Sir Walter: Walter Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf

by TomClavin (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2005

  $17.62

  Walter Hagen was one of the first professional golfers to make his living playing the game rather than teaching it. He won eleven professional major championships: two U.S. Opens, four British Opens, and five PGA Championships - a figure eclipsed so far only by Jack Nicklaus. Most amazing was his streak of four consecutive PGA wins. He helped to create the Ryder Cup, and was the first U.S. golfer to top $1 million in career prize money - a figure that would equate to over $40 million today. In the Golden Age of Sports during the 1920s, Hagen was to golf what Babe Ruth was to baseball. Award-winning sports writer Tom Clavin has penned a thrilling biography that recalls Hagen's dazzling achievements and the qualities that made him a star. Hagen was an energetic, witty man who loved to party, was extraordinarily generous to his friends, and travelled the world over giving exhibitions. On his many trips across the Atlantic to compete in the Ryder Cup or the British Open, Hagen was known to throw days-long parties that would end only when the ship reached shore. Hagen was the first to admit playing not only for his love of the game, but also for his love of the winner's purse. It was that competitive, glamorous spirit that made this superbly gifted player the forerunner of today's sports superstars - and one of the most compelling golfers the world has seen.