LIAM CONNOLLY CELEBRATES THE CAREER OF ONE OF GOLF’S GREATEST PLAYERS AND CHARACTERS – AND THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS HOYLAKE OPEN VICTORY.
Walter Sir
WALTER HAGEN, KNOWN MORE
affectionately as “Sir Walter” or “The Haig,” was born in 1892 in Rochester, New York. His mother was Irish, from County Antrim, and his father was German. As with many professionals of the period Sir Walter’s interest in the game developed when he became a caddy, in his case at the local Country Club. He learned the game so well
48 ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB MAGAZINE 2 014
that he was employed by the Club to give lessons to members when he was still in his teens. In 1914, aged just 22, he won the first of his 11 majors - the U.S. Open Championship at Midlothian Country Club, Illinois. World War One interrupted his development as a top golfer but he adapted quickly to the post war golf world and again won the U.S. Open in 1919 at Brae Burn Country
Club, Massachusetts. Sir Walter broke the mould when
it came to expectations of how a professional golfer should behave and dress. The adjectives that best describe him are flamboyant, dashing, assertive, exhibitionist, extrovert, popular, and idiosyncratic. There are many stories of his individualistic behaviour when it came to how he expected to be treated
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