The virtual PGA: These 13 could contend
By Bill Felber
Gene Sarazen, 1922, 1923, 1933 (1932-1941), -0.92
Jay Hebert, 1960 (1955-1964), -0.92
Doug Ford, 1955 (1955-1964), -0.91
Phil Mickelson, 2005 (1999-2008), -0.90
There were distinct phases to Gene Sarazen’s PGA Championship resume. His 1920s experience included two of his three victories, but it also included some embarrassing losses that undermined his overall rating for that period. They included an 8 & 7 first-round loss to Jack Burke in 1925 and a 9 & 8 semi-final pounding at the hands of eventual champion Leo Diegel in 1928.
His record reflects that Sarazen was a more consistent performer during the 1930s. A 1-up loser to Tommy Armour in the 1930 championship match, he raced through the 1933 field with five victories, none by closer margins than 4 & 3.
In the 1941 championship, he rolled into the semi-finals on the strength of a 7 & 6 defeat of former two-time champion Denny Shute, only to lose to Byron Nelson 2 & 1.
Jay Hebert was the second member of his family to win the tournament; his brother, Lionel, took the final match-play contest in 1957. Jay’s victory came three years later in medal play at Firestone.
Trailing Arnold Palmer by five shots after the first round, he shot into the lead with a Friday 67, surrendered that lead to Doug Sanders entering the final round, then closed with a 70 to beat Jim Ferrier by one stroke, Sanders two back and Palmer five behind.
Between 1955 and 1964, Hebert finished in the top 10 four times.
Doug Ford’s 1955 victory at Meadowbrook came in his PGA Championship debut. Facing an expanded field of 128, he maneuvered through six matches, taking out reigning Masters champion Cary Middlecoff 4 & 3 in the title match. Between 1960 and 1962, Ford was a consistent championship contender, coming home five strokes behind Jay Hebert in 1960, five behind Jerry Barber in 1961, and four behind Gary Player in 1962.
Phil Mickelson won only in 2005, defeating Steve Elkington and Thomas Bjorn by one stroke at Baltusrol. But he made runs at additional glory. In 2001 he came to the final hole one stroke behind David Toms, recorded a routine par, then watched Toms roll home a 12-footer for his own par to hold Mickelson off.
At Valhalla in 2014, Mickelson trailed Rory McIlroy by two shots on the closing par five, his eagle chip barely missing the cup.
Leo Diegel, 1928, 1929 (1920-1931), -0.88
Rory McIlroy, 2012, 2014 (2009-2018), -0.86)
Jack Burke Jr., 1956 (1951-1960 (-0.81)
In the late 1920s, Leo Diegel was known as a more than a competent player with a fatal flaw: nerves under pressure. That did not show up, however, during the 1928 PGA Championship at Five Farms in Baltimore. Diegel handed Walter Hagen his first defeat in 23 matches during the quarter-finals, beat Gene Sarazen 7 & 6 in the semis, and polished off Al Espinosa 6 & 5 for the trophy.
One year later at Hillcrest in Los Angeles, Diegel beat Sarazen and Hagen on his way to a successful defense of his title against Johnny Farrell.
Rory McIlroy’s narrow 2014 victory over Mickelson has already been noted. He also won at Kiawah Island in 2012, this time by eight full strokes over David Lynn. That broke the record for margin of victory set by Jack Nicklaus, who won by seven in 1980.
Like Ford one year earlier, Jack Burke Jr. survived a massive 128-player match playfield to win at Blue Hill in Canton, Mass in 1956. The reigning Masters champion, Burke avoided a confrontation with pre-tournament favorite Sam Snead when Ted Kroll took Snead out in the quarter-final. Burke beat 1950 PGA champion, Chandler Harper, in his own quarter-final, then took out Kroll 3 & 2 in the final match.
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Tune in Wednesday to hear about the rest of the field, and meet some of the players that are going to be considered longshots heading into the virtual PGA Championship.