Al Espinosa
Abel Ruben "Al" Espinosa (March 24, 1891 – January 4, 1957) was an American professional golfer. [1]
Al Espinosa | |
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circa 1920 | |
Personal information | |
Full name | Abel Ruben Espinosa |
Nickname | Al |
Born | Monterey, California | March 24, 1891
Died | January 4, 1957 65) San Francisco, California | (aged
Nationality | |
Spouse | Josephine |
Children | 1 daughter |
Career | |
Turned professional | 1921 |
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Professional wins | 20 |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 9 |
Other | 11 |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | T7: 1934 |
PGA Championship | 2nd: 1928 |
U.S. Open | 2nd: 1929 |
The Open Championship | T32: 1929 |
Al Espinosa | |
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Allegiance | |
Service/ | |
Rank | |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Espinosa won nine times on the PGA Tour in the 1920s and 1930s. He was on the Ryder Cup teams in 1927, 1929, and 1931, although he did not play in 1927. He lost to Leo Diegel in the PGA Championship finals in 1928. He tied with Bobby Jones in the U.S. Open in 1929 at Winged Foot,[2][3] but lost by 23 strokes in the 36-hole playoff.[4] He won the Mexican Open four times.[1] His older brother Abe (1889–1980) also won on the PGA Tour.
Born in Monterey, California, Espinosa was of Mexican American descent,[5] and served in the U.S. Army in World War I. He died of cancer at age 65 in 1957 in San Francisco,[1] and is buried at San Carlos Cemetery in Monterey.
Professional wins (20)
PGA Tour wins (9)
- 1924 (1) Missouri Open
- 1926 (1) Oklahoma City Open
- 1928 (2) Florida West Coast Open, Mid-America Open
- 1930 (1) Houston Open
- 1932 (1) Ohio Open
- 1933 (1) Ohio Open
- 1934 (1) Miami International Four-Ball (with Denny Shute)
- 1935 (1) Indianapolis Open
Other wins (11)
this list may be incomplete
- 1922 Washington Open
- 1923 Washington Open
- 1925 Chicago District Open Championship
- 1927 Illinois PGA Championship
- 1928 Illinois PGA Championship
- 1930 Illinois PGA Championship
- 1936 Ohio Open
- 1944 Mexican Open
- 1945 Mexican Open
- 1946 Mexican Open
- 1947 Mexican Open
Results in major championships
Tournament | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Open | T9 | T13 | T18 | T14 | 2 | |
The Open Championship | T32 | |||||
PGA Championship | QF | R16 | R32 | SF | 2 | QF |
Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | T7 | T17 | T15 | T29 | |||
U.S. Open | T35 | T10 | CUT | CUT | T21 | T28 | CUT | T32 | T43 | ||
The Open Championship | NT | ||||||||||
PGA Championship | QF | R32 | R16 | R32 | R64 |
NYF = tournament not yet founded
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
Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 11 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
PGA Championship | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
Totals | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 20 | 30 | 27 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 16 (1924 PGA – 1931 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1924 PGA – 1925 PGA)
References
- "Al Espinosa, ex-Chicagoan and top golfer, dies at 64". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. January 5, 1957. p. 19.
- Gould, Alan J. (June 30, 1929). "Jones, Espinosa tie for Open title with 294 score". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1-sports.
- Pegler, Westbrook (June 30, 1929). "Jones, Espinosa tie; title playoff today". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
- Pegler, Westbrook (July 1, 1929). "Jones' 141 wins playoff for Open title". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 29.
- Rice, Grantland (August 16, 1954). "Golf's Greatest Putt". Sports Illustrated.