1949 - The Year in Golf, 1949

By Brent Kelley, About.com Guide

See More About:

Louise Suggs wins the 1949 U.S. Women's Open by 14 strokes.

Photo courtesy of the World Golf Hall of Fame; used with permission

Previous Year | Next Year
Golf Timeline Homepage

Sam Snead wins The Masters and the PGA Championship. At The Masters, Snead is the first champion to wear the now-traditional green jacket.

Cary Middlecoff wins five times on the PGA Tour, including the U.S. Open.

Jimmy Demaret and Ben Hogan face off in a playoff for the Phoenix Open title. Demaret wins.

Playing in the El Paso Open, Bill Nary shoots a third-round 60 that includes a total of 19 putts - and only 7 putts on the back nine.

Cary Middlecoff and Lloyd Mangrum tied at the end of regulation at the Motor City Open and begin a sudden-death playoff. Eleven holes later, when a winner still hasn't been determined, it is agreed to declare a tie. Middlecoff and Mangrum are listed as co-winners.

The first U.S. Girls Junior Amateur is played, and Marlene Bauer (Hagge) is the winner.

Louise Suggs wins the U.S. Women's Open by 14 strokes over runner-up Babe Didrikson Zaharias.

Patty Berg shoots a 68 - a new record for a Women's Professional Golf Association (precursor to LPGA) event - and beats Babe Didrikson Zaharias by one shot in the Tampa Women's Open.

Ben Hogan and his wife are in a head-on collision with a bus. Both survive, but Hogan suffers a broken collarbone, fractured rib, two cracked bones in his left ankle and a double fracture of the pelvis.

Playing in the National Celebrities Tournament, Bob Hope shoots 74-73 to edge Bing Crosby by two strokes and win his division.

Born This Year:

• Tom Kite, 1992 U.S. Open winner, 19 PGA Tour wins
• Lanny Wadkins, 1977 PGA Championship winner, 21 PGA Tour wins
• Tom Watson, 8-time major champion
• Howard Twitty, PGA Tour
• Jim Thorpe, PGA and Senior PGA Tour
• Forest Fezler, PGA Tour
• Bernard Gallacher, 3-time captain of the European Ryder Cup team
• Mark Rolfing, television commentator
• Lon Hinkle, PGA Tour
• Doug Tewell, PGA Tour, Senior Tour
• Kathy Postlewait, LPGA Tour

Money Leaders:

PGA: Sam Snead, $31,598.83

Scoring Leaders:

PGA (Vardon Trophy): Sam Snead, 69.37

Men's Major Championship Winners:

The Masters: Sam Snead
U.S. Open: Cary Middlecoff
British Open: Bobby Locke
PGA Championship: Sam Snead

Women's Major Championship Winners:

U.S. Open: Louise Suggs
Titleholders: Peggy Kirk
Western Open: Louise Suggs

Ryder Cup:

U.S. 7, Britain 5

Amateur Champions
U.S.: Charles Coe
British: Samuel McCready
U.S. Women's: Dorothy Porter
British Women's: Frances Stephens

Walker Cup
U.S. 10, Great Britain and Ireland 2