Not a lot of people have heard of Ed Furgol but you know Ben Hogan wasn't the only guy ever to overcome an injury to win the US Open. Ed Furgol overcame his own injury to become a 6 time winner on the PGA Tour in the 1950's including the 1954 US Open. At age 37 he won the US Open at Balturol by 4 shots over Gene Littler. The Open that year was the first nationally televised Open and tournament organizers were no doubt hoping for a household name like Snead or Hogan to factor in on the Championship, but at the finish line it was Furgol.Ed Furgol is interesting for a number of reasons, but mainly because he played with a crooked left arm due to a severe elbow injury he suffered in a playground mishap at age 12. The injured elbow left him unable to fully extend his lead arm. In spite of the this Furgol wanted to play golf. He created his own special excercise regimen to develope his hand strength and worked tirelessly to develop a swing that would overcome his lack of power. By 1954 he did indeed have the ncecessary power and a swing solid enough to work on the PGATour. I guess we could have all taken a lesson in perseverence from Ed Fugol. He died in 1997 at age 79.
Ed Furgol - US Open Champion
I found a great reference resource fo you all to check out. The USGA Musem's Hall of Champions. You can visit it here: http://www.usgamuseum.com/champions/
You can select by chamionship and year and it will give you a snapshot of what happened. I have found it to be a great resource.
5 comments:
Got to watch Ed at the Naples Beach Club, Naples, Florida in the early 60's along with Boros, Finsterwald
Rudolph and others. No Cal Peete but he could hit it.
Ed was talking to Hogan one time about how good he thought he could be if his left arm was normal, and Hogan told him "hell Ed you probably wouldn't be worth a damn" Not knowing how good his left arm worked BECAUSE of his deformity, Hogan new this learning it from Sam Byrd and kept it to himself......
www.stevewozeniak.com
Mike,
Thanks for your videos on youtube as they provide a bountiful amount of insight into Mr. Hogan's swing.
I just wanted to ask you if you think that Mr. Hogan's height had anything to do with his swing plan being a little flatter. I'm right around his height, so I was curious if you think there's that kind of a correlation.
Thanks again.
-Gabe
Gabe, Hogan wasn't flat a day of his life!!!! Even with his crap swing he had before learning the correct information. (Power Golf)
He was always ON PLANE if you look at decent angles you will see this. He was a HUGE advocate of swinging the club on proper plane and he did......
Steve Wozeniak PGA
www.stevewozeniak.com
Does anyone know if Ed Furgol has any living children? Thanks
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