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Doug Ford (golfer)

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Doug Ford
Personal information
Full nameDouglas Michael Ford, Sr.
Born (1922-08-06) August 6, 1922 (age 102)
West Haven, Connecticut
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Career
Turned professional1949
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins33
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour19
Other11 (regular)
3 (Senior)
Best results in major championships
(wins: 2)
Masters TournamentWon: 1957
PGA ChampionshipWon: 1955
U.S. OpenT5: 1959
The Open ChampionshipT24: 1964
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2011 (member page)
PGA Player of the Year1955

Douglas Michael Ford, Sr. born Fortunato (born August 6, 1922) is a retired American professional golfer and two-time major golf champion.

Biography

Ford was born in West Haven, Connecticut on August 6, 1922. He turned professional in 1949 and won for the first time in 1952 at the Jacksonville Open.

The win in Jacksonville was an unusual one. At the end of regulation play, Ford and Sam Snead were tied for the lead. An 18-hole playoff was scheduled for the next day but rather than play, Snead forfeited. The forfeit stemmed from a ruling Snead received during the tournament's second round of play. On the 10th hole, Snead's drive landed behind an out-of-bounds stake. While Chick Harbert, who was playing with Snead, thought the ball was out-of-bounds,[1] a rules official ruled differently due to the starter not telling players the stakes had been moved since the previous day's play had ended. Afterwards, Snead explained why he forfeited even though Ford suggested they play sudden-death for the title. "I want to be fair about it. I don't want anyone to think I took advantage of the ruling."[2]

Ford's first major was the 1955 PGA Championship. The tournament was still match play at that time, and Ford defeated Cary Middlecoff (4&3) in the final. Ford was that season's PGA Player of the Year. In 1957, he holed out from a plugged lie in the bunker, on the final hole, to come from behind and beat Sam Snead by three strokes at The Masters. He is the oldest surviving winner of the Masters. The last of his 19 PGA Tour wins came in 1963.

Ford played on four Ryder Cup teams: 1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961. He was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 1972. He was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. Ford was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2010 and was inducted in May 2011.[3]

During the induction ceremony, Ford recalled that he showed enough promise as a baseball player that he received a contract offer from the New York Yankees. While he was considering the offer, his father asked how long he might expect to play baseball. When Doug said that he might expect to play professional baseball for about 10 years, his father responded, "Why don't you stay with the golf. You'll last forever." At the time of the ceremony, the 88-year-old Ford still regularly played casual golf.[4]

Professional wins (33)

PGA Tour wins (19)

Other wins (11)

Other senior wins (3)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1955 PGA Championship n/a 4 & 3 United States Cary Middlecoff
1957 Masters Tournament 3 shot deficit −5 (72-73-72-66=283) 3 strokes United States Sam Snead

Results timeline

Tournament 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP T21 T21 T33 DNP T6 1 T2 T25
U.S. Open CUT CUT 41 T19 T21 T35 T7 T9 T17 34 T5
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 1 R32 R16 T11 T11
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament T25 T32 T44 T11 T46 T31 T17 T31 T48 CUT
U.S. Open T33 T6 T8 CUT CUT DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP T24 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T7 T5 5 T27 CUT T20 CUT CUT CUT CUT
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament CUT T46 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT WD
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP CUT CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship CUT CUT CUT T56 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT WD CUT WD CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship CUT WD DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament CUT WD CUT CUT WD WD CUT CUT WD WD
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 2000 2001
Masters Tournament WD WD
U.S. Open DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
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 1 1 0 2 3 9 49 17
U.S. Open 0 0 0 1 5 8 19 12
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
PGA Championship 1 0 0 3 5 9 26 11
Totals 2 1 0 6 13 27 95 41
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 31 (1951 U.S. Open – 1963 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1955 U.S. Open – 1956 U.S. Open)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ford Gets First Major Golf Win". Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania. UP. March 25, 1952. p. 17.
  2. ^ "Snead Forfeits First in Jacksonville Open". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. AP. March 25, 1952. p. 12.
  3. ^ "2011 Hall of Fame class: Els, Ford, Bush, Hutchison". PGA Tour. September 22, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  4. ^ "Ernie Els, 41, inducted into Hall of Fame". ESPN. Associated Press. May 10, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2011.