Douglas Michael Ford Sr. (born Douglas Michael Fortunato; August 6, 1922 – May 14, 2018) 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 ...

and two-time major golf champion. Ford turned professional in 1949, later going on to win the 1955 PGA Championship and the

1957 Masters Tournament The 1957 Masters Tournament was the 21st Masters Tournament, held April 4–7 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. This was the first Masters played with a 36-hole cut; 101 players started and forty made the cut at 150 (+6). Do ...

. He was also a member of four

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 (1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961) and was inducted into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame was, until recently, located at World Golf Village between Jacksonville, Florida and St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. It is unusual amongst sports halls of fame in that a single site honored both men ...

in 2011.

Early life

Ford was born in

West Haven, Connecticut West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located on the coast of Long Island Sound. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, South Central Connecticut Planning Region. At the 2 ...

, on August 6, 1922. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the Coast Guard Air Division. Ford recalled later in life that he showed enough promise as a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player that he received a contract offer from the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. While he was considering the offer, his father asked how long he might expect to play baseball. When Doug said that he might expect to play professional baseball for about 10 years, his father responded, "Why don't you stay with the golf. You'll last forever."

Professional career

Ford turned professional in 1949 and won for the first time in 1952 at the Jacksonville Open. The win in

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

was an unusual one. At the end of regulation play, Ford and

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades) an ...

were tied for the lead. An 18-hole playoff was scheduled for the next day but rather than play, Snead forfeited. The forfeit stemmed from a ruling Snead received during the tournament's second round of play. On the 10th hole, Snead's drive landed behind an out-of-bounds stake. While Chick Harbert, who was playing with Snead, thought the ball was out-of-bounds, a rules official ruled differently due to the starter not telling players the stakes had been moved since the previous day's play had ended. Afterwards, Snead explained why he forfeited even though Ford suggested they play sudden-death for the title. "I want to be fair about it. I don't want anyone to think I took advantage of the ruling." Ford's first major title was 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 ...

in 1955, which was contested at

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

. He defeated

Cary Middlecoff Emmett Cary Middlecoff (January 6, 1921 – September 1, 1998) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour from 1947 to 1961. His 39 Tour wins place him tied for tenth all-time, and he won three major championships. Middlecoff graduated ...

in the 36-hole final, 4 and 3. Ford was that season's

PGA Player of the Year 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 Champions ...

. In 1957, he holed out from a plugged lie in the bunker, on the final hole, to come from behind and beat

by three strokes at the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

. The last of his 19

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 ...

wins came in 1963. Ford played on four

teams: 1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961. Ford played in 49 Masters Tournaments, a record that stood until

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

played in his 50th tournament three years later. His final Masters was in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

at age 78; he withdrew after an opening-hole double-bogey and was asked not to participate in future tournaments. At the age of 88, Ford still regularly played casual golf.

Personal life

Ford died in

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Palm Beach Gardens is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, approximately 80 miles north of Miami. Palm Beach Gardens is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 59,182 at the ...

, on May 14, 2018, at the age of 95.

Honors and awards

* In 1972, Ford was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame * In 1992, Ford was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame * In 2011, Ford was inducted into the

Professional wins (34)

PGA Tour wins (19)

PGA Tour playoff record (5–7)

Other wins (12)

*1956 Metropolitan Open *1957 Panama Open, Metropolitan PGA Championship, Westchester PGA Championship *1958 Metropolitan PGA Championship *1959 Eldorado Professional (tied with

) *1960 Metropolitan PGA Championship *1961 Westchester Open, Westchester PGA Championship *1963 Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA Championship, Westchester PGA Championship

Other senior wins (3)

*1981 Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am *1987

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. From 2014 to 2019, it was played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the ...

- Legendary Division (with

Jerry Barber Carl Jerome Barber (April 25, 1916 – September 23, 1994) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. He had seven wins on tour, including a major title, the PGA Championship in 1961. Early life Born in Woodson, Illinois, ...

) *1996

- Demaret Division (with

Art Wall Jr. Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. (November 25, 1923 – October 31, 2001) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the Masters Tournament in 1959. Early life and amateur career Wall was born and raised in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. He ...

) Sources:

Playoff record

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place. Source:

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 31 (1951 U.S. Open – 1963 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1955 U.S. Open – 1956 U.S. Open)

U.S. national team appearances

: 1955 (winners),

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

(winners),

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

(winners) * Hopkins Trophy: 1952 (winners), 1953 (winners), 1956 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Doug American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of men's major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Golfers from Connecticut United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II Military personnel from Connecticut American people of Italian descent People from West Haven, Connecticut Sportspeople from New Haven County, Connecticut 1922 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen