Leo Harvey Diegel (April 20, 1899 – May 5, 1951) was an American professional golfer of the 1920s and early 1930s. He captured consecutive PGA Championships, played on the first four Ryder Cup teams, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Early life
Born in Gratiot Township, Wayne County, Michigan, Diegel began caddying at age ten Diegel achieved the rare feat of defending both titles successfully in 1929, this time defeating Hagen in the semifinals of the PGA. Diegel was a runner-up to Bobby Jones at the British Open in 1930.
Diegel was an excellent ball-striker, but struggled with his putting after joining the tour. After extensive experimentation, he eventually developed an unusual putting style where he pointed both elbows outwards; this was referred to as 'Diegeling'. He was a tour winner from 1920 to 1934, but dropped out of regular contention when he reached his mid-30s; a playful wrestling incident in Australia in late 1934 with friend Harry Cooper caused nerve damage to his right shoulder and <!--automobile accident in 1938--> effectively ended his tour career.
Death
Diagnosed with throat and lung cancer in 1947, Diegel died at home in North Hollywood, California in 1951 at age 52; he had taken a position there as a club professional after scaling back his Tour play. He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.
Awards and honors
Diegel was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
Professional wins (36)
PGA Tour wins (27)
- 1920 (1) Pinehurst Fall Pro-Am Bestball (with Tommy Armour)
- 1921 (1) Coronado Beach Open
- 1922 (1) Shreveport Open
- 1923 (1) District of Columbia Open Championship
- 1924 (3) Shawnee Open, Canadian Open, Illinois Open
- 1925 (3) Florida Open, Canadian Open, Middle Atlantic Open
- 1926 (1) Middle Atlantic Open
- 1927 (2) Middle Atlantic Open, San Diego Open
- 1928 (4) Long Beach Open (January; tie with Bill Mehlhorn)<!-- two events in 1928-->, Canadian Open, PGA Championship, Massachusetts Open
- 1929 (4) San Diego Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Walter Hagen), Canadian Open, PGA Championship
- 1930 (3) Pacific Southwest Pro, Oregon Open, San Francisco National Match Play Open
- 1933 (1) California Open
- 1934 (2) Rochester Open, New England PGA
Major championships are shown in bold.
Source:
Note: The PGA Tour and World Golf Hall of Fame list Diegel with 28 official wins. The PGA Tour book History of the PGA Tour lists 29 wins, and includes the 1925 Mid-Southern Amateur-Professional listed below.
Other wins (9)
Note: This list may be incomplete.
- 1916 Michigan Open
- 1919 Michigan Open
- 1922 Louisiana Open
- 1925 Mid-Southern Amateur-Professional, Mid South All Pro
- 1926 Maryland Open
- 1931 California Open
- 1933 Timber Point Open, Southern California Open
Major championships
Wins (2)
{|class="wikitable"
!Year!!Championship!!Winning score!!Runner-up
|-style="background:#D8BFD8;"
| align=center|1928 || PGA Championship || align=center|6 & 5 || Al Espinosa
|-style="background:#D8BFD8;"
| align=center|1929 || PGA Championship || align=center|6 & 4 || Johnny Farrell
|}
Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
Results timeline
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
!Tournament
!1920
!1921
!1922
!1923
!1924
!1925
!1926
!1927
!1928
!1929
|-
|align=left|U.S. Open
|style="background:yellow;"|T2
|T26
|style="background:yellow;"|7
|style="background:yellow;"|T8
|T25
|style="background:yellow;"|8
|style="background:yellow;"|T3
|T11
|T18
|style="background:yellow;"|T8
|-
|align=left|The Open Championship
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|T25
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:yellow;"|3
|-
|align=left|PGA Championship
|R32
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|R32
|style="background:yellow;"|QF
|style="background:yellow;"|2
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:lime;"|1
|style="background:lime;"|1
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
!Tournament
!1930
!1931
!1932
!1933
!1934
!1935
!1936
!1937
!1938
!1939
|-
|align=left|Masters Tournament
|align="center" colspan=4 style="background:#eeeeee;"|NYF
|T16
|T19
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|-
|align=left|U.S. Open
|T11
|style="background:yellow;"|3
|style="background:yellow;"|4
|T17
|T17
|CUT
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|-
|align=left|The Open Championship
|style="background:yellow;"|T2
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:yellow;"|T3
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|-
|align=left|PGA Championship
|style="background:yellow;"|R16
|R32
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|R32
|R32
|DNQ <!-- 81-76=157 -->
|DNQ <!-- 79-78=157 -->
|R64
|R32
|R32
|}
NYF = Tournament not yet founded<br>
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion<br/> <!--see Walter Hagen-->
CUT = missed the half-way cut<br>
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play<br>
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Tournament !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top-5 !! Top-10 !! Top-25 !! Events !! Cuts made
|-
|align=left|Masters Tournament || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 2
|-
|align=left|U.S. Open || 0 || 1 || 2 || 4 || 8 || 14 || 16 || 15
|-
|align=left|The Open Championship || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 4 || 4 || 4
|-
|align=left|PGA Championship || 2 || 1 || 0 || 4 || 5 || 12 || 13 || 13
|-
!Totals !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 11 !! 16 !! 32 !! 35 !! 34
|}
- Most consecutive cuts made – 31 (1920 U.S. Open – 1935 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (twice)
See also
- List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
References
External links
- USGA Museum – Leo Diegel and his Magic Wand Putter
- PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame – member profiles