Kel Nagle

Kelvin David George Nagle AM (21 December 1920 – 29 January 2015) was an Australian professional golfer best known for winning The Open Championship in 1960. He won at least one tournament each year from 1949 to 1975.

Nagle was born in North Sydney. Because of five-and-a-half years of World War II military service (1939–45), Nagle got a late start on pro golf, as he played no golf between ages 19 and 24, and turned pro at age 25 (1946). He made up for lost time by winning at least one tournament each year from 1949 to 1975.

During his early career, he had a long swing and was regarded as the longest hitter on the Australasia tour, as evidenced by the Australian press dubbing him as "the Pymble Crusher". By age 39 (in 1960, when he won The Open Championship), Nagle had shortened his swing and become a straight hitter with what Gary Player described as "the best short game out here".^{[citation needed]}

Although he had won over 30 tournaments in Australia, and had won the Canada Cup for Australia in partnership with five-time Open champion Peter Thomson in 1954 and 1959, Nagle was a shock winner of The Open, as he was 39 years old but had never finished in the top-10 at a major championship before. Thomson told Nagle a few weeks prior to the 1960 Open championship that he "had the game" to win and that "you can beat me". He beat the rising star of American golf Arnold Palmer into second place, and it was Palmer who deprived him of his title in 1961.

Although he never regained The Open title, Kel Nagle had six top-five finishes at the Open between 1960 and 1966 (ages 39 to 45). His best result in a United States major was second in the 1965 U.S. Open—the year after he won the Canadian Open—when he and Gary Player finished the 72-hole tournament in a tie. Nagle lost to Player the next day in an 18-hole playoff, during which Nagle hit a female spectator in the forehead on the fifth hole and was visibly affected to the point that he hit another spectator on the same hole. Player won the playoff by 3 strokes.

As late as 1970, the year he turned 50, Nagle was ranked among the top ten players in the world on the McCormack's World Golf Rankings, the forerunner of the modern world ranking system. Nagle played on the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions) in the U.S. in the 1980s, when he was in his 60s and early 70s. His best finishes were a pair of T-3s: at the 1981 Eureka Federal Savings Classic and the 1982 Peter Jackson Champions. In July 2007, Nagle was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, and was inducted in November 2007.

Nagle died in Sydney on 29 January 2015 at the age of 94.

• In 1980, he was awarded Member of the Order of Australia for the service to the sport of golf.
• In 1986, he was awarded Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductee.
• In 2001, Nagle was awarded Australian Sports Medal.
• In 2005, Kel Nagle Plate, presented annually to the best performing rookie in the Australian PGA Championship.
• In 2007, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Source:

• 1949 (1) Australian PGA Championship
• 1950 (1) WA Open
• 1951 (4) North Coast Open, New South Wales Close, WA Open, ACT Open
• 1952 (3) North Coast Open, WA Open, NSW PGA Championship
• 1953 (3) NSW PGA Championship, Adelaide Advertiser Tournament, McWilliam's Wines Tournament
• 1954 (5) Australian PGA Championship, North Coast Open, Lakes Open, ACT Open, Riverside and Tasmanian Tyre Services £500 Tournament
• 1955 (2) North Coast Open, NSW PGA Championship
• 1956 (1) NSW PGA Championship
• 1957 (2) New South Wales Close, Lakes Open
• 1958 (3) Australian PGA Championship, Lakes Open, Adelaide Advertiser Tournament
• 1959 (5) Australian Open, Australian PGA Championship, Queensland Open, NSW PGA Championship, Ampol Tournament (tie with Gary Player)
• 1962 (2) Victorian PGA Championship, Adelaide Advertiser Tournament
• 1963 (1) Lake Karrinyup Bowl
• 1964 (1) Queensland Open
• 1965 (2) Australian PGA Championship, NSW PGA Championship
• 1966 (2) Wills Masters, West End Tournament (tie with Murray Crafter),
• 1967 (2) Victorian Open, West End Tournament
• 1968 (3) New South Wales Open, Australian PGA Championship, West End Tournament
• 1969 (1) Victorian Open
• 1970 (1) NBN-3 Tournament
• 1971 (1) NSW PGA Championship
• 1972 (1) West End Tournament
• 1975 (1) Forbes Open

• 1957 (2) New Zealand Open, New Zealand PGA Championship,
• 1958 (2) New Zealand Open, New Zealand PGA Championship
• 1960 (2) New Zealand PGA Championship, Caltex Tournament
• 1962 (1) New Zealand Open

• 1960 Open Championship
• 1961 French Open, Swiss Open, Irish Hospitals Tournament, Dunlop Tournament
• 1962 Bowmaker Tournament, Carling-Lancastrian Tournament
• 1963 Esso Golden Tournament
• 1965 Bowmaker Tournament
• 1967 Esso Golden Tournament (tie with Peter Thomson)
• 1971 Volvo Open

• 1954 Canada Cup (with Peter Thomson)
• 1959 Canada Cup (with Peter Thomson)
• 1961 Hong Kong Open

this list may be incomplete

• 1971 Pringle of Scotland Seniors Championship, World Senior Championship
• 1973 Pringle of Scotland Seniors Championship
• 1975 PGA Seniors Championship, World Senior Championship

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1974 Open Championship)
"T" = tied

• Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (twice)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1965 U.S. Open – 1965 Open Championship)

• Canada Cup (representing Australia): 1954 (winners), 1955, 1958, 1959 (winners), 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966
• Lakes International Cup (representing Australia): 1952, 1954 (winners)
• Vicars Shield (representing New South Wales): 1948 (winners), 1949 (winners), 1950 (winners), 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 (winners), 1955 (winners)