Felice Joseph Torza (March 15, 1920 – December 23, 1983) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Torza was born in Naples, Italy, on March 15, 1920. Like most of the golfers of his generation, he earned his living primarily as a club professional during his regular career years. Torza worked as the head club pro at the Aurora Country Club in

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...

for 28 years. Torza was the runner-up in the 1953

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

. He was defeated 2&1 in the final by

Walter Burkemo Walter E. Burkemo (October 9, 1918 – October 8, 1986) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1953 PGA Championship, 1953. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Burkemo was the youngest of 13 children of N ...

, in the

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

era. Torza was nicknamed ''Toy Tiger'' by his fellow golfers due to his fiercely competitive nature and diminutive stature. Torza was inducted into the

Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame The Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame honours people with connections to the state of Connecticut for their achievements and contributions in the sport of golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into ...

in 1965.CT Golf Hall of Fame Members
He was awarded the Illinois PGA Professional of the Year award in 1968. He died on December 23, 1983.

Professional wins

*1946 Connecticut Open *1947

Rhode Island Open The Rhode Island Open is the Rhode Island state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Rhode Island Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1929 at a variety of courses around the stat ...

*1950

Illinois Open Championship The Illinois Open Championship is a golf tournament that is administered by the Illinois PGA (Professional Golfers' Association). The state championship of golf is a 54-hole championship over three days to determine the finest player in the stat ...

*1958

*1965 Illinois Match Play Championship

References

American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Connecticut Italian emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Hartford, Connecticut 1920 births 1983 deaths {{US-golf-bio-stub