Sports

1-iron used by Hogan at 1950 U.S. Open has its own intriguing story

MEMORABLE: The 1-iron used by Ben Hogan (left) on his iconic shot in the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion was lost for 33 years, with the spot marked for eternity (inset) and the story of the club’s recovery as enthralling as the shot itself. (
)

ARDMORE, Pa. — For decades, all that existed was the iconic photo and the memories. There was Ben Hogan, just completing his follow through, the 1-iron hanging over his shoulders like a physical testament to his resolve, the 18th hole of Merion Golf Club’s East Course sprawling out before him like a symmetric portrait.

It was the 1950 U.S. Open, and Hogan’s legs were wrapped from waist to ankle in hopes of subduing the pain and keeping away the blood clotting that could kill him at any instant. Just 15 months prior, golf’s biggest star had been in a near-fatal car crash, and now he was playing his 36th hole of the day, the 72nd hole of the world’s most difficult tournament, and the way he struck the ball was as pure as anything that has come before or come since. No need to ask any of the competitors in this week’s return of the Open to Merion. Unless utterly ignorant, they would all agree.

It would take Hogan 18 more holes in a Sunday playoff with Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio before he brought to a crescendo one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. And soon after that round was over, as the sun set on this leafy Philadelphia suburb, someone would steal that 1-iron and steal his golf shoes, to boot.

History is more than just context to golf; it’s the beating heart that keeps it moving. Moments like that one, now immortalized in Hy Peskin’s black-and-white photograph and buried in the ground with the small bronze plaque in that final fairway, are as alive as any player who, come Sunday, is striving to put his name next to Hogan’s U.S. Open trophy.

So when the club and shoes went missing, it created a fanfare. A story was made up that they were stolen on Saturday and Hogan was without them during the playoff. Wrong: According to author Jeff Silverman, who has a forthcoming book titled Merion: The Championship Story, Hogan mentioned mis-hitting twice on Sunday. In his 1957 instructional book, Five Lessons, he even wrote himself that it was a 2-iron used to hit his iconic shot. Wrong: With nudging by the USGA, he then recanted that statement to say it was his old No. 1.

By 1982, the public was unaware if the club existed or not. That’s when Jack Murdock, a former All-ACC basketball player at Wake Forest and one-year coach at his alma matter, walked into a golf sale in a parking lot in Raleigh, N.C. He went in with a plan on trading for a set of MacGregor Ben Hogan irons, and quickly ran into a fellow named Bobby Farino. They agreed on a trade where Farino would get a set of 1967 Jack Nicklaus VIP irons, and Murdock got the Ben Hogans. Farino then said he had a matching 1-iron, and he had been told it had been used on Tour.

Murdock didn’t believe him, thinking too many people knew the fake story about the Saturday heist. But he told Farino to send him the club, and if he liked it, he’d sent back $200.

When he received it soon thereafter, he noticed a mark near the hosel in a circle “the size of a quarter.” He sent Farino the money and took the club to his pro at Raleigh Country Club, who said he’d never seen anything like it before. “It piqued my interest,” Murdock said over the phone yesterday, “that by some miracle, it might be.”

In February 1983, Murdock was inducted into the Wake Forest Hall of Fame, and at the induction was seated next to PGA Tour player and fellow alumni Lanny Wadkins. He told Wadkins about the 1-iron, and he agreed to ship it to him so he could bring it directly to Hogan, whose equipment company sponsored Wadkins. Murdock said, “If he thinks it’s his, give it to him.

“On Feb. 23, 1983, I got a letter from Hogan and it says: ‘Just a note to thank you for making it possible for me to see and possess my old No. 1 iron again,’ ” Murdock read aloud. “ ‘Lanny Wadkins delivered this to my tour director, and he in turn brought it to me. I liken this to the return of an old long-lost friend. Sincerely, Ben Hogan.’ ”

Hogan donated the club to the USGA, who put it on display at their museum in Far Hills, N.J. Sadly enough, Hogan’s shoes were never returned. Luckily enough, everyone in the field this week gets to walk in The Hawk’s footsteps.