Lloyd Eugene Mangrum (August 1, 1914 – November 17, 1973) 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 ...

. He was known for his smooth swing and his relaxed demeanour on the course, which earned him the nickname "Mr. Icicle."

Early life and family

Mangrum was born on August 1, 1914, in

Trenton, Texas Trenton is a city in Fannin and Grayson counties, Texas, United States. The population was 635 at the 2010 census. History Settlers from Tennessee arrived by wagon train from their home state in 1852. At the time of their arrival, the settlement ...

, he became a professional golfer at age fifteen, working as an assistant to his brother

Ray Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...

, the head professional at Cliff-Dale Country Club in

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

Career

Mangrum joined the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

in 1937 and went on to win 36 events on the Tour. He might have won more if his career had not been interrupted by service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. While serving in the U.S. Army and training for the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

landings, Mangrum was offered the professional's job at the

Fort Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the ...

golf course in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

, which would have kept him out of combat, but he declined. He was awarded two

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

s after being wounded at

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

. He was also awarded two

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

and two

Bronze Stars The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a Combat, combat zo ...

while serving in General Patton's Third Army. His best years on tour came after the war: he led the PGA Tour money list in 1951 and won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average on the tour in both 1951 and 1953. Mangrum's only

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

title came at the U.S. Open though he was runner-up in three majors and third in six more (including twice losing in the semi-finals in the PGA Championship when it was a match-play event). He lost a playoff for the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion to Ben Hogan and his famous one-iron. Mangrum finished in the top ten at the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...

ten consecutive years. He shot 64 in the opening round in 1940, a Masters record that stood for 46 years, until Nick Price's 63 in the third round in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

. Mangrum played on 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 in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

, and

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

. On the last occasion, he was a playing captain. He had a record of six wins, two losses, and no ties (), including three wins, one loss, and no ties () in singles matches.

Later life

Mangrum died at age 59 in Apple Valley, California in 1973. The cause of death was a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

, the 12th he had suffered. Mangrum was called "the forgotten man of golf" by sportswriter Jim Murray. Even though only 12 men have won more PGA Tour events, his reputation has been overshadowed by the other stars of his era who lived long, extraordinary lives such as

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced English_phonology">sni:d.html" ;"title="English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an ...

and fellow Texans

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory an ...

Jimmy Demaret James Newton Demaret (May 24, 1910 – December 28, 1983) was an American professional golfer. He won 31 PGA Tour events in a long career between 1935 and 1957, and was the first three-time winner of the Masters, with titles in 1940, 1947, and ...

and Byron Nelson. At the 1996 Masters, Nelson conducted a test. "I asked three young pros if they ever heard of Lloyd Mangrum, and they never had." Nelson commented, "Lloyd's the best player who's been forgotten since I've been playing golf." A quarter century after his death, he was inducted into 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 ...

in 1998.

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (36)

*1940 (1) Thomasville Open *1941 (1) Atlantic City Open *1942 (3) New Orleans Open, Seminole Victory Golf Tournament, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with

Lawson Little William Lawson Little Jr. (June 23, 1910 – February 1, 1968) was an American professional golfer who also had a distinguished amateur career. Little was born in Newport, Rhode Island, and lived much of his early life in the San Francisco area, ...

) *1946 (1) U.S. Open *1947 (2) National Capital Open, Albuquerque Open *1948 (7) Bing Crosby Pro-Am, Lower Rio Grande Open, Greater Greensboro Open, Columbus Invitational,

All American Open The All American Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was run by George S. May and was originally known as the Tam O'Shanter National Open. From ...

World Championship of Golf The World Championship of Golf was a championship played on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s that, in its latter years, boasted a purse that dwarfed every other event on the tour, including even the U.S. Open. It was played in August of each y ...

Utah Open The Utah Open is the Utah state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Utah section of the PGA of America. It was first played in 1926 and has been played at a variety of courses around the state ...

*1949 (4) Los Angeles Open,

Tucson Open The Tucson Open was a golf tournament in Arizona on the PGA Tour from 1945 to 2006, played annually in the winter in Tucson. It was last held at the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort in late February, with a $3 million purse and a $540,000 winner ...

, Motor City Open (co-winner with

Cary Middlecoff Emmett Cary Middlecoff (January 6, 1921 – September 1, 1998) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour from 1947 to 1961. His 39 Tour wins place him tied for tenth all-time, and he won three major championships. Middlecoff graduated a ...

*1950 (5) Fort Wayne Open, Motor City Open, Eastern Open,

Kansas City Open The Kansas City Open Invitational, which played as the Kansas City Open for most of its history, was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was played in the greater Kansas City area in the late 1940s and 1950s. A total of four clubs hosted the ...

, Palm Beach Round Robin *1951 (4) Los Angeles Open,

, Wilmington Azalea Open, St. Paul Open *1952 (2) Phoenix Open,

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...

*1953 (4) Los Angeles Open,

Bing Crosby Pro-Am Invitational The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held annually at Pebble Beach, California, near Carmel. The tournament is usually held during the month of February on three different courses, currently Pebble Bea ...

, Phoenix Open,

*1954 (1)

*1956 (1) Los Angeles Open Major championship is shown in bold. Source:

Other wins (9)

*1938 Pennsylvania Open Championship *1939 Central New York Open, Santa Anita Open *1940 Santa Anita Open *1946

Argentine Open The Argentine Open or Abierto de la República or Abierto de Argentina is one of the oldest national golf open championships. First played in 1905, when it was called the Open Championship of the River Plate, it has featured numerous notable winn ...

*1952 California State Open, Philippine Open, Adelaide Advertiser Special Tournament (Australia),

Ampol Tournament The Ampol Tournament was the richest golf event of its time in Australia. From 1952 the sponsor, Ampol, offered great prize money to attract the leading American and European players to compete. Total prize money was initially A£1,000, rising t ...

(Nov) Source:

Major championships

Wins (1)

¹ Defeated Ghezzi and Nelson in a playoff. All three shot 72 (E) in first 18-hole playoff. Second 18-hole playoff: Mangum 72=144 (E), Ghezzi 73=145 (+1), Nelson 73=145 (+1).

Results timeline

NT = no tournament
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 – 30 (1942 PGA Championship – 1957 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 8 (1950 Masters – 1952 U.S. Open)

U.S. national team appearances

(winners),

(winners) *

Lakes International Cup The Lakes International Cup was a men's team golf competition between teams of professional golfers from Australia and the United States. It was played four times between 1934 and 1954. The United States won the first three matches with Australia ...

: 1952 (winners) *

Hopkins Trophy The Hopkins Trophy was an annual men's professional team golf competition between teams representing the United States and Canada. It was played from 1952 to 1956. The Americans won all five contests that were played. The matches were sponsored by ...

: 1955 (winners)

References

External links

*
ThoughtCo.com – Lloyd Mangrum
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mangrum, Lloyd 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 Texas United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army non-commissioned officers Recipients of the Silver Star People from Trenton, Texas 1914 births 1973 deaths