Walter Hagen

Open wins in 1960; Palmer stated his intent at that time of going for a modern Grand Slam by winning the Open Championship and the PGA Championship that same year; this was taken up by the world's golf media and has gained increasing credence with time. In Hagen's prime the Masters had not yet been founded and the Western Open (the championship of the Western Golf Association) was by today's definition a "major" insofar as it was one of four elite tournaments in which most of the top golfers in the world could be counted on to participate each year. Later that week Hagen was the U.

Open twice and in 1922 he became the first native-born American to win the British Open which he went on to win four times in total. He also won the PGA Championship a record-tying five times (1921 '24–'27) and the Western Open five times when it had near major championship status. S.