Sevam1

Jack Burke and The Ryder Cup

Posted by Mike Maves on Thursday, 30 September 2010 in Sevam1 · 0 Comments

Thought today that I would write about our man JB. We had a great talk on the weekend but ironically we didn’t touch on the Ryder Cup. He’d spoken about that earlier with Elk. He’s a modest guy so it is fitting that what he talked about was his only defeat ever in a Ryder Cup match.

Since he doesn’t give up much when it comes to accolades for himself I thought that I’d jot some things down here so all you Dirters get a better idea of how lucky we are to have Mr. Burke a part of Secret In The Dirt.

Let’s start in 1951 with Sam Snead as Captain – Here JB partnered with Clayton Heafner to defeat Max Faulkner and Dai Rees 5&3 in their Friday Foursome match. Then on Sunday he felled Jimmy Adams 4&3 in their singles match. US wins 9 ½ to 2 ½

1953 - Lloyd Mangrum captains –Mr. Burke teams with one of his favorite playing partners Ted Kroll to bury Jimmy Adams and Bernard Hunt 7&5 in the Friday Foursome match and then takes down Dai Rees 2&1 in his singles match. US Wins 6 ½ to 5 ½.

1955– Chick Harbert is Captain as Jack Burke and Tommy Bolt defeat Arthur Lees and Harry Wheetman in the Friday Foursome. Jack then Takes down Harry Bradshaw in his singles match 3&2. US Wins Ryder Cup 8 to 4

In 1957 Mr. Burke was named Ryder Cup captain. The competition was held at the Lindrick Golf Club in Rotherham, England. On the first day Burke and Kroll joined forces once again to beat Harry Wheetman and Max Faulkner and the US squad took a commanding lead winning 3 of the 4 Friday Foursome matches. With this began one on the biggest comebacks and greatest upsets in Ryder Cup history. The US lost all but two matches, one of which was halved and Jack Burke suffered his only career defeat in the Ryder Cup at the hands of Peter Mills. The Great Britain team led by captain Dai Rees beat the United States team by a score of 7½ to 4½ points, winning the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1933. The 1957 matches would mark the last time that a United States team would lose the event before players from continental Europe were allowed to take part in the Ryder Cup.

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Saluting Casey

Posted by Mike Maves on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 in Sevam1 · 0 Comments

Many folks here in The Dirt know how this whole thing started and perhaps for those of you who were there from the beginning this Blog will have some special meaning. For those of you who don't know the origins of Secret In The Dirt I'd like to go back for a minute. Secret In The Dirt began as a series of conversational videos filmed in a backyard in Canada. The Cameraman knew very little about golf and the dog Casey just liked to chew and chase golf balls. Casey also had an uncanny gift for stepping into cameraview and stealing the show.

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Back From Houston

Posted by Mike Maves on Tuesday, 28 September 2010 in Sevam1 · 0 Comments

Jackie Burke

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Jim Ferrier

Posted by Jimmy Nissen on Monday, 27 September 2010 in Sevam1 · 0 Comments

Jim Ferrier (Feb. 24, 1915 - June 13, 1986)

In this day an age, a golfer who won one major throughout a long -and sometimes considered far too long- career might not seem to be such an accomplishment, but for Jim Ferrier, what he did on and off the course can be inspirational to almost any professional golfer.

This Australian golfer began his golfing days under the guidance of his father who was a low handicap player. But first and foremost, Jim was actually a soccer player during his adolescent years. That is, until he severely broke his leg during a game. That injury left him with a limp he would endure for the rest of his life.

By the time he was sixteen, Jim was a scratch golfer and nearly won the Australian Open, coming in as the runner-up. He knew where his future lie and pursued golf with a fervent passion. But a problem for him was that the United States was where the real tournaments and spectator passion for the sport lay. It was where his best chance of success would be as a professional golfer.

In 1940, he and his wife Norma, emigrated to the United States. Being that World War II had broken out, he and Norma had to take jobs working for the defense of the nation in order to become citizens. They did so without complaint; the prime years of his golfing life slipping away from him with each passing year. During the next four years, most of the major championships in America were canceled.

Jim became an American citizen in 1944, and it wasn't until 1946 when he tied for 4th at the Master's when he showed the world what he was capable of on the golf course. He won the PGA Championship, his one and only major victory, in 1947 at the age of 32. All this while hobbling along the course with that limp.

Here's a list of his PGA tour wins:

1944 (1) Oakland Open

1947 (2) St. Paul Open, PGA Championship

1948 (1) Miami International Four-Ball (with Cary Middlecoff)

1949 (3) Grand Rapids Open, Kansas City Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Cary Middlecoff)

1950 (3) St. Paul Open, Canadian Open, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Sam Snead)

1951 (5) St. Petersburg Open, Miami Beach Open, Jacksonville Open, Canadian Open, Fort Wayne Open

1952 (2) Empire State Open, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Sam Snead)

1961 (1) Almaden Open Invitational

Here's a list of his Australasia Tour Wins:

1933 New South Wales Open

1934 Queensland Open

1935 New South Wales Open

1936 New South Wales Open

1937 New South Wales Open

1938 Australian Open, New South Wales Open, Queensland Open

1939 Australian Open, Queensland Open

His ultimate impact on the game:

Jim Ferrier's career began to tail off long before it should have, with him not playing in many championship events. Yet, with his win at the PGA, he had earned a lifetime exemption, which meant that he could play in any tournament for the rest of his life. He played in the PGA Championship until 1977, drawing criticism that he was taking a legitimate spot from a younger, more capable golfer.

The rules were changed as a result, limiting the PGA Championship to a ten-year exemption from his last victory, but what Jim Ferrier showed the world was that the competitive spirit doesn't fade in time, even when one's skills and strength does. He missed out on the Champions Tour by ten years and who knows just how great of an impact Jim might have had.

Paul Runyan

Posted by Mike Maves on Monday, 27 September 2010 in Sevam1 · 0 Comments

Considered short for golfers, Paul Runyan measured in at 5 feet 7 inches, and while he didn't have a tremendous long game, his short game was just about unparalleled by any of his peers. He is considered today to be one of the most influential short game players of all time and his techniques have been taught to thousands of golfers throughout the years.

Paul Runyan won 29 times on the Tour during his illustrious career, winning the PGA Championship twice, in 1934 and again in 1938. He even led the U.S. Open after three rounds in 1951. He won 16 times in two years, between 1933 and 1934 and his 9 wins in 1933 has only been matched or bested by seven golfers throughout history.

Paul Runyan was an iron horse of a golfer and taught up to 20 lessons per week well into his nineties. Paul Runyan started his golf career as a caddie and then he became an apprentice at a golf course in his hometown of Hot Springs, Alabama. He turned pro at the age of 17 and went on to become an assistant pro at Forest Hills Golf Course in White Plains, New York. He was the assistant to Craig Wood in 1921 and thirteen years later, in 1934, he defeated Wood in a playoff for the first of his two PGA Championship victories.

Paul Runyan defeated Sam Snead 8 and 7 for his second PGA Championship, which is the most lopsided final victory in the Championship ever. Of course, that was when the tournament was still decided on a match play format.

Here's a list of his tour wins:

1930 (2) North and South Open, New Jersey Open

1931 (2) Metropolitan PGA, Westchester Open

1932 (1) Gasparilla Open Match Play

1933 (9) Agua Caliente Open, Miami Biltmore Open (March), Virginia Beach Cavalier Open, Eastern Open Championship, National Capital Open, Mid-South Pro-Pro (with Willie Macfarlane), Mid-South Open (tie with Willie Macfarlane and Joe Turnesa), Miami International Four-Ball (with Horton Smith), Pasadena Open

1934 (6) St. Petersburg Open, Florida West Coast Open, Tournament of the Gardens Open, The Cavalier Open, Metropolitan Open, PGA Championship

1935 (3) North and South Open, Grand Slam Open, Westchester Open

1936 (2) Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA

1938 (1) PGA Championship

1939 (1) Westchester Open

1941 (1) Goodall Round Robin

Paul Runyan's simple, yet effective advice, has been carried through the years and some of the most successful golfers in the world can be viewed as living by this assessment that Paul made: "Don't let the bad shots get to you. Don't let yourself become angry. The true scramblers are thick-skinned. And they always beat the whiners."

His passion for golf wasn't limited to winning tournaments, but to bring golf to the masses. "I want to be remembered as one of the best all-around golf professionals in the business who was equally interested in promoting golf.... I wanted to put something back, and I think I have put something back."

Gene Sarazen

Posted by Jimmy Nissen on Wednesday, 22 September 2010 in Sevam1 · 0 Comments

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John Ball Jr.

Posted by Jimmy Nissen on Wednesday, 22 September 2010 in Sevam1 · 0 Comments

John Ball Jr.

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Ralph Guldahl

Posted by Jimmy Nissen on Tuesday, 21 September 2010 in Sevam1 · 0 Comments

Ralph Guldahl

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Lloyd Mangrum

Posted by Jimmy Nissen on Tuesday, 21 September 2010 in Sevam1 · 0 Comments

The forgotten man of golf. That's what legendary sports writer Jim Murray called Lloyd Mangrum. By any generation's standards, Lloyd Mangrum won enough tournaments than almost all others who had come before or after him. Thirty-six in all. Only eleven men have done better throughout golf history. But what Lloyd did on the golf course can often seem trivial compared to what he did off of it.

Lloyd won 36 PGA tour events and one major, the 1946 U.S. Open

Lloyd Mangrum fought in World War II, as many professional athletes did during those years. Yet few were involved in the bloody battles as he was. Lloyd Mangrum took part in the D-Day Invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. He won four Battle Stars and two Purple Hearts for his service and by the end of World War II, he and one other soldier were the only two survivors of his unit.

After he returned to golf following the war, Lloyd Mangrum was quoted as stating, "I don't suppose that any of the pro or amateur golfers who were combat soldiers, Marines or sailors will soon be able to think of a three-putt green as one of the really bad troubles in life." His actions on and off the course conveyed this sentiment and he was revered and respected by his fellow golfers.

Perhaps Lloyd Mangrum seemed overshadowed by fellow Texans Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, and Jimmy Demaret. These fellow golfers are legendary, especially Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson. Yet the lack of attention he garnered in history cannot overshadow the dedication not only as a golfer but as a patriot.

When the war ended, Lloyd Mangrum returned to his winning ways in 1946 by beating Byron Nelson in a playoff at the U.S. Open. From there, he went on to amass the majority of his career victories through the mid-1950s. Byron Nelson once said of Lloyd Mangrum, "He was a tough competitor and an excellent putter. Any time you beat him, you could know you were playing well."

One fact that many don't know about Mangrum is that he actually came in second to Hogan during the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion, when Hogan hit his famous 1 iron shot into the 18th green

Most Notable among these achievements are his U.S Open Victory, as well as his 4 victories at the L.A. Open:

1940 (1) Thomasville Open

1941 (1) Atlantic City Open

1942 (3) New Orleans Open, Seminole Victory Golf Tournament, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Lawson Little)

1946 (1) U.S. Open

1947 (2) National Capital Open, Albuquerque Open

1948 (7) Bing Crosby Pro-Am, Lower Rio Grande Open, Greater Greensboro Open, Zooligans' Open, All American Open, World Championship of Golf, Utah Open

1949 (4) Los Angeles Open, Tucson Open, Motor City Open (co-winner with Cary Middlecoff), All American Open

1950 (5) Fort Wayne Open, Motor City Open, Eastern Open, Kansas City Open, Palm Beach Round Robin

1951 (4) Los Angeles Open, Tucson Open, Wilmington Azalea Open, St. Paul Open

1952 (2) Phoenix Open, Western Open

1953 (4) Los Angeles Open, Bing Crosby Pro-Am Invitational, Phoenix Open, All American Open

1954 (1) Western Open

1956 (1) Los Angeles Open

(check out his wikipedia page)

Lloyd Mangrum shares the PGA Tour record for the longest sudden-death playoff with fellow golfer Cary Middlecoff (right). These two warriors battled for eleven holes in 1949 at the Motor City Open. Finally, tour officials conceded that neither man seemed able to gain the advantage and declared a tie.