Walter Hagen

Born: Dec. 21, 1892 in Rochester, N.Y.
Died: Oct. 5, 1969
Nickname: The Haig

Tour Victories:
44

Major Championships:
11
• U.S. Open: 1914, 1919
• British Open: 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929
• PGA Championship: 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927

Awards and Honors:
• Member, World Golf Hall of Fame
• Captain of each of the first 6 U.S. Ryder Cup teams

Quote, Unquote:
• Walter Hagen: "I never wanted to be a millionaire. I just wanted to live like one."

• Bobby Jones, after losing a 72-hole "World Championship" match to Walter Hagen: "When a man misses his drive, and then misses his second shot, and then wins the hole with a birdie, it gets my goat."

• Gene Sarazen: "All the professionals ... should say a silent thanks to Walter Hagen each time they stretch a check between their fingers. It was Walter who made professional golf what it is."

Walter Hagen Biography:
Walter Hagen won 11 professional majors, more than any golfer not named Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods. But more than the victories, Hagen's impact is felt in his almost single-handed legitimizing of the PGA Tour, and of the standing of professional athletes around the world.

Early in Hagen's career, it was not uncommon for golf clubs to refuse entry to their clubhouses to pro golfers. Hagen fought to raise standards for pro golfers. Once at a tournament in England, he rented a Rolls-Royce, parked it in front of the clubhouse and used it as a changing room after the club refused him entry to its locker room.

Hagen's presence at a tournament guaranteed great crowds, and he commanded huge appearance fees for exhibition matches. He was among the first golfers to capitalize on product endorsements, and he is believed to be the first athlete to earn $1 million in a career.

Hagen grew up just a few miles from the famed Oak Hill Country Club. As a youth, he caddied at Rochester (N.Y.) Country Club, where later he would serve as head pro.

His first win in a major was the 1914 U.S. Open, at age 22, but his greatest success came in the early to mid-1920s. In all, he won 11 majors, including 5 PGA Championships, 4 of them consecutively. In addition, he won the Western Open 5 times, which in that time was considered a major.

Hagen brought color and glamour to golf, playing in plus-fours and two-toned shoes (he was the first athlete ever named to the list of Best Dressed Americans). His swing was inconsistent and he probably hit more bad drives and approaches than any of the all-time greats, but his recovery game was so good he usually got away with his mistakes.

He was equally exciting and flamboyant off the course, earning and spending money lavishly. Hagen often stayed at the best hotels, threw the best parties, and hired limousines to take him to tournaments (sometimes pulling the limo right up to the first tee).

Walter Hagen was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.