Leo Harvey Diegel (April 20, 1899 – May 5, 1951) 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 p ...

of the 1920s and early 1930s. He captured consecutive

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 ...

s, played on the first four

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

teams, and is a member of the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

Early years

Born in Gratiot Township,

Wayne County, Michigan Wayne County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States Census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the 19th-most populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit. The cou ...

, Diegel began

caddying In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support. Description A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the ...

at age ten and won his first significant event at age 17, the 1916

Michigan Open The Michigan Open is the Michigan state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Michigan section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1916 at a variety of courses around the sta ...

Career

Diegel was a runner-up in his first U.S. Open in

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

, one stroke behind champion Ted Ray. He won 28 PGA circuit events, and was a four-time winner of the Canadian Open (1924–25, 1928–29); a record for that event. In 1925, Diegel outperformed over 100 competitors to win the Florida Open (billed as the "Greatest Field Of Golfers Ever to Play in Florida") at the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club. Diegel was selected for the first four

teams in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

, 1929, 1931, and

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

. His greatest season was 1928, with wins at the Canadian Open and 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 ...

, where he stopped the four-year winning streak of

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tig ...

. Diegel defeated him in the quarterfinal to avenge earlier defeats in the 1925 quarterfinal and the 1926 final. Diegel achieved the rare feat of defending both titles successfully in 1929, this time defeating Hagen in the semifinals of the PGA. Diegel was a runner-up to Bobby Jones at the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

. Diegel was an excellent ball-striker, but struggled with his putting after joining the tour. After extensive experimentation, he eventually developed an unusual putting style where he pointed both elbows outwards; this was referred to as 'Diegeling'. He was a tour winner from 1920 to 1934, but dropped out of regular contention when he reached his mid-30s; a playful wrestling incident in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in late 1934 with friend Harry Cooper caused nerve damage to his right shoulder and effectively ended his tour career.

Death

Diagnosed with throat and

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

in 1947, Diegel died at home in

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The Nor ...

in 1951 at age 52; he had taken a position there as a club professional after scaling back his Tour play. He was buried in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

at Mount Olivet Cemetery in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. Diegel was inducted into the

in 2003.

Professional wins (36)

PGA Tour wins (28)

*1920 (1) Pinehurst Fall Pro-Am Bestball (with Tommy Armour) *1921 (1) Coronado Beach Open *1922 (1) Shreveport Open *1923 (1) District of Columbia Open Championship *1924 (3)

Shawnee Open The Shawnee Open is a golf tournament that was first held in 1912. It is played at The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort in Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The couse was completed in 1911, the first ever design by renowned architect A. ...

, Canadian Open, Illinois Open *1925 (4) Florida Open, Canadian Open, Middle Atlantic Open, Mid South All Pro *1926 (1) Middle Atlantic Open *1927 (2) Middle Atlantic Open, San Diego Open *1928 (4) Long Beach Open (January; tie with Bill Mehlhorn), Canadian Open,

, Massachusetts Open *1929 (4) San Diego Open,

Miami International Four-Ball The Miami International Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1924 to 1954. It was played primarily at what is now the Miami Springs Golf and Country Club in Miami, Florida. It was also played at the Miami Biltmore Golf Course in C ...

(with

), Canadian Open,

*1930 (3) Pacific Southwest Pro, Oregon Open,

San Francisco National Match Play Open The San Francisco Open was a golf tournament played in the San Francisco area. It was played at a number of different courses in the December to February period. From 1930 to 1941 it was a match-play event before becoming a 72-hole stroke play eve ...

*1933 (1) California Open *1934 (2) Rochester Open, New England PGA Major championships are shown in bold. ''Note: The PGA Tour and

list Diegel with 28 official wins. The PGA Tour book ''History of the PGA Tour'' lists 29 wins, and includes the 1925 Mid-Southern Amateur-Professional listed below.''

Other wins (8)

''Note: This list may be incomplete.'' *1916

*1919

*1922 Louisiana Open *1925 Mid-Southern Amateur-Professional *1926

Maryland Open The Maryland Open is the Maryland state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Maryland State Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1921 at a variety of courses around the state. I ...

*1931 California Open *1933 Timber Point Open, Southern California Open

Major championships

Wins (2)

''Note: The PGA Championship was

until

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

Results timeline

NYF = Tournament not yet founded
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 31 (1920 U.S. Open – 1935 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (twice)

References

External links

*
USGA Museum – Leo Diegel and his Magic Wand PutterPGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame – member profiles
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diegel, Leo American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of men's major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Golfers from Detroit Golfers from California People from Greater Los Angeles 1899 births 1951 deaths