1926 PGA Championship

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox individual golf tournament | name = 1926 PGA Championship | image = | course = [[Eisenhower Park|Salisbury Golf Club]] | location = [[East Meadow, New York]] | dates = September 20–25, 1926 | par = 72 | yardage =  | org = [[Professional Golfers' Association of America|PGA of America]] | tour = [[PGA Tour]] | field = 65 players,<ref name=hwoftq>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EV5QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ag8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4601%2C75864|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |agency=Universal Service |last=Rice |first=Lester |title=Hagen with 140 tops pro golf qualifying rounds |date=September 21, 1926 |page=12}}</ref> 32 to match play | cut = 155 (+11), playoff | format = [[Match play]] - 5 rounds | purse = [[United States dollar|$]]11,100<ref name=pgamedia26>{{cite web|url=http://www.pgamediaguide.com/pgachampionship_detail.cfm?tournament_id=425&date=1926&tourn_name_id=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023165230/http://www.pgamediaguide.com/pgachampionship_detail.cfm?tournament_id=425&date=1926&tourn_name_id=2|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 23, 2006|publisher=PGA of America|title=Tournament Info for: 1926 PGA Championship|accessdate=May 11, 2013}}</ref> | winners_share =  | champion = {{flagicon|USA|1912}} [[Walter Hagen]] | score = def. [[Leo Diegel]], 5 and 3 | previous = [[1925 PGA Championship|1925]] | next = [[1927 PGA Championship|1927]] |}} {{Location map |USA |relief = 1 |label = Salisbury GC |lat = 40.735 |long = -73.574 |caption = Location in the [[United States]] |marksize = 5 |float = |background = |width = 230 }} {{Location map |USA New York |relief = 1 |label = Salisbury GC |lat = 40.735 |long = -73.574 |caption = Location in [[New York (state)|New York]] |marksize = 5 |float = |background = |width = 180 }} The '''1926 PGA Championship''' was the ninth [[PGA Championship]], held September 20–25 at [[Eisenhower Park|Salisbury Golf Club]] on [[Long Island]] in [[East Meadow, New York]]. Then a [[match play]] championship, [[Walter Hagen]] defeated [[Leo Diegel]] 5 and 3 in the finals to win his third consecutive PGA Championship,<ref name=whbdfpt>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=O_QuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ktcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5093%2C966578 |newspaper=Miami Daily News|last=Vischer |first=Peter |agency=New York World News Service|title=Walter Hagen beats Diegel for pro title |date=September 26, 1926 |page=15}}{{dead link|date=January 2021}}</ref> his fourth overall, and the eighth of his eleven [[Men's major golf championships|major]] titles.

The victory ran Hagen's match record at the PGA Championship in the 1920s to 25–1 ({{winning percentage|25|1}}), falling only to [[Gene Sarazen]] in 38 holes in the [[1923 PGA Championship|1923]] finals. With his third consecutive title, his winning streak stood at fifteen matches. Hagen was also the medalist in the 36-hole qualifier on Monday at 140 (−4).<ref name=hwoftq/> Through 2013, he remains the only winner of three consecutive PGA Championships.

Hagen won the following year in [[1927 PGA Championship|1927]] for his fourth consecutive title, but Diegel stopped the streak in [[1928 PGA Championship|1928]] and repeated in [[1929 PGA Championship|1929]]. In both years, Diegel defeated both Hagen and [[Gene Sarazen]], the only winners of the title from [[1921 PGA Championship|1921]] through 1927, in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Hagen had previously stopped Diegel in the [[1925 PGA Championship|1925]] quarterfinals in 40 holes.

[[Devereux Emmet]] designed the course in 1914. The 90-hole Salisbury Golf Club ran into financial difficulty during the 1930s and its land was acquired by [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau County]]. Originally "Nassau County Park at Salisbury" in 1944, it was renamed [[Eisenhower Park]] in 1969. The 1926 venue presently exists as the Red Course.

==Format== The [[match play]] format at the PGA Championship in 1926 called for 12 rounds (216 holes) in six days:<ref name=pgamedia26/> * Monday – 36-hole [[stroke play]] qualifier **top 32 professionals advanced to match play * Tuesday – first round – 36 holes * Wednesday – second round – 36 holes * Thursday – quarterfinals – 36 holes * Friday – semifinals – 36 holes * Saturday – final – 36 holes

==Final results== ''Saturday, September 25, 1926'' {| class=wikitable !Place!!Player |- | align=center|1 || {{flagicon|USA|1912}} '''[[Walter Hagen]]'''  |- | align=center|2 || {{flagicon|USA|1912}} [[Leo Diegel]]  |- | align=center rowspan=2|T3 || {{flagicon|USA|1912}} [[Johnny Farrell]]  |- | {{flagicon|USA|1912}} [[Johnny Golden]] |- | align=center rowspan=4|T5 || {{flagicon|USA|1912}} [[George Christ]]  |- | {{flagicon|IRL}} [[Pat Doyle (golfer)|Pat Doyle]] |- | {{flagicon|USA|1912}} [[Abe Espinosa]] |- | {{flagicon|USA|1912}} [[Harry Hampton (golfer)|Harry Hampton]] |}

==Final eight bracket== {{8TeamBracket-NoSeeds | RD1=Quarter-finals September 23 | RD2=Semi-finals September 24 | RD3=Finals September 25

| score-width= 35px | team-width= 100px

| RD1-team5= '''[[Leo Diegel]]''' | RD1-score5= 3&2 | RD1-team6= [[Abe Espinosa]] | RD1-score6=

| RD1-team7= '''[[Johnny Golden]]''' | RD1-score7= 7&6 | RD1-team8= [[George Christ]] | RD1-score8=

| RD2-team1= '''[[Walter Hagen]]''' | RD2-score1= 6&5 | RD2-team2= [[Johnny Farrell]] | RD2-score2=

| RD2-team3= '''[[Leo Diegel]]''' | RD2-score3= 1up | RD2-team4= [[Johnny Golden]] | RD2-score4=

| RD3-team1= '''[[Walter Hagen]]''' | RD3-score1= 4&3 | RD3-team2= [[Leo Diegel]] | RD3-score2= }}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://images.pgalinks.com/vmc/pressReleases/MG_2012_PGAChamp.pdf PGA Media Guide 2012] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20050205015042/http://www.pga.com/pgachampionship/2004/history_1926.html PGA.com] – 1926 PGA Championship *[http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/parks/Golf/18hole/red.html Nassau County: Eisenhower Park, Red Course]

[[Category:PGA Championship]] [[Category:Golf tournaments in New York (state)]] [[Category:Eisenhower Park]] [[Category:1926 in golf|PGA Championship]] [[Category:1926 in American sports|PGA Championship]] [[Category:1926 in sports in New York (state)|PGA Championship]] [[Category:September 1926 sports events in the United States|PGA Championship]]