Imagine Bryson DeChambeau delaying his four foot putt to win the 2024 US Open just so someone in the crowd had enough time to fetch Rory McIlroy from inside so the Northern Irishman could watch the moment in person.
It was truly gruelling enough getting to see footage of Rory McIlroy privately reacting to Bryson DeChambeau holing the putt to win his second US Open title.
A devastated McIlroy swiftly left Pinehurst as DeChambeau celebrated his triumph. And it is safe to say that the LIV Golf star celebrated like a showman, running around the iconic course with the trophy so that many of those outside the ropes could get to touch it.
Of course, DeChambeau seems to appreciate the history of the game like few others. So perhaps there may have been a part of him which briefly thought about what Walter Hagen had done 105 years earlier when he had his own putt to win the US Open.
What Walter Hagen did when faced with a putt to win the 1919 US Open
Hagen is widely considered one of the greatest players to have ever played the game. He won five PGA Championships, four Open Championships and two US Opens. In fact, his first two major titles – like DeChambeau – came at the US Open.
Hagen had started the final round of the 1919 event at Brae Burn Country Club five shots behind Mike Brady. However, by the time he reached the 18th green, the American had a putt to win the event.
It was not a tap-in by any means. And yet, as author Michael Arkush recently told The Golfer’s Journal, Hagen could not stop himself from producing an audacious piece of showmanship.
“He was an incredible character. I’m just going to read something to you. ‘At the 1919 US Open at Brae Burn, he’s tied with Mike Brady who’s already done for the day and Hagen is ready to line up an eight foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole for the win. So what does he do, he has someone get Brady from the clubhouse so he can be there and watch this’. The great Herbert Warren Wind put it, ‘so he could watch his own funeral’,” he said.
Remarkably, Hagen would actually miss the putt. That meant that the two men would be involved in a playoff the following day.
The remarkable way Walter Hagen prepared for the 18 hole playoff with Mike Brady
Now, you may expect Hagen to have been left embarrassed by the incident on the final hole. However, not only was he able to brush it off and win the playoff, but he apparently did so off the back of a heavy night, as Arkush explained.
“Hagen went to hang out with his friend Al Jolson and had very little sleep, if any, and someone said to Hagen, ‘Brady’s in the hotel, he’s sleeping, shouldn’t you get some sleep?’ And the quote from Hagen is, ‘he may be in bed, but he ain’t asleep’,” he added.
Hagen would post a 77 in the playoff to win by one, having finished the tournament on 17 over par.
He would register seven top 10 finishes in the US Open during the 1920s without winning a third title. Meanwhile, Brady would never win a major title having never played in either The Masters or The Open Championship.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
