PGA Tour Returns to Hogan’s Alley This Week
This content is part of GolfNewsRI”s “The Open Question” series.
The PGA Tour is returning to Hogan’s Alley this week for the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
In his career, Hogan was very successful at Riviera, winning the second of three Los Angeles Opens in 1947, and then winning another LA Open in 1948.
Later that year, he won his first U.S. Open at the club, beating Jimmy Demaret by two strokes.
But, Hogan believed it was his second U.S. Open title after he won the 1942 Hale-America National Open, which he thought counted as a U.S. Open.
The Hale-America Open was held by the USGA after the U.S. Open was canceled due to the World War.
This controversy is detailed in Peter May’s new book The Open Question, which hits bookshelves on May 12.
GolfNewsRI is honored to help promote the book and will continue to roll out exclusive content related to the novel and Hogan.
Coverage of the Genesis Invitational begins at 2 p.m.
The Open Question
In 1942, the United States Golf Association (USGA) canceled its four golf tournaments due to World War II.
But then the USGA did something different in only that year—it sponsored the Hale-America National Open on the same weekend as the previously canceled U.S. Open.
That tournament was won by Ben Hogan who went to his grave believing he had therefore won a record five U.S. Open titles.
In The Open Question, May turns his attention to this controversial, colorful Hale-America National Open of 1942. While providing an in-depth look at the tournament itself, May champions Hogan’s claim to five US Open titles and debunks some questionable assertions that the tournament was not worthy of a US Open.
Set against the backdrop of World War II, May also tells the stories of other professional golfers in the tournament and the impact of the war on all their lives.
The USGA has never recognized the Hale-America Tournament as an official US Open and remains firm in its stance. It was a decision that bothered Ben Hogan for the rest of his life.
The Open Question shows how dominant Ben Hogan was against some of the biggest names in golf, and reveals why he deserves to be recognized as a five-time US Open winner.