3 |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | T13 | T15 | T11 | DNP | DNP | T33 |
| U.S. Open | T17 | T7 | 10 | T4 | T58 | 3 | T33 | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | T19 | DNP | DNP | DNP | T26 | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | T17 | T17 | DNP | T17 | T33 | DNP | DNP | DNP | T33 |
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 |
|---|---|---|
| The Masters | WD | WD |
| U.S. Open | DQ | DNP |
| The Open Championship | NT | NT |
| PGA Championship | T9 | DNP |
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
See also
- Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
- Golfers with most major championship wins
- Most wins in one PGA Tour event
External links
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1895 Horace Rawlins · 1896 James Foulis · 1897 Joe Lloyd · 1898 Fred Herd · 1899 Willie Smith · 1900 Harry Vardon · 1901 Willie Anderson · 1902 Laurie Auchterlonie · 1903-04-05 Willie Anderson · 1906 Alex Smith · 1907 Alec Ross · 1908 Fred McLeod · 1909 George Sargent · 1910 Alex Smith · 1911-12 John McDermott · 1913 Francis Ouimet · 1914 Walter Hagen · 1915 Jerome Travers · 1916 Chick Evans · 1917-18 Cancelled due to World War I · 1919 Walter Hagen · 1920 Ted Ray · 1921 Jim Barnes · 1922 Gene Sarazen · 1923 Bobby Jones · 1924 Cyril Walker · 1925 Willie Macfarlane · 1926 Bobby Jones · 1927 Tommy Armour · 1928 Johnny Farrell · 1929-30 Bobby Jones · 1931 Billy Burke · 1932 Gene Sarazen · 1933 Johnny Goodman · 1934 Olin Dutra · 1935 Sam Parks, Jr. · 1936 Tony Manero · 1937-38 Ralph Guldahl · 1939 Byron Nelson · 1940 Lawson Little · 1941 Craig Wood · 1942-45 Cancelled due to World War II · 1946 Lloyd Mangrum · 1947 Lew Worsham · 1948 Ben Hogan · 1949 Cary Middlecoff · 1950-51 Ben Hogan · 1952 Julius Boros · 1953 Ben Hogan · 1954 Ed Furgol · 1955 Jack Fleck · 1956 Cary Middlecoff · 1957 Dick Mayer · 1958 Tommy Bolt · 1959 Billy Casper · 1960 Arnold Palmer · 1961 Gene Littler · 1962 Jack Nicklaus · 1963 Julius Boros · 1964 Ken Venturi · 1965 Gary Player · 1966 Billy Casper · 1967 Jack Nicklaus · 1968 Lee Trevino · 1969 Orville Moody · 1970 Tony Jacklin · 1971 Lee Trevino · 1972 Jack Nicklaus · 1973 Johnny Miller · 1974 Hale Irwin · 1975 Lou Graham · 1976 Jerry Pate · 1977 Hubert Green · 1978 Andy North · 1979 Hale Irwin · 1980 Jack Nicklaus · 1981 David Graham · 1982 Tom Watson · 1983 Larry Nelson · 1984 Fuzzy Zoeller · 1985 Andy North · 1986 Raymond Floyd · 1987 Scott Simpson · 1988-89 Curtis Strange · 1990 Hale Irwin · 1991 Payne Stewart · 1992 Tom Kite · 1993 Lee Janzen · 1994 Ernie Els · 1995 Corey Pavin · 1996 Steve Jones · 1997 Ernie Els · 1998 Lee Janzen · 1999 Payne Stewart · 2000 Tiger Woods · 2001 Retief Goosen · 2002 Tiger Woods · 2003 Jim Furyk · 2004 Retief Goosen · 2005 Michael Campbell · 2006 Geoff Ogilvy · 2007 Ángel Cabrera · 2008 Tiger Woods · 2009 Lucas Glover · 2010 Graeme McDowell · 2011 Rory McIlroy · 2012 Webb Simpson · 2013 Justin Rose · 2014 Martin Kaymer · 2015 Jordan Spieth |
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Matchplay era |
References and suggested reading
- "The Walter Hagen Story: By The Haig, Himself", by Walter Hagen
- "Sir Walter And Mr. Jones: Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, And The Rise Of American Golf", by Stephen R. Lowe
- "Sir Walter: Walter Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf", by Tom Clavin
- "The Immortal Bobby: Bobby Jones and the Golden Age of Golf", by Ron Rapoport
- "The Grand Slam", by Mark Frost
- "The Eternal Summer : Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year", by Curt Sampson.
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