2015 Spring Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/12/2015
Jack Fleck's 1955 US Open Victory Used Ben Hogan Irons
These clubs were presented by their producer, Ben Hogan to Jack Fleck, then wielded against Hogan in a most memorable mano e mano playoff triumph in the 1955 United States Open Championship. As the 1955 PGA Tour began Jack Fleck saw a set of Hogan clubs for the first time at the St. Petersburg Open. He was captivated by their design and quality, and received permission to send his specs into the company for a set to be made. Fleck received the irons in a following visit to the Hogan offices the week of the Colonial Invitational. It was the start of a magical ride for these clubs.Hogan would call the quality of his clubs "the Stradivarius of golf clubs", with numerous clubs discarded for not meeting his exacting standards. Iron play would be at a premium for the 1955 U.S. Open contested at The Olympic in San Francisco. As Fleck would say,"a great shot making golf course". The clubs Fleck was using to attack Olympic were the ones which had been recently gifted to him by Ben Hogan (with Bantom Ben refusing to take a cent for them). The only other similar set used in the 1955 Open was by Hogan himself. As one might expect Hogan, in pursuit of his record 5th U.S. Open Championship, played them to perfection and entered the final round of the Open one stroke in the lead, and three ahead of Fleck. He was on the threshold of winning that ever so special unprecedented fifth U.S. Open.
The only player left in the field who could challenge the victory was Fleck as he approached 17 a long par 4 hole that had not been reached in regulation all day. He still stood one stroke behind Hogan. Fleck scorched his three wood to 20 feet. Prompting renown player turned commentator Lawson Little on radio to proclaim, "that is one of the finest clutch shots ever". To no avail the birdie putt slid by and Fleck still needed birdie on 18 to tie Hogan. The Iowa native with ice in his veins laced his three wood off the tee on the short par four (as he had done in all four rounds) at 18 into the first cut some 150 yards from the green, but in an ideal area to go after the pin. Pulling his Hogan 7-iron out of the bag, Fleck rolled the ball to seven feet from the cup and sank the putt to tie Hogan at 287 and force an 18-hole playoff the next day. In what was thought to be a lopsided playoff for Hogan, most surprisingly Fleck was in command after a birdie at 10 put him three strokes up. Though challenged on the back side with his lead as little as one stroke entering 18, Fleck stood tall and finished with a par on 18 to defeat Hogan by three strokes (69-72). Only four other players, all only once, had broke 70 at Olympic Club that week. Fleck with his playoff round 69 broke 70 three times. One of the greatest upsets in sports history was complete.
In the post match remarks Fleck told Hogan that his clubs had, "finished first, and second in the Open". Author James Dodson summed up the magnitude of victory when he wrote in his classic narrative "Ben Hogan: An American Life", "The classic purity of such an upset--the greatest player of the age knocked off by his most humble disciple, the only man in the field using Hogan clubs". It is with immense pleasure that we offer in this lot the Hogan 2-9 Precision irons which Jack Fleck used throughout the week in the 1955 U.S. Open Championship which culminated in his historically significant playoff win that denied Ben Hogan his fifth U.S. Open title. Fleck not only made the course say "uncle" on his final round and final few holes, he caught "The Hawk," then winged him in the playoff. Prepare to watch the bidding take flight as the actual clubs from one of the most historic rounds in golf history are offered here. Unquestionably the most significant pieces of match used equipment to surface from the 1955 U.S. Open. These club's were retained by Jack Fleck from that June 19th, 1955 day when he defeated Hogan, as his most cherished possession on earth. It is only with his passing in March of 2014 that these are made available to the collecting world. A letter of provenance from Fleck's wife, Carmen, accompanies this treasured lot.
This iron set will be the pride and cornerstone of any advanced club or U.S. Open collection, and still proudly displayed 100 years from now as the clubs from the greatest David meets Goliath match in golf history.
Please note: This auction will end at 7:00pm EST on April 12th with extended bidding to follow. All items in the auction will remain open until no items have received a bid within a 15 minute time period. All lots are free to be bid on until extended bidding has ended.
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