| Leo Diegel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Diegel in 1932 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Leo Harvey Diegel | ||
| Nickname | Eagle | ||
| Born | (1899-04-20)April 20, 1899 | ||
| Died | May 5, 1951(1951-05-05) (aged 52) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 164 lb (74 kg; 11.7 st) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||
| Spouse | Violet Bird Diegel[1] (m.1934–1951, his death)[2] | ||
| Career | |||
| Turned professional | 1916 | ||
| Former tour | PGA Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 36 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| PGA Tour | 27 | ||
| Other | 8 | ||
| Best results in major championships (wins:2) | |||
| Masters Tournament | T16: 1934 | ||
| PGA Championship | Won:1928,1929 | ||
| U.S. Open | T2:1920 | ||
| The Open Championship | T2:1930 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Leo Harvey Diegel (April 20, 1899 – May 5, 1951) was an Americanprofessional golfer of the 1920s and early 1930s. He captured consecutivePGA Championships, played on the first fourRyder Cup teams, and is a member of theWorld Golf Hall of Fame.[3]
Born inGratiot Township,Wayne County, Michigan,[4] Diegel begancaddying at age ten[1] and won his first significant event at age 17, the 1916Michigan Open.
Diegel was a runner-up in his firstU.S. Open in1920, one stroke behind championTed Ray. He won 28PGA circuit events, and was a four-time winner of theCanadian Open (1924–25, 1928–29); a record for that event. In 1925, Diegel outperformed over 100 competitors to win the Florida Open (billed as the "Greatest Field Of Golfers Ever to Play in Florida") at the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club.
Diegel was selected for the first fourRyder Cup teams in1927,1929,1931, and1933. His greatest season was 1928, with wins at theCanadian Open and thematch playPGA Championship, where he stopped the four-year winning streak ofWalter Hagen. Diegel defeated him in the quarterfinal to avenge earlier defeats in the1925 quarterfinal and the1926 final.[5] Diegel achieved the rare feat of defending both titles successfully in 1929, this time defeating Hagen in the semifinals of the PGA. Diegel was a runner-up toBobby Jones at theBritish Open in1930.
Diegel was an excellent ball-striker, but struggled with his putting after joining the tour. After extensive experimentation, he eventually developed an unusual putting style where he pointed both elbows outwards; this was referred to as 'Diegeling'. He was a tour winner from 1920 to 1934, but dropped out of regular contention when he reached his mid-30s; a playful wrestling incident inAustralia in late 1934 with friendHarry Cooper caused nerve damage to his right shoulder and effectively ended his tour career.[6]
Diagnosed with throat andlung cancer in 1947, Diegel died at home inNorth Hollywood, California in 1951 at age 52;[1][7] he had taken a position there as a club professional after scaling back his Tour play. He was buried atMount Olivet Cemetery inDetroit,Michigan.[8]
Diegel was inducted into theWorld Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
Major championships are shown inbold.
Source:[9]
Note: The PGA Tour[10] andWorld Golf Hall of Fame[11] list Diegel with 28 official wins. The PGA Tour bookHistory of the PGA Tour lists 29 wins, and includes the 1925 Mid-Southern Amateur-Professional listed below.[12]
Note: This list may be incomplete.
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | PGA Championship | 6 & 5 |  Al Espinosa |
| 1929 | PGA Championship | 6 & 4 | Johnny Farrell |
Note: The PGA Championship wasmatch play until1958
| Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | T2 | T26 | 7 | T8 | T25 | 8 | T3 | T11 | T18 | T8 |
| The Open Championship | T25 | 3 | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | R32 | R32 | QF | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | NYF | T16 | T19 | |||||||
| U.S. Open | T11 | 3 | 4 | T17 | T17 | CUT | ||||
| The Open Championship | T2 | T3 | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | R16 | R32 | R32 | R32 | DNQ | DNQ | R64 | R32 | R32 | |
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 15 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| PGA Championship | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
| Totals | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 32 | 35 | 34 |
Leo Diegel in theRyder Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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