Felice Joseph Torza (March 15, 1920 – December 23, 1983) 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 ...

who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Torza was born in Naples, Italy, on March 15, 1920. Like most of the golfers of his generation, he earned his living primarily as a club professional during his regular career years. Torza worked as the head club pro at the

Aurora Country Club Aurora Country Club is an 18-hole golf course located in Aurora, Illinois. It was founded in 1914. The original clubhouse was a stone farmhouse remodeled. The clubhouse burned down in 1941. Tom Bendelow Tom Bendelow (1868–1936), nicknamed "T ...

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane counties, it is the second most populous city in Illinois, af ...

for 28 years. Torza was the runner-up in the 1953

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. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

. He was defeated 2&1 in the final by Walter Burkemo, in the

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 ...

era. Torza was nicknamed ''Toy Tiger'' by his fellow golfers due to his fiercely competitive nature and diminutive stature. Torza was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 1965.CT Golf Hall of Fame Members
He was awarded the Illinois PGA Professional of the Year award in 1968. He died on December 23, 1983.

Professional wins

*1946 Connecticut Open *1947 Rhode Island Open *1950 Illinois Open Championship *1958 Illinois Open Championship *1965 Illinois Match Play Championship

References

American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Connecticut Italian emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Hartford, Connecticut 1920 births 1983 deaths {{US-golf-bio-stub