The 1921 PGA Championship was played from September 26 to October 1 at Inwood Country Club at Far Rockaway, New York, and won by Walter Hagen for the third time. He beat two-time champion Jim Barnes, 3 and 2, in the final. And a pair of Ryder Cup matches ended on this date. In 1997 at Valderrama Golf Club in Spain, Europe won 14½-13½ for the first of six straight victories at home by the Europeans. And in 2014, at Gleneagles in Scotland, Europe won 16½-11½.
On this day in 1930, golfer Bobby Jones completed his revered Grand Slam of winning four major championships in the same year. The four were the U.S. Open, The Open, and U.S. Amateur and The Amateur Championship. Jones was the first and only golfer in history to win the four big events of his time in the same calendar year. On this date he beat Gene Homans, 8 and 7, at the U.S. Amateur at Merion. On this date in 1987, one of the most pivotal Ryder Cups concluded at Muirfield Village in Ohio, Jack Nicklaus’ course. The European team, captained by Tony Jacklin, beat the Nicklaus-led Americans, 15-13, for the first loss by the U.S. on home soil in 60 years of competition. The U.S. had been 13-0 at home.
A pair of close U.S. victories in the Ryder Cup on this date in the 1990s are a couple of the latest grand moments the Americans have had to celebrate as Europe is now the dominating team in the biennial series. In 1993 at The Belfry, the U.S. won 15-13, for captain Tom Watson, with Davis Love III clinching the Cup with a 1-up victory over Italy’s Costantino Rocca. And in 1999, the Americans won the fabled match at The Country Club, 14½-13½, after trailing 10-6 going into the singles and making a monumental comeback. The victory didn’t come without a price, though. The U.S. players were chastised for poor team sportsmanship. And the 1861 Open Championship ended on this date at Prestwick Golf Club, Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the second Open Championship and had a field of 10 professionals and eight amateurs. The winner was Tom Morris, Sr., aka Old Tom, by four shots over Willie Park, Sr. with a score of 163.
In the wake of my new book on Arnold Palmer, “The Ultimate Arnie,” being released in August, special note is made of today’s date being the day in 2016 Arnold Palmer died at age 87. In addition to his seven majors, Palmer is one of the most memorable figures in Ryder Cup history in numerous statistical categories and a two-time winning captain. Also, the 1926 PGA Championship ended on this date, at Salisbury Golf Club on Long Island in East Meadow, New York, with Walter Hagen beating Leo Diegel, 5 and 3, in the final. The victory was Hagen’s third straight, fourth overall and he would eventually win five.
A pair of Ryder Cups concluded on this date. In 1995 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., Europe won the 31st Ryder Cup in a thriller 14½-13½ with Irishman Philip Walton beating Jay Haas for the clinching point. European team beating the U.S. in a thriller, 14½-13½. It was a stinging defeat for the Americans to lose on home turf. And in 2006, at the K Club, Ireland, Europe won a third straight time, this one in a breeze, 18½-9½.
A pair of Open Championships ended on this date in the 1800s. In 1868, in the Ninth Open, at Prestwick, Young Tom Morris shot 154 and won by three shots over his father at just age 17. And in 1892, at Muirfield, Harold Hilton also won by three over John Ball, Hugh Kirkaldy and Sandy Herd.
Willie Anderson won the 1905 and 11th U.S. Open on this date at the Myopia Hunt Club with a 314 score, two ahead of Alex Smith. Anderson won for the third straight year.
The 21st Ryder Cup Match ended on this date in 1975 at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The United States team won over Great Britain and Ireland, 21 to 11 points. And on this date in 2008, the Ryder Cup ended at Valhalla Golf Club with the American team, utilizing captain Paul Azinger’s “pod” coaching method, winning over the European team, 16½-11½.
One of the milestone moments in golf history took place on today’s date in 1913. After tying at 12 over par for four rounds, American Francis Ouimet and England’s Harry Vardon and Ted Ray played a playoff on this date at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. The outcome remained in doubt after nine holes when all three shot an even-par 38. From there, the hometown player Ouimet shot a bogeyless 34 coming in for a 72, one under par. Vardon faltered with 77 and Ray had 78. The result was viewed as a major upset to have an American defeat the normally more talented players from England and Scotland. And the 1981 Ryder Cup ended on this day at Walton Heath Golf Club in Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, England, southwest of London, with the United States winning 18½ to 9½ points. It is the largest margin of victory by the U.S. over a European team (since 1979).
On this date in 1913, American Francis Ouimet and Englishmen Harry Vardon and Ted Ray tied at 304 after four rounds of the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. The three were tied after 54 holes and each shot 79 in the final round. They were set to play an 18-hole playoff on September 20. Clifford Ann Creed won the 1965 LPGA Visalia Golf Open on this date in California. She shot four under par and won by a stroke over Susie Maxwell.
The 1863 Open Championship was played on this date, with Willie Park Sr. winning by two shots over Tom Morris Sr., also known as Old Tom. Park shot 168 in three 12-hole rounds played in one day, beating out the field of 14 players at Prestwick Golf Club. And on this date in 1892, the winner of the 1924 U.S. Open, Cyril Walker, was born in Manchester, England. He came to the U.S. in 1914 and was working out of Englewood Country Club when he won the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills. But he died destitute in 1948 in New Jersey at age 55.
The third U.S. Open was held on this date in 1897. The 35 players played two rounds at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois. Joe Lloyd was the winner by a mere one shot over Willie Anderson, who would become a four-time winner. Lloyd of England won $150.
Tom Morris Sr., aka Old Tom Morris, won the Open Championship for the third time when he won on this date in 1864 with a score of 167 at Prestwick Golf Club. He finished two shots ahead of Andrew Strath in the field of 16. And on this date in 1953, 1976 U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate was born in Macon, Georgia. His victory came as a 22-year-old rookie with great promise for many more majors that never came, partly due to a shoulder injury.
The Open Championship of 1870, the 11th overall, finished on this day with Tom Morris Jr., aka Young Tom, winning with a score of 149 at Prestwick Golf Club. He won by 12 shots over the field of 20 players. And on this date in 1899, the 5th U.S. Open concluded at Baltimore Country Club with Willie Smith of Scotland winning by a landslide, 11 shots over George Low, Val Fitzjohn and Bert Way.
On this date in 1865, the Open Championship was won by Andrew Strath of Scotland, who won over two-time champion Willie Park Sr. by two shots. And in 1868, Tom Morris Jr. is credited with the first recorded hole-in-one in golf history when he aced the eighth hole at Prestwick, Scotland.
A pair of Open Championships from the 1800s ended on this date. In 1866, at Prestwick, Willie Park Sr. won for the third time, beating brother Davie Park by two shots. The 1866 Open was the seventh Open Championship and Willie shot 169. There were 16 players. In 1872, also at Prestwick, Tom Morris Jr. won for the fourth straight time, winning by three strokes over David Strath.
Donna Andrews won the 1993 Ping-Cellular One LPGA Golf Championship on this date at 8 under par, taking home $67,500. And Angel Cabrera was born on this date in 1969. The winner of the 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters, the Argentinian golfer was thrown off his game due to legal issues in his native country. He had been playing a mix of senior and regular tour golf, but leans to senior play now.
A pair of Open Championships from the 1800s ended on this date, playing the entire event in one day each time. In 1862, the third championship was won by Tom Morris Sr. in defense of his title, at Prestwick by 13 shots over Willie Park Sr. when he shot 163. Only eight players competed on the 12-hole course. Morris would be known as Old Tom after his son Young Tom became a legendary player himself. And in 1890, also at Prestwick, amateur John Ball won by three shots over Willie Fernie and Archie Simpson.
At least three famous people were born on this date. Arnold Palmer in 1929 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania; Larry Nelson in 1947 in Fort Payne, Alabama, and William Dale Hynd of Moline, Illinois. Golfers will know who the first two are, but Mr. Hynd? That would be my father-in-law, who was born on this day in 1933. Palmer is the subject of my new biography, The Ultimate Arnie, available on amazon.com. And the 1875 Open Championship was held on this date at Prestwick Golf Club, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Yes, the entire tournament was on one day. Eighteen players began at 11:30 a.m. Willie Park, Sr. won by two strokes over runner-up Bob Martin with a score of 166, playing three rounds of 12 holes. Park had won the first championship in 1860 and his 1875 victory gave him four wins.
The great, feisty Louise Suggs began her march toward winning the St. Louis Golf Open on this date in 1955. Three days later she had shot a four-under 289 to beat Mary Lena Faulk by six shots and win first prize of $900. She died in 2015 at age 91. And in 2019 on this date, one of the great characters in golf history, Englishman Brian Barnes, died of cancer. Barnes won nine times on the European Tour, and never won a major, but his greatest claim to fame was beating Jack Nicklaus twice on the same day in singles at the 1975 Ryder Cup.