Leo Diegel

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Leo Diegel
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name	Leo Harvey Diegel
Nickname	Eagle
Born	(1899-04-27)April 27, 1899 Detroit, Michigan
Died	May 5, 1951(1951-05-05) (aged 52) North Hollywood, California
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	164 lb (74 kg; 11.7 st)
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	37
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	30
Other	7
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 2)
Masters Tournament	T16: 1934
U.S. Open	T2: 1920
The Open Championship	T2: 1930
PGA Championship	Won: 1928, 1929
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	2003 (member page)

Leo Harvey Diegel (April 27, 1899 – May 5, 1951) was a prominent 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]

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Diegel began caddying at age ten^[1] and won his first significant event at age 17, the 1916 Michigan Open. He was a runner-up in the U.S. Open in 1920, one stroke behind champion Ted Ray. He won 30 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 1928 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. 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; an automobile accident in 1938 ended his tour career.

Diagnosed with throat and lung cancer in 1947, Diegel died at home in North Hollywood, California in 1951 at age 52;^[1]^[4] he had taken a position there as a club professional after scaling back his Tour play. Diegel was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

Professional wins (37)

PGA Tour wins (30)

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 (5) Florida Open, Canadian Open, Middle Atlantic Open, Mid-Southern Amateur-Professional, 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 Open-Match Play
1933 (1) California Open
1934 (2) Rochester Open, New England PGA

PGA Tour says Diegel won 30 tournaments; one is missing above.

Major championships are shown in bold.

Other wins (7)

this list is probably incomplete

1916 Michigan Open
1919 Michigan Open
1922 Louisiana Open
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	DNP	DNP	DNP	T25	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	3
PGA Championship	R32	DNP	DNP	DNP	R32	QF	2	DNP	1	1

Tournament	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
Masters Tournament	NYF				T16	T19	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T11	3	4	T17	T17	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	T2	DNP	DNP	T3	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	R16	R32	DNP	R32	R32	DNQ	DNQ	R64	R32	R32

NYF = Tournament not yet founded
DNP = Did not play
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
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

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)

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Golfer Leo Diegel dies after lingering illness". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. May 9, 1951. p. 6-part 2. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
↑ "Another prize for golf pro". Florence Times (Florence, Alabama). February 22, 1934. p. 6. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
↑ Trenham, Peter C. "The Leaders and The Legends: 1930 to 1939". PGA: Philadelphia Section. p. 2. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
↑ "Leo Diegel dies of long illness". Miami Daily News. Associated Press. May 9, 1951. p. 13-A. Retrieved May 9, 2013.

External links

World Golf Hall of Fame profile
USGA Museum – Leo Diegel and his Magic Wand Putter
PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame – member profiles
About.com profile

v t e PGA Championship champions

Match play era	1916 Jim Barnes 1917–18 Cancelled due to World War I 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 1943 Cancelled due to World War II 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

Stroke play 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

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire

Leo Diegel in the Ryder Cup

v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1927

Leo Diegel Johnny Farrell Johnny Golden Bill Mehlhorn Gene Sarazen Joe Turnesa Al Watrous Walter Hagen (playing captain)

Won: 9.5 – 2.5

v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1929

Leo Diegel Ed Dudley Al Espinosa Johnny Farrell Johnny Golden Gene Sarazen Horton Smith Joe Turnesa Al Watrous Walter Hagen (playing captain)

Lost: 5 – 7

v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1931

Billy Burke Wiffy Cox Leo Diegel Al Espinosa Johnny Farrell Gene Sarazen Denny Shute Craig Wood Walter Hagen (playing captain)

Won: 9 – 3

v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1933

Billy Burke Leo Diegel Ed Dudley Olin Dutra Paul Runyan Gene Sarazen Denny Shute Horton Smith Craig Wood Walter Hagen (playing captain)

Lost: 5.5 – 6.5

Persondata
Name	Diegel, Leo
Alternative names	Diegel, Leo Harvey
Short description	Professional golfer
Date of birth	April 27, 1899
Place of birth	Detroit, Michigan
Date of death	May 5, 1951
Place of death	North Hollywood, California

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