... was born in 1892, in Rochester, New York. He began playing golf at the local Country Club, and by his mid–teens he was being paid to give lessons and work in the club shop. He made his top–class professional debut, aged 19, at the Canadian Open tournament of 1912. At this time, professionals were literally treated as second class citizens in golfing circles: they were not allowed in the clubhouses. This all began to change in the 1920s, and Hagen himself was an influential figure in the acceptance and development of professional golf.
At the start of his career, only two of the tournaments that are nowadays counted as Majors were in existence. Hagen first entered the US Open in 1913, when he tied for fourth place. But in 1914 he won the tournament, and he scored a second win in 1919 (the US Open was suspended in 1917 and 1918 on account of World War I). Oddly, he never won it again; his best performances after 1919 were a tie for second place in 1921 and a third in 1933.
He entered the (British) Open for the first time on its restart in 1920, and could only tie in 53rd place. But he won the Open for the first time in 1922, and by 1929 he had three more wins. The 1929 British Open was in fact Hagen's last Major win; he only entered this particular tournament twice more, in 1933 and 1937, and he failed to finish in the top 20 on either occasion.
The PGA of America was founded in 1916, and its Championship was first held in the same year. It was played in a knockout format; Hagen reached the semi–final. Like the US Open, the PGA was suspended in 1917 and 1918, and after the resumption Hagen chose not to enter again until 1921 – when he won the tournament (at his second attempt). He didn't enter in 1922, but in 1923 he finished as runner–up and in the next four years (1924 to 1927) he recorded four straight wins.
By 1934, when the Masters Tournament was played for the first time, Hagen was 42 years old and past his peak. His best finish in the Masters was a tie for 11th place in 1936.
For most of Hagen's career, the Western Open (played in Chicago, and known since 2007 as the BMW Championship) was considered one of the premier events on the world golf schedule, behind only the British and US Opens. He won this tournament five times between 1916 and 1932. If the Western Open were to be considered a Major (as some golf historians suggest it should) Hagen would have 16 wins – more than Tiger Woods, and second only to Jack Nicklaus.
© Haydn Thompson 2021