The Masters on HooperstarGolfer.blogspot.co.uk April 1

Welcome to The Masters on HooperstarGolfer.blogspot.co.uk

A unique series of blogs taking you inside the history of Golf''s First Major and looking ahead to the 2013 Masters, as well as providing updates on the play and reports from each day of the first major of the golf season.

I hope you enjoy the series which will publish articles each day between April 1 and 15 EXCLUSIVELY on www.HooperstarGolfer.blogspot.co.uk

All feedback is appreciated.

Enjoy.

Matt.

Annus mirabilis – wonderful year or year of miracles.

We have all had one, or maybe more than one.

For myself there are four I can remember specifically 1998 when I had my best year at School and my beloved Arsenal won the double of Premier League and FA Cup; 2004 when I completed my first year at University and went over to Royal County Down to caddie; 2006 when I completed my final year at University, ran a golf event in France and returned to caddie at Royal County Down and 2011 when I got the job as a caddie at St Andrews Links. Personally satisfying years where everything fitted into place, where I achieved something new and great.

In sport we can all recall those amazing years when a team or an individual soared above everyone else to create history for example Arsenal in 2004 going through the entire season unbeaten or Manchester United in 1999 winning the treble, England Rugby winning the Grand Slam and World Cup in 2003 and Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And just last year the incredible year in the United Kingdom featuring the Diamond Jubilee, Olympic Games and Paralympic Games when it seemed like the whole nation was transfixed by an unprecedented series of events and achievements by our athletes and countless individuals from humble backgrounds whose achievements transcended normal life.

The year of miracles is a very apt title to apply to 1953 and the unprecedented achievements by Ben Hogan. 2013 marks the 60^th anniversary of still the joint most successful season by any player in the history of the game in the Major Championships, three wins out of four by an individual in the four greatest championships in the world of golf. Ben Hogan's record-breaking year began with his record-breaking win at Augusta National and ended with his historic win in the only ever Open Championship he played, he returned home from Carnoustie to a hero's welcome and a ticker-tape parade on Broadway in New York City. The year which Hogan had was the crowning of an already epic career that surged from humble beginnings in Texas to fame and stardom, then plunged into crisis with a life-threatening car crash and then came back to victory in adversity after doctors had told him he may never walk again. It is the story of a real life super-hero who was the Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods of his day and whose legacy still lives on 60 years later.

In many ways Ben Hogan was the Luke Donald or Lee Westwood of his day. He turned professional in 1930 and took 16 years to win a first Major Championship, winning 30 tournaments on the regular tour and recording 15 top ten finishes in 17 Major appearances before his breakthrough in the 1946 PGA Championship. Of course the second World War did disrupt his early professional career and maybe a Major win would have come earlier had there not been such an event, Hogan was stationed at Fort Worth,Texas during the war from 1943 to 1945 serving as a utility pilot in the US Army Air Forces with the rank of Lieutenant. Hogan took 8 years to break through for his first tournament win and the early years of his professional career were extremely difficult, with his wife Valerie and Hogan having to juggle the finances while staying in hotels when going from tournament to tournament. These struggles made Hogan determined and resilient, increasing his motivation to practice longer and harder than anyone else each week, and once the first win came he quickly became a prolific winner, something which could be said of him once he eventually claimed that first Major title. Hogan's maiden major win came at the Portland Golf Club in Oregon at the 1946 PGA Championship where he defeated Ed Oliver 6&4 in the 36-hole final, the win was followed in 1948 with a major double at the 1948 U.S. Open at Riviera in California and PGA Championship at Norwood Hills Country Club, making him by far the pre-eminent golfer of the era following the second World War with 3 Major titles and 52 career wins the world was at the feet of “The Hawk”.

Then in February of 1949 his world fell apart and he nearly lost his life in a head-on-collision in his car with a Greyhound Bus early in the morning fog, leaning across to save his wife Valerie he avoided certain death as the steering column punctured the drivers seat. The accident left “Bantam Ben” with a double-fracture of the pelvis, a fractured collar bone, a left ankle fracture, a chipped rib, and near-fatal blood clots: he would suffer lifelong circulation problems and other physical limitations. His doctors said he might never walk again, let alone play golf competitively. While in hospital, Hogan's life was endangered by a blood clot problem. Can you imagine the 24-hour news coverage and hype if such an accident had happened to Tiger Woods? It would be suffocating. Just as Hogan looked set to challenge all of golf's greatest records including Walter Hagen's 11 Major Championship wins he found himself fighting for his life, and golf was the furthest thing from his mind. Incredibly within 7 months following an extensive rehabilitation Hogan was back practising golf and returned to the PGA Tour at the start of the 1950 season at the course which had been labelled “Hogan's Alley” following his double wins at Riviera in 1948. He lost an 18-hole play-off to his great rival Sam Snead but the comeback had begun, despite suffering chronic pain in his legs throughout.

At his first major appearance following the accident Hogan finished in a tie for fourth at Augusta and then dramatically won the U.S. Open at Merion in an 18-hole play-off with George Fazio and Lloyd Mangrum, his famous 1-iron approach helped to set up the four which would get him into the play-off is one of the most iconic images in all of golf. He defended his U.S. Open title at the monstrous Oakland Hills South Course in Michigan, clinching a two shot win with one of the finest rounds of his career. A three-under-par 67 was the lowest round of the week and one of just two rounds recorded under par in the entire tournament, Hogan was quoted as saying “I am glad I have brought this course – this monster – to its knees”. The 1951 U.S. Open was Hogan's sixth major win and second of the year following a long-awaited victory at Augusta National in his tenth appearance at the home of golf's great amateur Bobby Jones. Ben Hogan's record at Augusta is among the greatest of any golfer ever. In 25 appearances he won two green jackets, finished second on four occasions and recorded seventeen top tens missing only one cut. He won by 2 shots from Skee Riegel and was one of only three players who completed the tournament with an under-par aggregate, finishing with a 68 to post 8-under for four rounds in demanding conditions. Following Hogan's accident in 1949 he became a more infrequent entrant to tournaments but continued to be victorious, he won the World Championship of Golf at Tam O'Shanter Golf Club in the made-for-television event which became a leading PGA Tour event for 10 years in the 40's and 50's. In 1952 Hogan won a solitary tournament at his home course, Colonial Country Club, the Colonial National Invitation tournament was the event which Hogan won the most throughout his career claiming five wins. By the end of 1952 Hogan was 40 years of age and playing in an ever-reducing schedule it seemed the 6-time Major champions career was coming to an end, with 58 PGA Tour wins and all three of the American majors in his cabinet he had completed a fulfilling career. But one last hurrah was on the horizon.

1953 was the year in which Dwight D Eisenhower was inaugurated as the 34^th President of the United States and Elizabeth Windsor was crowned as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, England was defeated for the first time at home by a continental European team as they lost 3-6 to a Ferenc Puskas inspired Hungary, Arsenal won the league championship and Blackpool won the “Matthews Final” in the FA Cup. In American Football the Detroit Lions won the NFL Championship to complete back-to-back victories, the New York Yankees won a fifth successive World Series and the Minneapolis Lakers won their second successive NBA title – the franchise would go on to become the LA Lakers. In Tennis Australian Ken Rosewall won the first two of eight grand slam titles and American Maureen Connolly Brinker claimed the grand slam of all four major women's single titles. For all of these individuals and teams it was an Annus mirabilis and for Ben Hogan 1953 was to be the year he etched his name into golfing history forever with a year of miracles.

The bare facts are truly astonishing, Hogan entered six tournaments in 1953 and won five of them. He won all three of the majors he could have played in and only didn't complete the grand slam because of a scheduling conflict between The Open Championship and PGA Championship leaving him unable to compete in both tournaments. His Open Championship win completed the career grand slam, making him only the second man ever to achieve the feat after Gene Sarazen.

The year began for Hogan with a new found vigour and hunger after re-dedicating himself to the game over the winter and he played in two pro-ams at Seminole and Palmetto prior to competing in The Masters at Augusta. Going to Augusta for Golf's First Major Hogan hadn't won a Major since defending the US Open in 1951 and the likes of Sam Snead and Bobby Locke had won further major titles to enhance their position as the leading rivals to the Texan, but nobody enjoyed a challenge more than Hogan. Born into poverty with a Blacksmith for a father who committed suicide when he was just nine years of age Ben had to work and strive against adversity for much of his early life and early career as a touring professional. Then the car crash in 1949 and the recovery, throw down a challenge to Ben Hogan and he responded unlike any other golfer of his era.

Hogan got off to a decent start in the first round with a two-under-par round of 70 to sit 2 shots back of Chick Harbert's lead in a tie for fourth place, one stroke ahead of Sam Snead. It was a solid start which formed the basis for a stunning final three days which put him into the record books. He took the lead following a second round 69, moving to five under and one stroke clear of the 1944 PGA Champion Bob Hamilton. It was the Saturday which saw Hogan completely take control of the tournament with a 6-under-par 66 surging to a four stroke lead and on the verge of a second green jacket, the third round score took him ahead of the all-time low score for 72 holes at The Masters and required only a 1-over-par 73 on Sunday to be sure of breaking a fourteen-year record held by 3-time Major champion Ralph Guldahl. In the rain on Sunday Hogan shattered the record with a 3-under-par 69 to finish the tournament five shots clear of the field on 14-under-par, four shots lower than the next best total in Masters history at the time.

The Masters win, his second title at Augusta and 11^th straight top ten finish in The Masters, was Hogan's 7^th Major title and moved him into joint second in terms of all-time Major wins at that time, it would set up an astonishing run over the summer. His next tournament was the Pan American Open in Mexico which he also won before going to The Greenbrier for another pro-am prior to his home tournament, the Colonial National Invitation. The tournament at Colonial Country Club in his home town of Fort Worth, Texas quickly became the premier invitation tournament other than The Masters in American golf and in this year of miracles it was another miraculous finish from Bantam Ben that saw him claim a fourth title at Colonial and third win of 1953. A 3-under-par 67 saw the Texan come from 6 shots off the lead to win.

From Colonial The Hawk went North-east to the fearsome Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania for the U.S. Open, bidding to match Willie Anderson and Bobby Jones for four national championships. Unlike Augusta Hogan came roaring out of the traps and posted a 5-under-par 67 to open up a three stroke lead straight away positioning himself to defend his lead over the final three days on the course which was renowned as the hardest of all the U.S. Open courses. Rounds of 72, 73 and 71 clinched the championship by a massive six shots from Sam Snead, Hogan was the only player under par and had won the first two majors of 1953 by a combined 11 strokes and was marching towards golfing immortality.

Ben Hogan had conquered American golf, he was comfortable with staying in his homeland but on advice from his contemporaries he decided it was necessary to make one trip to play in the oldest championship of them all – The Open. He traveled over two weeks prior to the championship to practice with the smaller British ball and acclimatize to the weather and links conditions. Carnoustie hosted the 1953 championship and in this year there we no exemptions, everyone had to qualify. That meant a 36-hole competition over the Championship and Burnside courses on the Tuesday of championship week, Hogan safely qualified to take on a field of 90 other players including several of the great international golfers of the time including defending champion Bobby Locke, Roberto De Vicenzo and Peter Thomson.

Having started with a solid 73 the Masters and US Open champion was three shots back going into the second round on Thursday, he shot a 1-under-par round of 71 in the second round and he moved to within two of the lead going into the 36-hole final day on the Friday. A third round of 70 put him into a tie for the lead with Roberto De Vicenzo at 2-under-par and his course record 68 in the final round on the Friday afternoon saw him walk away as the champion by four shots in his only ever Open Championship appearance. During the championship Hogan consistently drove the ball into the narrowest part of the par five sixth hole, leading to the hole to become known as “Hogan's Alley”, further cementing the lore of Ben Hogan.

The win at Carnoustie gave Hogan the complete set of the greatest championships in golf – The Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship and Open Championship, making him only the second golfer ever to achieve the feat and completing an unprecedented year of three professional major championships. Yes, Bobby Jones had won both amateur and open championships of America and Britain, but nobody had won three professional majors in one season. Who is to say that Hogan wouldn't have completed the grand slam had there not been a scheduling conflict between The Open and PGA championships, the 36-hole final of the seven-day PGA Championship was played on the 7^th of July, just one day prior to the start of The Open Championship week. The 1949 car accident left Hogan much weaker than he used to be and the gruelling format meant Hogan didn't play in the championship again until it became a strokeplay championship in 1960.

The Open Championship was Ben Hogan's final tournament of 1953 and fifth win out of six official tournaments, an astonishing record highlighted by those three Major wins by a combined fifteen shots.

The only golfer to replicate Hogan's incredible feat in the professional era is Tiger Woods, his wins in the US Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship in 2000 set up the Tiger Slam at Augusta in April of 2001 but even Tiger's strike rate during his greatest year was not close to Hogan's incredible 5 wins out of 6. Hogan in '53 was the ultimate in peaking for the Majors.

In the modern era Tiger has always been chasing Jack Nicklaus's records but it was Hogan's historic treble which he matched first with an astonishing 11-win year in 2000 including winning the U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship by a combined 23 strokes and the treble of 2000 is not the only thing that links Tiger to Ben. Mental strength, a cold and steely manner on the golf course, unrivalled dedication and victory in adversity are characteristics and features of the careers of both Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan. 58 years after Hogan's comeback victory at the US Open following his car crash Woods won the US Open with a broken leg and ruined knee, five days of unbelievable skill and courage in the face of excruciating pain in the hardest championship in golf. Woods has been compared to Nicklaus, Palmer and Player, maybe people should be adding the name of Ben Hogan to the big three when comparing Tiger to the hall of fame legends.

60 years on from Bantam Ben's historic treble could Tiger Woods go one better and rubber-stamp his position as the greatest golfer of all time by winning the Grand Slam of all four Major Championships in one calendar year? If you had asked me this question at the end of 2012 when I did my predictions for the four majors in 2013 I would have categorically said no way. But four months on following wins at Torrey Pines, Doral and Bay Hill I am beginning to come round to the idea that Tiger Woods is more than back, perhaps he could be even better than he was, less flashy and less daring but perhaps more clinical. 43 birdies, 3 eagles and 18 bogeys in the last 144 holes on the PGA Tour suggest Woods is reaching a level which only a very few other competitors, if any, can reach. But to say Woods or any other golfer in the world can or will match or surpass the historic season of 1953 is getting ahead of myself. Time will tell but whether it happens or not Hogan will forever be the first player ever to win three professional majors in one season, his last great season and the culmination of a career which puts Ben Hogan among the greatest sportsmen ever to grace the world. This is reinforced by the reception he was given on his return to America from Carnoustie. The words icon and legend are over-used, they certainly can be applied to the great Ben Hogan and his legendary season of 1953.

Tomorrow on 

The Masters on HooperstarGolfer.blogspot.co.uk

 – Six of the Best, 50 years since Nicklaus's first Green Jacket