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Doug Ford (golfer)

American professional golfer

Field	Value
name	Doug Ford
image	Doug Ford 1953.jpg
imagesize	180px
caption	Ford, circa 1953
fullname	Douglas Michael Ford Sr.
birth_date
birth_place	West Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.
height
weight	180 lb
nationality
yearpro	1949
extour	PGA Tour
Champions Tour
prowins	34
pgawins	19
otherwins	12 (regular)
3 (senior)
majorwins	2
masters	Won: 1957
usopen	T5: 1959
open	T24: 1964
pga	Won: 1955
wghofid	doug-ford
wghofyear	2011
award1	PGA Player of the Year
year1	1955
awardssection
module	{{Infobox person	embed=yes
signature	Doug_Ford_signature.jpg

Champions Tour 3 (senior) Douglas Michael Ford Sr. (born Douglas Michael Fortunato; August 6, 1922 – May 14, 2018) was an American professional golfer 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. He was also a member of four Ryder Cup teams (1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961) and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.

Early life

Ford was born in West Haven, Connecticut, on August 6, 1922. During World War II, he served in the Coast Guard Air Division.

Ford recalled later in life that he showed enough promise as a baseball player that he received a contract offer from the New York Yankees. 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 was an unusual one. At the end of regulation play, Ford and Sam Snead 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 in 1955, which was contested at match play. He defeated Cary Middlecoff in the 36-hole final, 4 and 3. Ford was that season's PGA Player of the Year. In 1957, he holed out from a plugged lie in the bunker, on the final hole, to come from behind and beat Sam Snead by three strokes at the Masters Tournament. The last of his 19 PGA Tour wins came in 1963. Ford played on four Ryder Cup teams: 1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961.

Ford played in 49 Masters Tournaments, a record that stood until Arnold Palmer played in his 50th tournament three years later. His final Masters was in 2001 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, 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 World Golf Hall of Fame

Professional wins (34)

PGA Tour wins (19)

Legend
Major championships (2)
Other PGA Tour (17)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of
victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Mar 24, 1952	Jacksonville Open	−8 (69-68-70-73=280)	Playoff	USA Sam Snead
2	Apr 19, 1953	Virginia Beach Open	−14 (63-65-67-67=262)	2 strokes	USA Ansel Snow
3	Aug 23, 1953	Labatt Open	−15 (67-69-64-65=265)	5 strokes	USA Walter Burkemo
4	Dec 13, 1953	Miami Open	−8 (68-67-70-67=272)	4 strokes	USA Sam Snead
5	Apr 5, 1954	Greater Greensboro Open	−1 (71-69-73-70=283)	Playoff	USA Marty Furgol
6	Aug 22, 1954	Fort Wayne Open	−18 (70-69-66-65=270)	3 strokes	USA Mike Souchak
7	Jul 26, 1955	PGA Championship	4 and 3	USA Cary Middlecoff
8	Aug 7, 1955	All American Open	−11 (69-69-69-70=277)	3 strokes	USA Leo Biagetti
9	Sep 26, 1955	Carling Golf Classic	−12 (70-69-68-69=276)	1 stroke	USA Art Wall Jr.
10	Jan 7, 1957	Los Angeles Open	−4 (69-71-71-69=280)	1 stroke	USA Jay Hebert
11	Apr 7, 1957	Masters Tournament	−5 (72-73-72-66=283)	3 strokes	USA Sam Snead
12	Jun 30, 1957	Western Open	−5 (69-71-67-72=279)	Playoff	USA George Bayer, USA Gene Littler,
USA Billy Maxwell
13	Mar 16, 1958	Pensacola Open Invitational	−10 (70-65-70-73=278)	2 strokes	USA Ken Venturi, USA Art Wall Jr.
14	Jun 20, 1959	Canadian Open	−12 (68-69-69-70=276)	2 strokes	USA Dow Finsterwald, USA Art Wall Jr.,
USA Bo Wininger
15	May 29, 1960	500 Festival Open Invitation	−14 (66-68-68-68=270)	2 strokes	USA Jerry Barber
16	May 28, 1961	500 Festival Open Invitation (2)	−11 (69-69-67-68=273)	Playoff	USA Arnold Palmer
17	Jan 22, 1962	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	−2 (70-73-69-74=286)	Playoff	USA Joe Campbell
18	Jun 24, 1962	Eastern Open Invitational	−9 (69-65-73-72=279)	1 stroke	USA Bob Goalby
19	Jul 6, 1963	Canadian Open (2)	−4 (69-67-74-70=280)	1 stroke	USA Al Geiberger

PGA Tour playoff record (5–7)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1951	Texas Open	USA Dutch Harrison	Lost 18-hole playoff;
Harrison: −4 (67),
Ford: −3 (68)
2	1951	Kansas City Open	USA Dave Douglas, USA Cary Middlecoff	Middlecoff won 18-hole playoff;
Middlecoff: −4 (68),
Douglas: E (72),
Ford: E (72)
3	1952	Jacksonville Open	USA Sam Snead	Won after concession before playoff
4	1953	Greater Greensboro Open	USA Sam Snead, USA Earl Stewart,
USA Art Wall Jr.	Stewart won with par on first extra hole after 18-hole playoff;
Stewart: −2 (68),
Snead: −2 (68),
Ford: E (70),
Wall: +2 (72)
5	1954	Greater Greensboro Open	USA Marty Furgol	Won 18-hole playoff;
Ford: +1 (72),
Furgol: +4 (75)
6	1955	Rubber City Open	USA Jackson Bradley, USA Jack Burke Jr.,
USA Henry Ransom	Ransom won with birdie on first extra hole
7	1955	Philadelphia Daily News Open	USA Ted Kroll	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
8	1956	Western Open	USA Mike Fetchick, USA Jay Hebert,
USA Don January	Fetchick won 18-hole playoff;
Fetchick: −6 (66),
Hebert: −1 (71),
Ford: E (72),
January: +3 (75)
9	1957	Rubber City Open Invitational	USA Arnold Palmer	Lost to birdie on sixth extra hole
10	1957	Western Open	USA George Bayer, USA Gene Littler,
USA Billy Maxwell	Won with par on third extra hole
Littler and Maxwell eliminated by par on first hole
11	1961	500 Festival Open Invitation	USA Arnold Palmer	Won with birdie on second extra hole
12	1962	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	USA Joe Campbell	Won with par on first extra hole

Source:

Other wins (12)

1956 Metropolitan Open
1957 Panama Open, Metropolitan PGA Championship, Westchester PGA Championship
1958 Metropolitan PGA Championship
1959 Eldorado Professional (tied with Sam Snead)
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 - Legendary Division (with Jerry Barber)
1996 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Art Wall Jr.)

Sources:

Playoff record

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1981	Michelob-Egypt Temple Senior Classic	USA Don January	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1955	PGA Championship	n/a	4 & 3	USA Cary Middlecoff
1957	Masters Tournament	3 shot deficit	−5 (72-73-72-66=283)	3 strokes	USA Sam Snead

Results timeline

Tournament	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament				T21	T21	T33		T6	1	T2	T25
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	41	T19	T21	T35	T7	T9	T17	34	T5
The Open Championship
PGA Championship							1	R32	R16	T11	T11

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	T25	T32	T44	T11	T46	T31	T17	T31	T48	CUT
U.S. Open	T33	T6	T8	CUT	CUT		CUT
The Open Championship					T24
PGA Championship	T7	T5	5	T27	CUT	T20	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	CUT	T46	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	WD
U.S. Open				CUT	CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	T56	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	CUT	WD	CUT	WD	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	CUT	WD

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	CUT	WD	CUT	CUT	WD	WD	CUT	CUT	WD	WD
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

Tournament	2000	2001
Masters Tournament	WD	WD
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

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

Tournament	Wins	2nd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	1	1	2	3	9	49	17
U.S. Open	0	0	1	5	8	19	12
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
PGA Championship	1	0	3	5	9	27	11

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

Ryder Cup: 1955 (winners), 1957, 1959 (winners), 1961 (winners)
Hopkins Trophy: 1952 (winners), 1953 (winners), 1956 (winners)

References

"Doug Ford". World Golf Hall of Fame.
Barkow, Al. (November 1989). "The History of the PGA TOUR". [[Doubleday (publisher).
Elliott, Len. (1976). "Who's Who in Golf". Arlington House.
(October 9, 2010). "For two-time major golf champion Doug Ford, the Hall of Fame finally calls". Palm Beach Post.
(May 10, 2011). "Ernie Els, 41, inducted into Hall of Fame". [[ESPN]].
(March 25, 1952). "Sam Snead Forfeits First in Jacksonville Open". The Spokesman-Review.
(March 25, 1952). "Ford Gets First Major Golf Win". Reading Eagle.
(March 25, 1952). "Snead Forfeits First in Jacksonville Open". The Spokesman-Review.
Johnson, Martin. (April 9, 2002). "The Masters: Augusta bows to change with a pompous flourish". The Telegraph.
(May 15, 2018). "Doug Ford, Masters Champion in Golf Hall of Fame, Dies at 95". Bloomberg Quint.
McCabe, Jim. (May 15, 2018). "World Golf Hall of Fame member Ford dies at 95". PGA Tour.
Goldstein, Richard. (May 15, 2018). "Doug Ford, Oldest Masters Champion, Dies at 95". The New York Times.
"Doug Ford". PGA Tour.
"Doug Ford – Profile". PGA Tour.
(March 25, 1952). "Sam Snead Forfeits First in Jacksonville Open". The Spokesman-Review.
Moore, Robert. (April 20, 1953). "Ford's 262 Captures Virginia Beach". St. Petersburg Times.
Mcauley, Ed.. (August 24, 1953). "Doug Ford Wins Labatt Open With 15-under-par 265". The Montreal Gazette.
(December 14, 1953). "Ford's Fancy Finish Beats Snead at Miami". The Spokesman-Review.
(April 5, 1954). "Ford; Furgol In Playoff For Top Greensboro Open Money". [[St. Petersburg Times]].
(April 6, 1954). "Ford Notes Anniversary With $2,000 Playoff Win". [[St. Petersburg Times]].
(August 23, 1954). "Ford Is first at Fort Worth; Souchak Second". The Spokesman-Review.
(July 27, 1955). "Doug Ford Wins PGA Title in His First Try". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(August 8, 1955). "Doug Ford Wins All-American golf With 11-Under-Par 277; Biagetti 2d". The Spokesman-Review.
(September 27, 1955). "Doug Ford Fires Subpar golf to Win Sponsors". The Spokesman-Review.
(January 8, 1957). "Ford Wins LA Open". [[Ottawa Citizen]].
(April 8, 1957). "Doug Ford's 283 captures Masters golf". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(July 1, 1955). "Doug Ford Wins Golf Playoff". Youngstown Vindicator.
(March 17, 1958). "Veteran Doug Ford 1st in Pensacola Open". The Spokesman-Review.
(June 22, 1959). "Ford Grabs Canuck Open on 276 Total". The Spokesman-Review.
(May 30, 1960). "Ford Grabs "500" Open on 68 Finish". The Spokesman-Review.
(May 29, 1961). "Ford Snares Playoff Win in 500 Win". The Spokesman-Review.
(January 23, 1962). "Fast Playing Doug Ford Triumphs Over Campbell in Playoff for Crosby Title". Youngstown Vindicator.
(June 25, 1962). "Doug Ford Golf Winner". Youngstown Vindicator.
(July 7, 1963). "Ignoring Pressure, Ford Wins Canadian". The Spokesman-Review.
"Doug Ford". Golf Major Championships.

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