Hogan, William Benjamin

▪ 1998

      , American professional golfer (b. Aug. 13, 1912, Dublin, Texas—d. July 25, 1997, Fort Worth, Texas), was one of the greatest golfers of all time. Born to a poor family in rural Texas, the left-handed Hogan had to learn to play right-handed, since left-handed clubs were not available. Turning professional in 1931, he was hampered early in his career by a severe right-to-left hook. After years of frustration, a swing adjustment that he called his "secret" allowed him to use a controlled left-to-right fade as his basic shot. He became the dominant golfer of his era, winning his second Professional Golfers' Association of America championship and the first of four United States Open championships in 1948. In February 1949, however, an automobile crash nearly killed him; he suffered multiple injuries that seemed certain to end his career. In the tireless fashion that characterized everything he did, Hogan rebounded and returned to tournament competition in 1950. His win at the U.S. Open that year capped his comeback, inspiring the Hollywood film biography Follow the Sun. Although never again able to walk without pain and limited to an abbreviated schedule, Hogan played his greatest golf after the accident. His dramatic final-round 67 at the 1951 U.S. Open, played at Oakland Hills Country Club near Detroit on perhaps the most difficult course in Open history, was often considered the finest round of golf ever played. In 1953 he won the British Open—the only time he entered it—despite never having played before on a Scottish link-style course. That victory completed Hogan's "Triple Crown," victories that year in the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the British Open—the only time a player had won all three in the same year. He won nine major championships and 63 professional tournaments in all. Slight of frame and not blessed with a classically beautiful swing, Hogan developed his game through endless practice. He was dubbed "the Hawk" because of his single-minded determination and habitual expressionless stare, which became as familiar to fans as his white shirt, gray trousers, and trademark white cap. His 1957 instruction book, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, was probably the best-known and mostly highly praised work of its kind.

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