Al Espinosa

Al Espinosa
Al Espinosa
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	U.S. Army
Rank	Corporal
Battles/wars	World War I

Al Espinosa
Al Espinosa
	circa 1920
Personal information
Full name	Abel Ruben Espinosa
Nickname	Al
Born	March 24, 1891; Monterey, California, U.S.
Died	January 4, 1957 (aged 65); San Francisco, California, U.S.
Spouse	Josephine
Children	1
Career
Turned professional	1921
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	20
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	9
Other	11
Best results in major championships;
Masters Tournament	T7: 1934
PGA Championship	2nd: 1928
U.S. Open	2nd: 1929
The Open Championship	T32: 1929

He left his mark on golf in Ohio by serving as the Head Professional at Akron’s Portage Country Club from 1931 through 1944. During his tenure at Portage he won the Ohio Open three times (1932, 1933, and 1936). While head pro at Portage Country Club in Akron, Ohio, in the early 1940s, Espinosa hired as his assistant future Masters champion Herman Keiser. He was inducted into the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame in 1957.

Biography

Espinosa was born on March 24, 1891, in Monterey, California. He was of Mexican American descent, and served in the U.S. Army in World War I.

Espinosa won nine times on the PGA Tour in the 1920s and 1930s. He was on the Ryder Cup teams in 1927, 1929, and 1931, although he did not play in 1927. He lost to Leo Diegel in the PGA Championship finals in 1928. He tied with Bobby Jones in the U.S. Open in 1929 at Winged Foot, but lost by 23 strokes in the 36-hole playoff. He won the Mexican Open four times. His older brother Abe (1889–1980) also won on the PGA Tour.

He died of cancer at age 65 in 1957 in San Francisco, and is buried at San Carlos Cemetery in Monterey.

Professional wins (20)

PGA Tour wins (9)

1924 (1) Missouri Open
1926 (1) Oklahoma City Open
1928 (2) Florida West Coast Open, Mid-America Open
1930 (1) Houston Open
1932 (1) Ohio Open
1933 (1) Ohio Open
1934 (1) Miami International Four-Ball (with Denny Shute)
1935 (1) Indianapolis Open

Other wins (11)

this list may be incomplete

Results in major championships

Tournament	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929
U.S. Open		T9	T13	T18	T14	2
The Open Championship						T32
PGA Championship	QF	R16	R32	SF	2	QF

Tournament	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1939	1940
Masters Tournament	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	T7	T17	T15	T29
U.S. Open	T35	T10	CUT	CUT	T21	T28	CUT		T32	T43
The Open Championship										NT
PGA Championship	QF	R32		R16				R32		R64

Top 10

Did not play

NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	1	3	4	4
U.S. Open	1	0	1	3	7	14	11
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
PGA Championship	1	1	5	7	10	11	11
Totals	2	1	6	11	20	30	27

Most consecutive cuts made – 16 (1924 PGA – 1931 PGA)
Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1924 PGA – 1925 PGA)

References