Jack Fleck, winner of 1955 U.S. Open, dies at 92
Jack Fleck, of Davenport, Iowa, with his championship trophy after beating Ben Hogan, right, by three strokes in an 18-hole playoff in the U.S. Open golf tournament at the Olympic Club, Lake Course, in San Francisco on June 19, 1955. Credit: AP
FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Jack Fleck, who produced one of golf's greatest upsets by beating Ben Hogan in a playoff to win the 1955 U.S. Open, died yesterday. He was 92.
He had been the oldest living U.S. Open champion.
The Edwards Funeral Home said Fleck died after a brief illness.
Fleck returned to The Olympic Club two years ago when the U.S. Open celebrated its champions at the San Francisco course.
"I was fortunate to do the playing at that time and I've read a lot about it, that I out-Hoganed Hogan," Fleck said in June 2012. "There was no time at all that I felt scared or under pressure coming down to the wire."
Hogan appeared to be on his way to a record fifth U.S. Open title in 1955, closing with a 70 to finish at 7-over 287. He already was being congratulated by players who figured no one could catch him. But Fleck, an Iowa club pro in his first year on the PGA Tour, made two birdies over the final four holes for a 67 to force a playoff.
Fleck shot 69 in the playoff to beat Hogan by three shots.
"It was like someone who had never won a tour tournament beating Tiger Woods today," Fleck said in 2002.
Fleck won only two other events on the PGA Tour. He also won the Senior PGA Championship in 1979.
Fleck learned the game as a caddie in Davenport, Iowa, where his father was a farmer. When he graduated from high school in 1939, he decided to head south to Texas to play golf and escape Iowa's harsh winters.
He served in the Navy during World War II and saw action during the Normandy invasion off Utah Beach.
Survivors include Fleck's wife, Carmen, and his son, Craig. -- AP
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