Leo Diegel
Leo Diegel | |||
---|---|---|---|
Diegel in 1932 | |||
Personal information | |||
Full name | Leo Harvey Diegel | ||
Nickname | Eagle | ||
Born | (1899-04-20)April 20, 1899 Gratiot Township, Wayne County, Michigan | ||
Died | May 5, 1951(1951-05-05) (aged 52) North Hollywood, California | ||
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(s) | PGA Tour | ||
Professional wins | 36 | ||
Number of wins by tour | |||
PGA Tour | 28 | ||
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 | |||
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Leo Harvey Diegel (April 20, 1899 – May 5, 1951) was an American professional golfer of the 1920s and early 1930s. He captured consecutive PGA Championships, played on the first four Ryder Cup teams, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.[3]
Early years
Born in Gratiot Township, Wayne County, Michigan,[4] Diegel began caddying at age ten[1] and won his first significant event at age 17, the 1916 Michigan Open.
Career
Diegel was a runner-up in his first U.S. Open in 1920, one stroke behind champion Ted Ray. He won 28 PGA circuit events, and was a four-time winner of the Canadian 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 four Ryder Cup teams in 1927, 1929, 1931, and 1933. His greatest season was 1928, with wins at the Canadian Open and the match play PGA Championship, where he stopped the four-year winning streak of Walter Hagen. Diegel defeated him in the quarterfinal to avenge earlier defeats in the 1925 quarterfinal and the 1926 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 to Bobby Jones at the British Open in 1930.
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 in Australia in late 1934 with friend Harry Cooper caused nerve damage to his right shoulder and effectively ended his tour career.[6]
Death
Diagnosed with throat and lung cancer in 1947, Diegel died at home in North 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 in Michigan at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit.
Diegel was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
Professional wins (36)
PGA Tour wins (28)
- 1920 (1) Pinehurst Fall Pro-Am Bestball (with Tommy Armour)
- 1921 (1) Coronado Beach Open
- 1922 (1) Shreveport Open
- 1923 (1) District of Columbia Open Championship
- 1924 (3) Shawnee Open, Canadian Open, Illinois Open
- 1925 (4) Florida Open, Canadian Open, Middle Atlantic Open, Mid South All Pro
- 1926 (1) Middle Atlantic Open
- 1927 (2) Middle Atlantic Open, San Diego Open
- 1928 (4) Long Beach Open (January; tie with Bill Mehlhorn), Canadian Open, PGA Championship, Massachusetts Open
- 1929 (4) San Diego Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Walter Hagen), Canadian Open, PGA Championship
- 1930 (3) Pacific Southwest Pro, Oregon Open, San Francisco National Match Play Open
- 1933 (1) California Open
- 1934 (2) Rochester Open, New England PGA
Major championships are shown in bold.
Note: The PGA Tour[8] and World Golf Hall of Fame[9] list Diegel with 28 official wins. The PGA Tour book History of the PGA Tour lists 29 wins, and includes the 1925 Mid-Southern Amateur-Professional listed below.[10]
Other wins (8)
Note: This list may be incomplete.
- 1916 Michigan Open
- 1919 Michigan Open
- 1922 Louisiana Open
- 1925 Mid-Southern Amateur-Professional
- 1926 Maryland Open
- 1931 California Open
- 1933 Timber Point Open, Southern California Open
Major championships
Wins (2)
Year | Championship | Winning score | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|
1928 | PGA Championship | 6 & 5 | Al Espinosa |
1929 | PGA Championship | 6 & 4 | Johnny Farrell |
Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
Results timeline
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
Summary
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 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 31 (1920 U.S. Open – 1935 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (twice)
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Golfer Leo Diegel dies after lingering illness". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. May 9, 1951. p. 6-part 2.
- ^ "Another prize for golf pro". Florence Times. Alabama. February 22, 1934. p. 6.
- ^ Trenham, Peter C. "The Leaders and The Legends: 1930 to 1939" (PDF). PGA: Philadelphia Section. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ "Michigan, Births, 1867–1902". familysearch.org.
- ^ "Local golfer wins from New Yorker". Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. Associated Press. September 27, 1926. p. 8.
- ^ Rawles, Wallace N. (January 13, 1936). "Wrestling injury forces Leo Diegel to quit pro golf". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. INS. p. 9.
- ^ "Leo Diegel dies of long illness". Miami Daily News. Associated Press. May 9, 1951. p. 13-A. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
- ^ "Most career wins (top 50)". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
- ^ "World Golf Hall of Fame profile". Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ Barkow, Al (1989). The History of the PGA Tour. Doubleday. p. 276. ISBN 0-385-26145-4.
External links
- Leo Diegel at the World Golf Hall of Fame
- USGA Museum – Leo Diegel and his Magic Wand Putter
- PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame – member profiles
- Leo Diegel at golf.about.com at the Wayback Machine (archived September 19, 2005)
- Leo Diegel at Find a Grave
- v
- t
- e
era
- 1916 Jim Barnes
- 1919 Jim Barnes
- 1920 Jock Hutchison
- 1921 Walter Hagen
- 1922 Gene Sarazen
- 1923 Gene Sarazen
- 1924 Walter Hagen
- 1925 Walter Hagen
- 1926 Walter Hagen
- 1927 Walter Hagen
- 1928 Leo Diegel
- 1929 Leo Diegel
- 1930 Tommy Armour
- 1931 Tom Creavy
- 1932 Olin Dutra
- 1933 Gene Sarazen
- 1934 Paul Runyan
- 1935 Johnny Revolta
- 1936 Denny Shute
- 1937 Denny Shute
- 1938 Paul Runyan
- 1939 Henry Picard
- 1940 Byron Nelson
- 1941 Vic Ghezzi
- 1942 Sam Snead
- 1944 Bob Hamilton
- 1945 Byron Nelson
- 1946 Ben Hogan
- 1947 Jim Ferrier
- 1948 Ben Hogan
- 1949 Sam Snead
- 1950 Chandler Harper
- 1951 Sam Snead
- 1952 Jim Turnesa
- 1953 Walter Burkemo
- 1954 Chick Harbert
- 1955 Doug Ford
- 1956 Jack Burke Jr.
- 1957 Lionel Hebert
era
- 1958 Dow Finsterwald
- 1959 Bob Rosburg
- 1960 Jay Hebert
- 1961 Jerry Barber†
- 1962 Gary Player
- 1963 Jack Nicklaus
- 1964‡ Bobby Nichols
- 1965 Dave Marr
- 1966 Al Geiberger
- 1967 Don January†
- 1968 Julius Boros
- 1969‡ Raymond Floyd
- 1970 Dave Stockton
- 1971 Jack Nicklaus
- 1972 Gary Player
- 1973 Jack Nicklaus
- 1974 Lee Trevino
- 1975 Jack Nicklaus
- 1976 Dave Stockton
- 1977 Lanny Wadkins†
- 1978 John Mahaffey†
- 1979 David Graham†
- 1980 Jack Nicklaus
- 1981 Larry Nelson
- 1982‡ Raymond Floyd
- 1983‡ Hal Sutton
- 1984 Lee Trevino
- 1985 Hubert Green
- 1986 Bob Tway
- 1987 Larry Nelson†
- 1988 Jeff Sluman
- 1989 Payne Stewart
- 1990 Wayne Grady
- 1991 John Daly
- 1992 Nick Price
- 1993 Paul Azinger†
- 1994 Nick Price
- 1995 Steve Elkington†
- 1996 Mark Brooks†
- 1997 Davis Love III
- 1998 Vijay Singh
- 1999 Tiger Woods
- 2000‡ Tiger Woods†
- 2001 David Toms
- 2002 Rich Beem
- 2003 Shaun Micheel
- 2004 Vijay Singh†
- 2005 Phil Mickelson
- 2006 Tiger Woods
- 2007 Tiger Woods
- 2008 Pádraig Harrington
- 2009 Y. E. Yang
- 2010 Martin Kaymer†
- 2011 Keegan Bradley†
- 2012 Rory McIlroy
- 2013 Jason Dufner
- 2014 Rory McIlroy
- 2015 Jason Day
- 2016 Jimmy Walker
- 2017 Justin Thomas
- 2018 Brooks Koepka
- 2019 Brooks Koepka
- 2020 Collin Morikawa
- 2021 Phil Mickelson
- 2022 Justin Thomas†
- 2023 Brooks Koepka
- 2024‡ Xander Schauffele