Last week I had the distinct pleasure of playing the Long Island Amateur Championship at the famous Inwood Country Club. I say famous, because as most people who have some sense of golf history are aware, Inwood was the site of the 1923 U.S. Open Championship which was won by Bobby Jones. The tournament was highlighted by Jones famous 2 iron shot over the water to the 18th green during an 18-hole playoff against Scottish pro Bobby Cruickshank. The shot is memorialized by an obelisk-like plaque that sits in the right rough on the 18th-hole, teasing players that are playing Inwood for the first time to take a crack at the famous Jones shot.
Having been a member at Inwood in the late 1980’s, I had tried that shot many times. After my first round match I was asked by a local reporter what it was like to play an important tournament on such hallowed grounds. I pulled the scorecard out of my pocket and remarked that every player that looked at that scorecard could see that the 1923 US Open and the 1921 PGA Championship had been held there, and that golf history was a part of the fabric of the club. It was also neat to know that unlike many other historic venues, the layout at Inwood had changed very little on the last 85-90 years. For instance, Inwood still has a stretch of holes that would never be constructed today. Starting at number 3, you play three par 5’s in a row, followed immediately with back-to-back par 3’s. It is a thrilling stretch of holes that need to be taken advantage of if one hopes to shoot a good score for the day. The course has a charming combination of
links-type holes interspersed with parkland-type holes that work through the ancient trees. The back nine, with two par threes and no par fives, heads out for a loop on the savannah of the 13th-15th holes hard on Jamaica Bay, directly across from Kennedy Airport.
It was at that point that I realized that all people wanted to talk about was the Bobby Jones US Open victory. But what about the 1921 PGA Championship? What happened then? One could presume that the 1923 Open came to Inwood because the 1921 PGA was successful, but what was the real story? So I began to investigate.
The US Open was already 28 years old when it came to Inwood, but the 1921 PGA Championship was only the fourth PGA to be held. The first PGA in 1916 was won by
'Long Jim' Barnes
James Barnes, a British-born professional who had relocated to the US and eventually became a US citizen. Barnes was known as ‘Long Jim due to his 6’3” size which was very tall for a golfer in those days. The championship was then suspended in 1917 and 1918 due to World War I. In 1919, Barnes came back and successfully defended his title. Barnes was considered to be very tough in match play formats due to his impressive length off the tee, and the PGA Championship was originally played in a match play format. In 1920 the PGA was won by Jock Hutchinson, a Scottish-born pro who had also relocated to the US.
When 1921 came around, the PGA still had not been won by and American-born professional. The 1921 PGA admitted 32 players to the match play format. The qualification was the defending champion, and the top 31 professional finishers in the 1921 US Open. The 1921 US Open was won by ‘Long Jim’ Barnes by a record 9 shots, so clearly Barnes was on form coming into the 1921 PGA Championship.
Hagen and Barnes worked their way to the final match, which turned out to be a brilliantly played see-saw affair. The final match was a 36-hole match which Hagen sprinted out to a two-up lead with birdies on the first two holes. Still, The veteran Barnes
Walter Hagen
gamely struck back with a birdie on the fourth, Hagen’s only 5 on the card on the front nine, and by the turn Barnes had gained a 1-up advantage. Turning to the back nine, Hagen started to really play, winning 10 and 12-14, only losing 11 to Barnes’ birdie. Barnes got one back at the 16th, but left the morning round at a one-hole disadvantage.
In the afternoon, Hagen once again cleaned up the first two holes, taking advantage of a bad drive by Barnes on number one and once again making birdie on number two. With a three up lead, Hagen was in control. On number seven, easily the toughest par three on the course, the balance of the match tipped when Hagen canned a critical 40 footer for his birdie and a four-up lead.
Hagen only gave up one hole after that, and with a chance to push the match further, reports are that Barnes missed a putt of less than two feet on 16 that could have extended the match. In the end, Hagen prevailed 3&2 for his third major championship, having won the US Open in 1914 and 1919. Hagen went on to capture 5 PGA Championships and 11 majors in all. His era preceded the Masters, but he also won 5 Western Open’s which were considered a major in his day.
The PGA Championship was considered such a success at Inwood Country Club that the US Open quickly followed in 1923. The famous shot by Bobby Jones cemented Inwood into the annals of golf history. But none of it would have ever occurred had Inwood Country Club not hosted the 1921 PGA Championship and crowned Walter Hagen the first American-born PGA Champion.
