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 and won his first significant event at age 17, the 1916 Michigan Open.
Professional career Diegel was a runner-up in his first U.S. Open in 1920, one stroke behind champion Ted Ray. He won 28 PGA circuit events, and was a four-time winner of the Canadian Open (1924–25, 1928–29); a record for that event. In 1925, Diegel outperformed over 100 competitors to win the Florida Open (billed as the "Greatest Field Of Golfers Ever to Play in Florida") at the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club.
Diegel was selected for the first four Ryder Cup teams in 1927, 1929, 1931, and 1933. His greatest season was 1928, with wins at the Canadian Open and the match play PGA Championship, where he stopped the four-year winning streak of Walter Hagen. Diegel defeated him in the quarterfinal to avenge earlier defeats in the 1925 quarterfinal and the 1926 final. 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 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), 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) YearChampionshipWinning scoreRunner-up1928 PGA Championship 6 & 5 Al Espinosa1929 PGA Championship 6 & 4 Johnny Farrell Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
Results timeline Tournament1920192119221923192419251926192719281929U.S. OpenT2T267T8T258T3T11T18T8The Open ChampionshipT253PGA ChampionshipR32R32QF211 Tournament1930193119321933193419351936193719381939Masters TournamentNYFT16T19U.S. OpenT1134T17T17CUTThe Open ChampionshipT2T3PGA ChampionshipR16R32R32R32DNQ DNQ R64R32R32
NYF = Tournament not yet founded DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion CUT = missed the half-way cut R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play "T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2U.S. Open 0 1 2 4 8 14 16 15The Open Championship 0 1 2 3 3 4 4 4PGA Championship 2 1 0 4 5 12 13 13Totals 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