The Upset Jack Fleck's Incredible Victory over Ben Hogan at the U.S. Open

A thrilling play-by-play, shot-by-shot recounting of one of the most famous golf games of all time, this book brings back to life the look and feel of the entire three days of regular play and the fourth-day playoff of the 1955 U.S. Open at the Olympic Golf Club in San Francisco. Jack Fleck had the slimmest of resumes as a professional tournament golfer: he had never even come close to winning on the PGA Tour. Yet Fleck got himself into a playoff with Ben Hoganone of the greatest players in golf historyfor the game's most prestigious title; and when Fleck defeated Hogan, it was not just surprising, it was incredible. Relying on firsthand sources, this insightful study of a poignant moment in golf history reveals the players' mental processes as they strategized their game and handled their emotions and offers a fascinating look at two different approaches to competing for a golf championship: Hogan, who employed a stoic, no-nonsense approach to the game and Fleck, a practitioner of hatha yoga. The book presents a critical view of Hogan's inexplicable defeat and a convincing explanation for Fleck's mind-boggling victory, which was considered at the time and remains to this day one of the most unexpected outcomes in all sports history.

Al Barkow is a veteran golf reporter, formerly editor in chief of both Golf and Golf Illustrated magazines, and recipient of the 2005 PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. His books include The Best of Barkow, Gene Sarazen and Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, The Golden Era of Golf: How America Rose to Dominate the Old Scots Game, Golf’s Golden Grind: The History of the Tour, The History of the PGA, Sam: The One and Only Sam Snead, and That’s Golf. He lives in Albany, California.