The Open Championship: Top 10 moments in history
By Luke Norris
5. Ben Hogan wins his one and only appearance at The Open in 1953
Ben Hogan is just one of five men to win the career Grand Slam, joining Gene Sarazen, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in that exclusive club. What makes that a little more amazing on Hogan’s end is that he played in The Open Championship just once throughout his long career, that appearance coming in 1953 at Carnoustie. Back in those days, it wasn’t uncommon for American players to skip the event. The journey across the Atlantic was obviously a long one, The Open used to make everyone qualify and there was also a conflict with the PGA Championship. In fact, only four U.S. players teed off in the first round at Carnoustie that year and just three made the cut.
Hogan was the clear favorite going into the tournament having won The Masters and the U.S. Open that season. The conflict with the PGA Championship kept the modern Grand Slam off the table but Hogan was determined to prove that he was the best golfer in the world at the time, an argument that wasn’t difficult to make that year. What makes this more impressive is the fact that Hogan had nearly died in a car accident just four years earlier and had to scratch and claw his way back to the game in dramatic fashion, returning to tie for fourth at The Masters in 1950 and winning the U.S. Open that year. He would win both of those events the following year and finished in the top 10 in both in 1952.
Hogan began his quest for the Triple Crown with an opening-round 73 and was three shots back of the lead and cut the deficit to two at the midway point. Hogan shot a 70 to begin the 36-hole final day to tie for the lead with Roberto De Vicenzo at 2-under and then just went ahead and gave nobody else a chance in the afternoon. He chipped in from the bunker at the fifth and followed it up with another birdie at the sixth, a hole now known as Hogan’s Alley. Legend has it that Hogan was so accurate that day that his ball was landing in the same divots he had taken in the morning round.
He coasted to a four-shot victory with a closing-round 68 to cap off one of the greatest seasons in major championship history. Nobody would win three majors in one season until Tiger Woods in 2000.