Kel Nagle Passes Away

Another great of a bygone area has passed away, as Australian Kel Nagle, 94, died yesterday. While Greg Norman is generally regarded as the greatest Australian golfer of all time, no one was as proficient in winning golf tournaments in Australia than Nagle.

Nagle began his career when he turned professional in 1946. His first victory was the Australian PGA in 1949. He would go on to win 61 times in Australia and New Zealand in event that would later make up the Australasian Tour. Though the Tour would only be officially formed in 1973, all of Nagle's wins were grandfathered in, making him the all time winner of events on that Tour by a massive margin. He won at least one tournament from 1949 to 1975, which is insane.

Nagle's biggest victory came in 1960, when he beat Arnold Palmer by one stroke to win the Open Championship. He bested Palmer again in 1964 at the Canadian Open for his only other PGA Tour victory. Still, the Open Championship was kind to Nagle. Prior to his victory in 1960, he had never recorded a top 10 finish in a major. After 1960, he would finish in the top 10 six times between 1961-1969. He also came close to winning the 1965 US Open, when he shot a final round 69 to catch Gary Player on Sunday, only for player to hold on in the 18 hole playoff the next day. It was the closest Nagle ever got to winning another major championship, and spent a majority of the rest of his career in Australia. Nagle pretty much retired from professional golf in 1978, though he did play on the Senior's Tour in the 80's. His final start in a major was the 1984 Open Championship, where he and countryman Peter Thompson, who won the Claret Jug five times, waved goodbye at the championship that treated them so well over the years at the home of golf, St. Andrews.

Nagle was given the Order of Australia in 1980 for the service to the sport of golf. Nagle was elected to the Sport Australia Hall Of Fame in 1986, awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2001, and in 2005, the Australasian Tour created the Kel Nagle Plate, which is annually rewarded to the best performing rookie at the Australian PGA. In 2007, Nagle was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. Nagle was too sick to attend the ceremony in person, but Greg Norman accepted on his behalf and personally flew the Hall of Fame blazer to Nagle's home in Sydney.

Sam Snead once said of Nagle "I've never seen him hit a bad putt." I wish we could all have such luck. Rest In Piece, Mr. Nagle.