On this date in 1953, Ben Hogan won his fourth U.S. Open title, at Oakmont, to tie for the most ever with Bobby Jones and Willie Anderson. It was an incredible performance where he was five under par for 72 holes and won by six shots over Sam Snead.
On this date in 1939, Byron Nelson won the 43rd U.S. Open at Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, after two playoff rounds against Craig Wood and Denny Shute.
On this date in 1950, Ben Hogan memorably won the U.S. Open at Merion in a playoff with Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio after they finished four rounds with scores of 287. Hogan shot 69 in the playoff to Mangrum’s 73 and Fazio’s 75. The victory culminated Hogan’s comeback from a near fatal auto accident in 1949.
Johnny Goodman won the U.S.. Open on this date in 1933 at one under par at North Shore Country Club in Illinois, making him the last amateur to win the championship and any of the four majors.
Lawson Little won the U.S. Open on this date in 1940 in a playoff with sentimental favorite Gene Sarazen at Canterbury Golf Club in Cleveland. Little shot 70 in the playoff to Sarazen’s 73.
One of the many surprise winners of the U.S. Open in its history did so on this date in 1935. Sam Parks Jr., an area native, won at Oakmont with a score of 299, 11 over par.
The Curtis Cup, a match between American and Great Britain & Ireland women amateurs, ended on this date in the past. In 1952, at Muirfield in Scotland, GB&I came out on top, 5-4. In 1980, at St. Pierre Golf & Country Club in Wales, it was the Americans emerging on top, 13-5. In that playing, the U.S. featured stars Patty Sheehan and Carol Semple.
On this date in 1936, Tony Manero won the U.S. Open at Baltusrol in New Jersey. He was the surprise winner, by two shots over Harry Cooper. The name Manero is known in Connecticut for the excellent restaurant that existed for 62 years in Greenwich and which closed in 2006. Tony Manero was a star attraction at the restaurant but it was owned by his nephew Nick. Tony Manero died at age 84 in 1989.
Willie Macfarlane won the 1925 U.S. Open on this date at Worcester, Massachusetts, in a championship where Bobby Jones’ sportsmanship was the legacy story. In Round 1, Jones called a penalty on himself that ended up by the final round being the difference from an outright victory and he and Macfarlane tying after regulation. They played a playoff that went 36 holes, with Macfarlane winning by one shot, on the final hole when Jones bogeyed. Because of the format the two played six rounds in three days.
The final day of the first Ryder Cup was held on this date in 1927. The venue was Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts, and the U.S. won the singles session 6.5 to 1.5 for a final tally of 9.5 to 2.5. Walter Hagen was the American captain and Ted Ray led the Great Britain team. Players who went 2-0 for the Americans were Hagen, Johnny Golden, Johnny Farrell, and Al Watrous.
Walter Travis, born in Australia but a United States citizen, became the first foreigner to win the Amateur Championship on this date in 1904. Already a winner of three of the previous four U.S. Amateurs, Travis, a World Golf Hall of Fame member, won at Royal St. George’s over Edward Blackwell in the final, 4 and 3.
He is the Walrus: Craig Stadler was born on this date in 1953, so he has hit the seven-decade mark. Stadler won the 1982 Masters in a playoff with Dan Pohl. From San Diego, Stadler won the 1973 U.S. Amateur and turned pro three years later.
Stanford’s Rose Zhang has turned professional with college eligibility remaining, meaning we’ll be seeing her in LPGA majors this summer. On this date in 1975, a major ended when Kathy Whitworth won the LPGA Championship at Pine Ridge Golf Club in Baltimore by one shot over Sandra Haynie.
It was an Army-Navy battle on this day in 1942 at the PGA Championship played at Seaview Country Club in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Sam Snead, who was going to report to the Navy, defeated Jim Turnesa, an Army corporal, 2 and 1, in the final. It was the first of three PGA titles for Snead, who had lost two of the previous four final matches.
Counting Walter Hagen’s four in a row and Jim Barnes winning two in a row with two off years in the middle, winning the PGA consecutively has happened nine times. That includes Brooks Koepka in 2018-2019. On today’s date in 1937, Denny Shute won his second in a row, at the Pittsburgh Field Club, defeating Harold McSpaden in 37 holes. Shute had won the previous year at Pinehurst, 3 and 2 over Jimmy Thomson.
The riches tour pros reap can somewhat be traced to today’s event. On this date 68 years ago, Arnold Palmer earned his first official money on the PGA circuit. Prior to the Fort Wayne Invitational, Palmer had played 10 tour-run events in 1955, having turned pro at the end of 1954. He finished "out of the money" in five, missed the cut in one and had to pass on $1,144.86 he would have gone home with in the other four. The PGA forced new members to go through a six-month apprenticeship before they could accept money. Seems very backward today. (He was allowed to take home the $695.83 he earned for a T-10 finish at the Masters in April 1955 because it was not run by the tour.) Three months later in August, Palmer won the Canadian Open for his first tour title and a top prize of $2,400. The $145 Palmer won for tying for 25th at Fort Wayne on May 29, 1955, was the start of Palmer's launch into making golf in general -- and the tour specifically -- financially lucrative. His star power helped the tour grow in popularity, which in turn increased prize money substantially. The huge tour purses he helped grow came much after Palmer was capable of winning on tour, but the money he was able to keep at the Fort Wayne Invitational 64 years ago must have felt like a fortune at the time, which is what he turned it into.
One of the LPGA Tour’s pioneers, Marlene Bauer Hagge, won the pleasant sounding Land of Sky Open on this date in 1958 in a playoff with JoAnn Prentice on the first hole of sudden death after the two had tied at three-under-par 213. Hagge’s sister Alice also was an LPGA Tour founder and died in 2002. Marlene just died on May 16 at age 89.
Sam Snead was born on this date in 1912. The leading player in PGA Tour victories in a career along with Tiger Woods, Snead was often described as possessing an ageless swing, and that resulted in some longevity records that he established in both major and regular tournaments alike. Snead was one of the leading “characters” in golf history with a personality that ranged from coy and mischievous to affable and instructive.
More than two years after what would be his final PGA Tour victory, Arnold Palmer’s final victories on the “regular” tours were on foreign soil. On this date in 1975, he won the British PGA. It came about a month after he’d won the Spanish Open. Arnold’s final victory against the young guys would come in the 1980 Canadian PGA, the same year the Senior PGA Tour (Champions) began, opening a new competitive arena for him.
On this date in 1948, Ben Hogan, who was then supplementing his income with a club pro job in Hershey, Pennsylvania, won the 30th PGA Championship in a 7-and-6 defeat of Mike Turnesa at the Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis.