Leo Diegel

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]

Leo Diegel
Diegel in 1932
Personal information
Full nameLeo Harvey Diegel
NicknameEagle
Born(1899-04-20)April 20, 1899
Gratiot Township,
Wayne County, Michigan
DiedMay 5, 1951(1951-05-05) (aged 52)
North Hollywood, California
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight164 lb (74 kg; 11.7 st)
Sporting nationality United States
SpouseViolet Bird Diegel[1]
(m.1934–1951, his death)[2]
Career
Turned professional1916
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins36
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour28
Other8
Best results in major championships
(wins: 2)
Masters TournamentT16: 1934
PGA ChampionshipWon: 1928, 1929
U.S. OpenT2: 1920
The Open ChampionshipT2: 1930
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2003 (member page)

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)

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.

Major championships

Wins (2)
YearChampionshipWinning scoreRunner-up
1928PGA Championship6 & 5United States Al Espinosa
1929PGA Championship6 & 4United States 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
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

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
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00000222
U.S. Open01248141615
The Open Championship01233444
PGA Championship21045121313
Totals2341116323534
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 31 (1920 U.S. Open – 1935 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (twice)

See also

References
  1. "Golfer Leo Diegel dies after lingering illness". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. May 9, 1951. p. 6-part 2.
  2. "Another prize for golf pro". Florence Times. Alabama. February 22, 1934. p. 6.
  3. 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.
  4. "Michigan, Births, 1867–1902". familysearch.org.
  5. "Local golfer wins from New Yorker". Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. Associated Press. September 27, 1926. p. 8.
  6. Rawles, Wallace N. (January 13, 1936). "Wrestling injury forces Leo Diegel to quit pro golf". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. INS. p. 9.
  7. "Leo Diegel dies of long illness". Miami Daily News. Associated Press. May 9, 1951. p. 13-A. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  8. "Most career wins (top 50)". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  9. "World Golf Hall of Fame profile". Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  10. Barkow, Al (1989). The History of the PGA Tour. Doubleday. p. 276. ISBN 0-385-26145-4.
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