| Walter Hagen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Hagen in 1914 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Walter Charles Hagen | ||
| Nickname | Sir Walter, The Haig | ||
| Born | (1892-12-21)December 21, 1892 Rochester, New York, U.S. | ||
| Died | October 6, 1969(1969-10-06) (aged 76) Traverse City, Michigan, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10.5 in (1.79 m) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||
| Spouse | Margaret Johnson (m. 1917–1921) Edna Crosby Straus (m. 1923–1937) | ||
| Children | 1 | ||
| Career | |||
| Turned professional | 1912 | ||
| Former tour | PGA Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 58 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| PGA Tour | 44 (9th all time) | ||
| Other | 14 | ||
| Best results in major championships (wins:11) | |||
| Masters Tournament | T11: 1936 | ||
| PGA Championship | Won:1921,1924,1925,1926,1927 | ||
| U.S. Open | Won:1914,1919 | ||
| The Open Championship | Won:1922,1924,1928,1929 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an Americanprofessional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century.[1] His tally of 11 professionalmajors is third behindJack Nicklaus (18) andTiger Woods (15). Known as the "father of professional golf," he brought publicity, prestige, big prize money, and lucrative endorsements to the sport.[2] Hagen is rated one of the greatest golfers ever.[3]
Hagen won theU.S. Open twice, and in1922 he became the first native-born American to winThe Open Championship, and won theClaret Jug three more times.[4] He also won thePGA Championship a record-tying five times (all inmatch play), and theWestern Open five times when it had near-major championship status. Hagen totaled 44 PGA wins in his career, and was a six-timeRyder Cup captain.
Born inRochester, New York, Hagen came from a working-class family ofGerman descent. His parents were William and Louisa (Boelke) Hagen. His father worked as a millwright and blacksmith in Rochester's railroad-car shops. Walter was the second of William and Louisa's five children and the only son.
Hagen developed his golf game at theCountry Club of Rochester, beginning as acaddie, and earned money to help support his family from pre-teen age. He earned ten cents per round and was occasionally tipped another five cents.[5] Hagen played golf at every chance he got; caddie access to the course was limited to off-peak times, as it was elsewhere in the U.S. during that era. Hagen, with assistance from head professionalAlfred Ricketts,[5] gradually improved his golf skill to the stage where he was an expert player by his mid-teens, and was then hired by the club to give lessons to club members and to work in the pro shop.
He made his top-class professional debut at age 19 at the 1912Canadian Open, placing 11th, a good showing. Hagen followed up with a surprise 4th place showing at the1913 U.S. Open atBrookline where he stated that he was treated badly by the other professionals who knew nothing about him. Hagen said "they pushed me off the tee and told me I could practice when they were through". He vowed to play in the1914 U.S. Open and "win it", and he did exactly that.[6]
Hagen was also very skilled at baseball, primarily as apitcher andshortstop. He canceled a 1914 tryout for thePhiladelphia 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.[7]
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 Great Britain, the leading country in competitive golf when Hagen began his career.
Golf professionals were not allowed to partake of the facilities of the clubhouse, and were not allowed to enter the clubhouse by the front door. On one occasion, at the1920 Open inDeal, Kent, Hagen hired aPierce-Arrow car to serve as his private dressing room, because he was refused entrance to the clubhouse dressing room. He hired achauffeur, and parked the expensive car in the club's driveway; this behavior raised a few eyebrows in class-conscious Britain.[8]
On another occasion, he refused to enter a clubhouse to claim his prize because he had earlier been denied entrance. At the 1914 Midlothian Open he brazenly entered the clubhouse then mingled with the rich members who were delighted at which that episode permanently opened the doors.[9]
The1920 U.S. Open inToledo marked a turning point; the players, encouraged by Hagen, donated a large grandfather clock to the hostInverness Club, in appreciation of the club allowing access for the professionals to their clubhouse during the tournament.
Hagen represented the Country Club of Rochester early in his professional competitive career; he was well supported by its members and management for his external competitive ventures. Beginning in 1918, Walter Hagen served as the first club professional at the now legendaryOakland Hills Country Club, inBloomfield Hills, Michigan, northwest of Detroit. He worked for Oakland Hills until 1919, and then became the first touring professional unaffiliated with a club, a status he held alone for several years.
In 1924, Hagen was president and co-owner of the Bear Creek Golf and Country Club associated with Jack Taylor's Pasadena-On-The-Gulf development in St. Petersburg, Florida. Due to influence from the public, the name was changed to the Boca Ciega Golf and Country Club and ultimately the Pasadena Yacht and Country Club.[10][11]
Hagen was a dashing and assertive character who raised the status of professional golfers and improved their earnings as well. Throughout his career, he played hundreds of exhibition matches, all across the United States and around the world; these tours popularized golf to an immense degree. Hagen was also widely known for his dashing wardrobe while playing; this featured expensive tailored clothes in bright colors and plush fabrics. As one of the world's top players, Hagen found his skills were much in demand with this exhibition format, and concluded it was much more lucrative than playing most tournaments.
Hagen also made significant money endorsing golf equipment, and played a major role in helping to design clubs forWilson Sports, which bore his name (either "Walter Hagen" or "Haig Ultra"). His work with Wilson produced some of the first matched sets of irons, around the same time that his great rivalBobby Jones was performing similar work for theSpalding company. The improved equipment expanded golf's appeal, brought high-quality clubs within the price range of many more players, and raised the standard of play.
Hagen was the first golfer to earn a million dollars in his career.[12] He said he "never wanted to be a millionaire, just to live like one". Hagen once expressed his creed in these words: "Don't hurry, don't worry, you're only here for a short visit, so 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." On the notion of golf as a financial endeavor, Hagen wrote in his autobiography, "My game was my business and as a business it demanded constant playing in the championship bracket, for a current title was my selling commodity."[13]
Hagen battledthroat cancer for over four years and had several operations.[1][14] Two years before his death, he was honored with a testimonial dinner inAugust 1967 inTraverse City, Michigan, attended by major championsArnold Palmer andCary Middlecoff.[15] A month earlier at thePGA Championship inColorado, he expressed support for Palmer, saying he was a member of "Arnie's Army."[16]
Hagen died in 1969 at age 76 at his home in Traverse City,[1] and now rests at theHoly Sepulchre Mausoleum inSouthfield, Michigan,[17] next to his grandson. His pall bearers included Palmer.[18]
Major victories:
There is some debate among golf historians as to whether Hagen should actually be credited with more major championships, as theWestern Open in particular, and both theCanadian Open andMetropolitan Open were considered majors prior to the foundation and recognition of the Masters Tournament as one.[20] Counting the Western Open, which he won five times (1916, 1921, 1926, 1927, and 1932), would put Hagen at 16 major titles,[21] second only toJack Nicklaus and one ahead ofTiger Woods (however, counting theU.S. Amateur, which is no longer considered a major championship, Woods' three U.S. Amateurs titles give him a total of 18, two behind Nicklaus's 20.).
Hagen captained the United States in the first sixRyder Cups, and played on the first five U.S. teams:1927,1929,1931,1933, and1935.
Hagen has been portrayed byBruce McGill in the 2001 movieThe Legend of Bagger Vance, and by British actorJeremy Northam in the 2004Bobby Jones biopicBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius.
Major championships are shown inbold.
Source:[23]
(This list is incomplete)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-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) | Playoff1 | Mike Brady |
| 1921 | PGA Championship | n/a | 3 & 2 |  Jim Barnes | |
| 1922 | The Open Championship | 2 shot deficit | (76-73-79-72=300) | 1 stroke | Jim Barnes |
| 1924 | The Open Championship (2) | Tied for lead | (77-73-74-77=301) | 1 stroke | Ernest Whitcombe |
| 1924 | PGA Championship (2) | n/a | 2 up | Jim Barnes | |
| 1925 | PGA Championship (3) | n/a | 6 & 5 | William Mehlhorn | |
| 1926 | PGA Championship (4) | n/a | 5 & 3 | Leo Diegel | |
| 1927 | PGA Championship (5) | n/a | 1 up | Joe Turnesa | |
| 1928 | The Open Championship (3) | 1 shot lead | (75-73-72-72=292) | 2 strokes | Gene Sarazen |
| 1929 | The Open Championship (4) | 4 shot lead | +12 (75-67-75-75=292) | 6 strokes | Johnny Farrell |
Note: The PGA Championship wasmatch play until1958
1 Defeated Mike Brady in an 18-hole playoff – Hagen 77 (+6), Brady 78 (+7)
| Tournament | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | T4 | 1 | T10 | 7 | NT | NT | 1 |
| The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||
| PGA Championship | NYF | NYF | NYF | SF | NT | NT |
| Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | 11 | T2 | 5 | T18 | T4 | T5 | 7 | 6 | T4 | T19 |
| The Open Championship | T53 | T6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | T3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| PGA Championship | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | QF | SF |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | T13 | T15 | T11 | T33 | ||
| U.S. Open | T17 | T7 | 10 | T4 | T58 | 3 | T33 | |||
| The Open Championship | T22 | T26 | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | DNQ | R32 | R32 | R32 | R64 | DNQ | R64 |
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | WD | WD | |
| U.S. Open | DQ | ||
| The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT |
| PGA Championship | R16 | DNQ |
NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
DNQ = did not qualify for match play portion
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Source for The Masters:www.masters.com
Source for U.S. Open:USGA Championship Database
Source for The Open Championship:www.opengolf.com
Source for PGA Championship:PGA Championship Media Guide
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| U.S. Open | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 23 | 22 |
| The Open Championship | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| PGA Championship | 5 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 15 |
| Totals | 11 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 51 |
Walter Hagen in theRyder Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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