The U.S. Open’s top 10 players for peak performance
By Bill Felber
6. Walter Hagen, -1.49 peak (1919-1928)
Statistically, there is a clear separation between the U.S. Open’s six all-time strongest competitors and everybody else. In fact there is a larger gap between Smith and Hagen than there is between Hagen and the player who ranks third all-time.
Hagen’s peak came between 1919 and 1928, but that’s partly because World War I likely robbed Hagen of several of his most productive seasons. By the war’s start he was already an Open champion, having won at Midlothian in 1914.
Between 1919 and 1928, Hagen added just won U.S. Open victory. But he had seven other top 10s, five of them top 5s.
At Brae Burn in 1919, Hagen rallied from five strokes down over the final 18 holes to tie Mike Brady, then beat him in the playoff.
Although Hagen would add nine more Major titles during the 1920s, he never finished higher than second in the Open. That runner-up came in 1921 when Jim Barnes ran away with the championship by nine strokes, Hagen tying Fred McLeod for second.
But if he did not get the trophy, he was a constant Open threat. Hagen was fifth in 1922, fourth in 1924, fifth in 1925, and fourth in 1928. Between 1919 and 1928, his only finish outside the top 11 was a tie for 18th in 1923.