Abel Ruben "Al" Espinosa (March 24, 1891 – January 4, 1957) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. He left his mark on golf in Ohio by serving as the Head Professional at Akron’s Portage Country Club from 1931 through 1944. During his tenure at Portage he won the Ohio Open three times (1932, 1933, and 1936). While head pro at Portage Country Club in Akron, Ohio, in the early 1940s, Espinosa hired as his assistant future Masters champion Herman Keiser. He was inducted into the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame in 1957.

Biography

Espinosa was born on March 24, 1891, in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

. He was of

Mexican American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...

descent, and served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Espinosa won nine times on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

in the 1920s and 1930s. He was on the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

teams in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

, and

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, although he did not play in 1927. He lost to

Leo Diegel Leo Harvey Diegel (April 20, 1899 – May 5, 1951) was an American professional golfer of the 1920s and early 1930s. He captured consecutive PGA Championships, played on the first four Ryder Cup teams, and is a member of the World Golf Hall o ...

in the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

finals in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

. He tied with Bobby Jones in the U.S. Open in

at Winged Foot, but lost by 23 strokes in the 36-hole playoff. He won the Mexican Open four times. His older brother Abe (1889–1980) also won on the PGA Tour. He died of cancer at age 65 in 1957 in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, 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

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

*Most consecutive cuts made – 16 (1924 PGA – 1931 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1924 PGA – 1925 PGA)

References

American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from California American sportspeople of Mexican descent Sportspeople from Monterey, California 1891 births 1957 deaths {{US-golf-bio-stub