| Doug Ford | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 6, 1922 West Haven, Connecticut |
| Died |
May 14, 2018 (aged 95) Palm Beach Gardens, Florida |
| Nationality | United States |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 13 st) |
Douglas Michael Ford Sr. (born Douglas Michael Fortunato; August 6, 1922 – May 14, 2018) was an American professional golfer and two-time major golf champion. Ford turned professional in 1949, later going on to win the 1955 PGA Championship and the 1957 Masters Tournament. He was also a member of four Ryder Cup teams (1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961) and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.
Biography[]
Ford was born in West Haven, Connecticut on August 6, 1922.[1][2][3] During World War II, he served in the Coast Guard Air Division.[4] He turned professional in 1949 and won for the first time in 1952 at the Jacksonville Open.[5]
The win in Jacksonville was an unusual one. At the end of regulation play, Ford and Sam Snead were tied for the lead. An 18-hole playoff was scheduled for the next day but rather than play, Snead forfeited.[6] The forfeit stemmed from a ruling Snead received during the tournament's second round of play. On the 10th hole, Snead's drive landed behind an out-of-bounds stake. While Chick Harbert, who was playing with Snead, thought the ball was out-of-bounds,[7] a rules official ruled differently due to the starter not telling players the stakes had been moved since the previous day's play had ended. Afterwards, Snead explained why he forfeited even though Ford suggested they play sudden-death for the title. "I want to be fair about it. I don't want anyone to think I took advantage of the ruling."[8]
Ford's first major was the 1955 PGA Championship. The tournament was still match play at that time, and Ford defeated Cary Middlecoff (4&3) in the final. Ford was that season's PGA Player of the Year.[1] In 1957, he holed out from a plugged lie in the bunker, on the final hole, to come from behind and beat Sam Snead by three strokes at the Masters Tournament. The last of his 19 PGA Tour wins came in 1963.[5]
Ford played in 49 Masters Tournaments, a record that stood until Arnold Palmer played in his 50th tournament three years later. 2001 was his final Masters; he withdrew after an opening-hole double-bogey and was asked not to participate in future tournaments.[9][10]
Ford played on four Ryder Cup teams: 1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961. He was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 1972. He was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. Ford was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.[11]
During the induction ceremony, Ford recalled that he showed enough promise as a baseball player that he received a contract offer from the New York Yankees. While he was considering the offer, his father asked how long he might expect to play baseball. When Doug said that he might expect to play professional baseball for about 10 years, his father responded, "Why don't you stay with the golf. You'll last forever." At the time of the ceremony, the 88-year-old Ford still regularly played casual golf.[12]
Ford died in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on May 14, 2018 at the age of 95.[13][14]
Professional wins (33)[]
PGA Tour wins (19)[]
- 1952 (1) Jacksonville Open
- 1953 (3) Virginia Beach Open, Labatt Open, Miami Open
- 1954 (2) Greater Greensboro Open, Fort Wayne Open
- 1955 (3) All American Open, Carling Golf Classic, PGA Championship
- 1957 (3) Los Angeles Open, Masters Tournament, Western Open
- 1958 (1) Pensacola Open Invitational
- 1959 (1) Canadian Open
- 1960 (1) 500 Festival Open Invitation
- 1961 (1) 500 Festival Open Invitation
- 1962 (2) Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, Eastern Open Invitational
- 1963 (1) Canadian Open
Other wins (11)[]
- 1956 Metropolitan Open
- 1957 Panama Open, Metropolitan PGA Championship, Westchester PGA Championship
- 1958 Metropolitan PGA Championship
- 1960 Metropolitan PGA Championship
- 1961 Westchester Open, Westchester PGA Championship
- 1963 Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA Championship, Westchester PGA Championship
Source:[1]
Other senior wins (3)[]
- 1981 Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am
- 1987 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Jerry Barber)
- 1996 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Art Wall)
Source:[1]
Major championships[]
Wins (2)[]
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | PGA Championship | n/a | 4 & 3 |  Cary Middlecoff
| |
| 1957 | Masters Tournament | 3 shot deficit | −5 (72-73-72-66=283) | 3 strokes | Sam Snead
|
Results timeline[]
| Tournament | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T21 | T21 | T33 | T6 | 1 | T2 | T25 | ||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | 41 | T19 | T21 | T35 | T7 | T9 | T17 | 34 | T5 |
| The Open Championship | |||||||||||
| PGA Championship | 1 | R32 | R16 | T11 | T11 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T25 | T32 | T44 | T11 | T46 | T31 | T17 | T31 | T48 | CUT |
| U.S. Open | T33 | T6 | T8 | CUT | CUT | CUT | ||||
| The Open Championship | T24 | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | T7 | T5 | 5 | T27 | CUT | T20 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | T46 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | WD |
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | ||||||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | T56 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | CUT | WD | CUT | WD | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| U.S. Open | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | WD |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | WD | CUT | CUT | WD | WD | CUT | CUT | WD | WD |
| U.S. Open | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | WD | WD |
| U.S. Open | ||
| The Open Championship | ||
| PGA Championship |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Source:[15]
Summary[]
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 49 | 17 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 19 | 12 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| PGA Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 11 |
| Totals | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 27 | 95 | 41 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 31 (1951 U.S. Open – 1963 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1955 U.S. Open – 1956 U.S. Open)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Doug Ford". World Golf Hall of Fame. http://www.worldgolfhalloffame.org/doug-ford/.
- ↑ Barkow, Al (November 1989). The History of the PGA TOUR. Copyright PGA Tour. Doubleday. p. 269. ISBN 0-385-26145-4. https://archive.org/details/historyofpgatour00bark/page/269.
- ↑ Elliott, Len; Barbara Kelly (1976). Who's Who in Golf. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House. p. 66. ISBN 0-87000-225-2. https://archive.org/details/whoswhoingolf00elli/page/66.
- ↑ "For two-time major golf champion Doug Ford, the Hall of Fame finally calls". Palm Beach Post. October 9, 2010. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/golf/for-two-time-major-golf-champion-doug-ford-the-hall-fame-finally-calls/dgbLzj6Ya1zte3NKC38JwI/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Doug Ford – Profile". PGA Tour. https://www.pgatour.com/players/player.01359.doug-ford.html.
- ↑ "Sam Snead Forfeits First in Jacksonville Open". March 25, 1952. p. 12. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pzBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6OUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5341,6203766&dq=doug+ford+sam+snead+jacksonville+open+out+of+bounds&hl=en.
- ↑ "Ford Gets First Major Golf Win". Reading, Pennsylvania. March 25, 1952. p. 17. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vWYuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QNoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3673,2123731&dq=doug+ford+sam+snead+jacksonville+open+out+of+bounds&hl=en.
- ↑ "Snead Forfeits First in Jacksonville Open". Spokane, Washington. March 25, 1952. p. 12. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pzBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6OUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5341,6203766&dq=doug+ford+sam+snead+jacksonville+open+out+of+bounds&hl=en.
- ↑ Johnson, Martin (April 9, 2002). "The Masters: Augusta bows to change with a pompous flourish". The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/3025637/The-Masters-Augusta-bows-to-change-with-a-pompous-flourish.html.
- ↑ "Doug Ford, Masters Champion in Golf Hall of Fame, Dies at 95". Bloomberg Quint. May 15, 2018. https://www.bloombergquint.com/onweb/doug-ford-masters-champion-in-golf-hall-of-fame-dies-at-95.
- ↑ "2011 Hall of Fame class: Els, Ford, Bush, Hutchison". PGA Tour. September 22, 2010. http://www.pgatour.com/news/2010/09/22/2010-hall-of-fame.html. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ↑ "Ernie Els, 41, inducted into Hall of Fame". ESPN. May 10, 2011. http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=6515974. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
- ↑ McCabe, Jim (May 15, 2018). "World Golf Hall of Fame member Ford dies at 95". PGA Tour. https://www.pgatour.com/news/2018/05/15/doug-ford-obituary.html.
- ↑ Goldstein, Richard (May 15, 2018). "Doug Ford, Oldest Masters Champion, Dies at 95". https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/obituaries/doug-ford-oldest-masters-champion-dies-at-95.html.
- ↑ "Doug Ford". Golf Major Championships. http://golfmajorchampionships.com/players?player=108.
External links[]
- Doug Ford at the PGA Tour official site
The original article can be found at Doug Ford (golfer) and the edit history here.