Golf Legend Ben Hogan Dies Today At Age 84

FORT WORTH, Texas - Ben Hogan, the golfer who overcame devastating injuries from a traffic accident to win four U.S. Opens and come closest to capturing professional golf's "grand slam," died today. He was 84.

Hogan, who had colon-cancer surgery two years ago and Alzheimer's disease, died at his home here, said his secretary, Pat Martin.

The stone-faced man in a white hat, who gained a reputation as one of the game's most exacting players, captured the Masters twice, the PGA championship twice and the British Open once, in addition to his four U.S. Open victories.

Only three other golfers - Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus - won the U.S. Open four times.

Hogan translated a stern, no-nonsense approach to the game, and endless, highly disciplined practice, into 62 professional wins over a career that spanned three decades.

"What has given him his edge over the field?" wrote sportswriter Grantland Rice. "I've seen Hogan finish a hard morning round, grab a sandwich and then go out for an hour's practice before starting the afternoon round."

In a rare interview in 1987 with Golf Digest, Hogan said he never tried to hit a straight shot.

"I can't," he said. "I don't believe anybody else can hit a straight ball. You only hit a straight ball by accident. The ball is going to move right or left every time you hit it, so you had better make it go one way or the other."

Hogan retired from full-time tournament play in 1955 and dedicated himself to business interests, including a golf-club-manufacturing company bearing his name. His last professional win was in 1959.

More recently, his company established the Ben Hogan Tour, a successful minor-league training tour for pro golfers. The tour began in 1990; in 1993, the Nike sports-equipment company took over sponsorship and renamed it the Nike Tour.

He lamented the commercialism of some of his latter-day colleagues.

"Wearing these caps and visors with a name on them. I don't know what is going on out there," he said. "The players get paid. The caddies get paid. It is a strange thing, but I suppose the people who pay for it think they get their money's worth if it is shown on television.

"I never wore signs. I never will."

After spending much of the 1930s attempting to break into the money on the pro tour, Hogan won his first tournament in 1938, the Hershey Four-Ball. He captured the PGA in 1946 and won his first U.S. Open in 1948. Then, tragedy struck.

On Feb. 2, 1949, as he and his wife, Valerie, were returning from a tournament in Phoenix, their car was struck by a bus near El Paso. His wife was only slightly injured, but Hogan suffered broken bones and other severe injuries from which he never fully recovered. Doctors doubted he would ever walk again.

But a year later, Hogan returned to the tournament trail, losing a playoff to Sam Snead in the Los Angeles Open. Later in 1950, he tied for fourth in the Masters and won his second U.S. Open title.

The remarkable comeback was featured in the movie "Follow the Sun," with Glenn Ford portraying Hogan.

He repeated as U.S. Open champion in 1951, shooting a final three-under-par round 67 at Oakland Hills in Birmingham, Mich. - a round regarded by some golf historians as the finest ever. The course, toughened up for the championship, yielded only one other sub-par round during the 72 holes of competition.

Hogan also won his first Masters championship in 1951 and captured his second green jacket at Augusta, Ga., in 1953. That same year, Hogan won his fourth U.S. Open and captured his only British Open title, completing a feat compared to Bobby Jones winning four major championships in 1930.

No other pro golfer has come as close to winning the "grand slam" - the U.S. Open, Masters, British Open and PGA Championship - in one year. Hogan did not play in the 1953 PGA Championship.

In addition to his tournament victories, Hogan three times won the Vardon Trophy, for lowest scoring average on the PGA tour, and was honored as player of the year four times. He was the tour's leading money-winner five times.

In his later years, Hogan, suffering from physical problems stemming from his auto accident, declined to play in PGA Senior Tour events, including the Legends of Golf team championship in Austin.

In the 1987 interview, he quipped that he stayed away from the senior tour because "I've always considered myself a junior."

Hogan disputed the generally accepted belief that he quit playing competitively because of poor putting.

"I was a bad putter at the end, but that didn't do it," he said. "All technique and practice in the world wasn't going to help. It was a nerves situation, and it was embarrassing for me out there in front of people."

Hogan, whose full name was W. Benjamin Hogan, was born Aug. 13, 1912, in the Texas town of Dublin and moved to Fort Worth as a boy. He became a caddy at age 9 after his father died, and later began playing.