| Jack Fleck | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 7, 1921
Bettendorf, Iowa |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 167 lb (76 kg; 11.9 st) |
| Nationality | |
| Residence | Magazine, Arkansas |
| Career | |
| Status | Professional |
| Former tour(s) | PGA
Tour Champions Tour |
| Professional wins | 7 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 3 |
| Best results in
Major Championships (Wins: 1) |
|
| The Masters | T11: 1962 |
| U.S. Open | Won: 1955 |
| Open Championship | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T7: 1962 |
Jack Fleck (born November 7, 1921) is an American professional golfer best known for winning the 1955 U.S. Open.
Fleck was born and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa. His parents were poor farmers who had lost their land in the 1920s. Fleck attended Davenport High School in Davenport, Iowa where he played on the golf team. He started as a caddy for a local dentist in the mid-1930s. He worked as an assistant golf pro before World War II. During the war, Fleck served in the Navy and participated in the D-Day invasion from a British rocket-firing ship off Utah Beach. Within two weeks after separation from the Navy, Fleck was on the PGA's winter golf tour with pro friends trying to qualify for PGA Tour events.
After a few years of competing in local and PGA Tour events, Fleck decided to play full-time on the Tour for two years. Within six months, Fleck had his first win — on the biggest stage in men's professional golf — at the 1955 U.S. Open. Fleck won an 18-hole playoff by three strokes over his idol, the legendary Ben Hogan, at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.[1]
Fleck came close to winning the 1960 U.S. Open, but would ultimately settle for only two more trophies on the PGA Tour in the early 1960s. He also won the 1979 PGA Seniors' Championship just prior to the formation of the Senior PGA Tour.[2]
Fleck was inducted into the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1993, needing money to salvage a little golf course he owned in rural Arkansas that had been damaged by flooding, a place he called Li'l Bit of Heaven, he sold his 1955 U.S. Open gold medal.[2] He makes his home in Magazine, Arkansas.[3]
Contents |
Major championship shown in bold
| Year | Championship | 54 Holes | Winning Score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | U.S. Open | 3 shot deficit | +7 (76-69-75-67=287) | Playoff 1 |
1 Defeated Ben Hogan in an 18-hole playoff - Fleck (69), Hogan (72)
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T43 | T26 | T39 | T18 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | DNP | DNP | T52 | DNP | 1 | CUT | T26 | CUT | T19 |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | R64 | DNP | R16 | R32 | R64 | WD | DNP |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T34 | WD | T11 | 42 | CUT | DQ | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | T3 | T27 | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | CUT | CUT | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | CUT | T19 | T7 | WD | DNP | T20 | T49 | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA
Championship match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
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