Over the past 100 years, many outstanding players have participated in major international golf championships worthy of induction into the Hall of Fame. However, we can highlight the main outstanding players whose victories and achievements have contributed greatly to the development of golf as one of the most intelligent sports.
Harry Vardon (1870-1937)
Jersey-born Harry Vardon won six British Opens and one US Open. He popularized but did not discover Vardon’s grip, and revolutionized the game with the unprecedented power of his play. Along with D.H. Taylor and James Bride (the Great Triumvirate), he dominated the game for 25 years. Even at the age of 50, he finished second in the US Open.
Walter Hagen (1892-1969)
He was born in Rochester, New York. Hagen won 11 major championships – two US Opens, four British Opens and five USPGA championships, including four in a row from 1924 to 1927. He was captain of the first six American Ryder Cyr teams. He owns the famous phrase he used to say at any tournament, “Well, who’s going to be second?”
Hagen traveled all over the world, playing exhibition matches and living a hectic life. If he wasn’t a millionaire, he at least lived like one.
Gene Sarazen (b. 1902-1999)
He changed his real name, Eugene Saraceni, because it sounded like a fiddler’s name. Gene Saracen became the first player to win all four major championships. He won the US Open in 1922 and 1932, the British Open in 1932, and the USPGA in 1922/3 and 1932. – USPGA.
Most memorable, however, was his victory at the 1935 Masters Tournament, where he displayed one of the most remarkable strokes in golf. He hit a voodoo hole No. 4, making an albatross, winning by two strokes with a par-5 on the 15th hole in the final round, catching Craig Wood, who was resting quietly in the clubhouse and feeling like a winner.
Sarazen won the playoff. During the 1973 British Open at Troon, he made a hole-in-one on the dreaded eighth hole, a shot that was televised and seen by TV audiences around the world. Sarazen had played in the same tournament at the same venue 50 years earlier, one of the longest careers in professional sports.
Ben Hogan (b. 1912-1997)
Texas native Ben Hogan became a legend because of his technique and hard training. After winning two USPGA championships between 1946 and 1948, he was in a terrible car accident in 1949, and doctors concluded that he would never walk, let alone play golf. The next year, however, he won the US Open again, and in 1953 he won the three major tournaments he had competed in – the British Open, the US Masters and the US Open. The Grand Slam was impossible – that year the USPGA championship coincided with the British Open!
Arnold Palmer (b. 1929 – 2016)
The American Arnold Palmer may have done more to turn golf into a major spectator sport than any other. He has the charm of a movie star, and his golf game is much enjoyed by the public.
He had sensational strokes followed by strokes that hit into the trees. His ball return strokes were very spectacular. When golf became a televised sport, large sums of money began to be played in the game.
Between 1960 and 1964, Palmer won seven major championships. Palmer won seven major championships, was a member of six World Cup winning teams, and won the individual title in 1967.
Mickey Wright (p. 1935 – 2020)
San Diego native Mickey Wright was probably the greatest female golfer of all time. She won four US Opens and won the Weir Award for lowest average shot six times, four times Mickie was the highest money winner with 82 US Tour victories to her credit. In 1962, she won 10 tournaments – and 13 in 1963. Because of her fear of flying, she rarely left the United States, and her shyness made her less famous than she should have been.
Laura Davis (b. 1963)
Englishwoman Laura Davis has won the British and U.S. Women’s Open thanks to her long-distance strokes and has been ranked number one in the American and European tournaments. The extraordinary range of her strokes, combined with her extraordinary personality, has made her the world’s favorite athlete.
Nancy Lopez (b. 1957)
A true star on the USLPGA Tour since 1978; it was the year Nancy Lopez had her first full professional season, which resulted in her winning nine tournaments, including five in a row. Nancy brought a new wave of popularity to women’s professional golf and turned it into America’s premier televised sport.