Doug Ford

Douglas Michael Ford Sr. (born Douglas Michael Fortunato; August 6, 1922 – May 14, 2018) was an American professional golfer and two-time major golf champion. Ford turned professional in 1949, later going on to win the 1955 PGA Championship and the 1957 Masters Tournament. He was also a member of four Ryder Cup teams (1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961) and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.

Early life

Ford was born in West Haven, Connecticut, on August 6, 1922. During World War II, he served in the Coast Guard Air Division.

Ford recalled later in life that he showed enough promise as a baseball player that he received a contract offer from the New York Yankees. While he was considering the offer, his father asked how long he might expect to play baseball. When Doug said that he might expect to play professional baseball for about 10 years, his father responded, "Why don't you stay with the golf. You'll last forever."

Professional career

Ford turned professional in 1949 and won for the first time in 1952 at the Jacksonville Open.

The win in Jacksonville was an unusual one. At the end of regulation play, Ford and Sam Snead were tied for the lead. An 18-hole playoff was scheduled for the next day but rather than play, Snead forfeited. The forfeit stemmed from a ruling Snead received during the tournament's second round of play. On the 10th hole, Snead's drive landed behind an out-of-bounds stake. While Chick Harbert, who was playing with Snead, thought the ball was out-of-bounds, a rules official ruled differently due to the starter not telling players the stakes had been moved since the previous day's play had ended. Afterwards, Snead explained why he forfeited even though Ford suggested they play sudden-death for the title. "I want to be fair about it. I don't want anyone to think I took advantage of the ruling."

Ford's first major title was the PGA Championship in 1955, which was contested at match play. He defeated Cary Middlecoff in the 36-hole final, 4 and 3. Ford was that season's PGA Player of the Year. In 1957, he holed out from a plugged lie in the bunker, on the final hole, to come from behind and beat Sam Snead by three strokes at the Masters Tournament. The last of his 19 PGA Tour wins came in 1963. Ford played on four Ryder Cup teams: 1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961.

Ford played in 49 Masters Tournaments, a record that stood until Arnold Palmer played in his 50th tournament three years later. His final Masters was in 2001 at age 78; he withdrew after an opening-hole double-bogey and was asked not to participate in future tournaments.

At the age of 88, Ford still regularly played casual golf.

Personal life

Ford died in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on May 14, 2018, at the age of 95.

Honors and awards

• In 1972, Ford was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame
• In 1992, Ford was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
• In 2011, Ford was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame

Professional wins (34)

Legend
Major championships (2)
Other PGA Tour (17)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Mar 24, 1952	Jacksonville Open	−8 (69-68-70-73=280)	Playoff	Sam Snead
2	Apr 19, 1953	Virginia Beach Open	−14 (63-65-67-67=262)	2 strokes	Ansel Snow
3	Aug 23, 1953	Labatt Open	−15 (67-69-64-65=265)	5 strokes	Walter Burkemo
4	Dec 13, 1953	Miami Open	−8 (68-67-70-67=272)	4 strokes	Sam Snead
5	Apr 5, 1954	Greater Greensboro Open	−1 (71-69-73-70=283)	Playoff	Marty Furgol
6	Aug 22, 1954	Fort Wayne Open	−18 (70-69-66-65=270)	3 strokes	Mike Souchak
7	Jul 26, 1955	PGA Championship	4 and 3		Cary Middlecoff
8	Aug 7, 1955	All American Open	−11 (69-69-69-70=277)	3 strokes	Leo Biagetti
9	Sep 26, 1955	Carling Golf Classic	−12 (70-69-68-69=276)	1 stroke	Art Wall Jr.
10	Jan 7, 1957	Los Angeles Open	−4 (69-71-71-69=280)	1 stroke	Jay Hebert
11	Apr 7, 1957	Masters Tournament	−5 (72-73-72-66=283)	3 strokes	Sam Snead
12	Jun 30, 1957	Western Open	−5 (69-71-67-72=279)	Playoff	George Bayer, Gene Littler, Billy Maxwell
13	Mar 16, 1958	Pensacola Open Invitational	−10 (70-65-70-73=278)	2 strokes	Ken Venturi, Art Wall Jr.
14	Jun 20, 1959	Canadian Open	−12 (68-69-69-70=276)	2 strokes	Dow Finsterwald, Art Wall Jr., Bo Wininger
15	May 29, 1960	500 Festival Open Invitation	−14 (66-68-68-68=270)	2 strokes	Jerry Barber
16	May 28, 1961	500 Festival Open Invitation (2)	−11 (69-69-67-68=273)	Playoff	Arnold Palmer
17	Jan 22, 1962	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	−2 (70-73-69-74=286)	Playoff	Joe Campbell
18	Jun 24, 1962	Eastern Open Invitational	−9 (69-65-73-72=279)	1 stroke	Bob Goalby
19	Jul 6, 1963	Canadian Open (2)	−4 (69-67-74-70=280)	1 stroke	Al Geiberger

PGA Tour playoff record (5–7)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1951	Texas Open	Dutch Harrison	Lost 18-hole playoff; Harrison: −4 (67), Ford: −3 (68)
2	1951	Kansas City Open	Dave Douglas, Cary Middlecoff	Middlecoff won 18-hole playoff; Middlecoff: −4 (68), Douglas: E (72), Ford: E (72)
3	1952	Jacksonville Open	Sam Snead	Won after concession before playoff
4	1953	Greater Greensboro Open	Sam Snead, Earl Stewart, Art Wall Jr.	Stewart won with par on first extra hole after 18-hole playoff; Stewart: −2 (68), Snead: −2 (68), Ford: E (70), Wall: +2 (72)
5	1954	Greater Greensboro Open	Marty Furgol	Won 18-hole playoff; Ford: +1 (72), Furgol: +4 (75)
6	1955	Rubber City Open	Jackson Bradley, Jack Burke Jr., Henry Ransom	Ransom won with birdie on first extra hole
7	1955	Philadelphia Daily News Open	Ted Kroll	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
8	1956	Western Open	Mike Fetchick, Jay Hebert, Don January	Fetchick won 18-hole playoff; Fetchick: −6 (66), Hebert: −1 (71), Ford: E (72), January: +3 (75)
9	1957	Rubber City Open Invitational	Arnold Palmer	Lost to birdie on sixth extra hole
10	1957	Western Open	George Bayer, Gene Littler, Billy Maxwell	Won with par on third extra hole Littler and Maxwell eliminated by par on first hole
11	1961	500 Festival Open Invitation	Arnold Palmer	Won with birdie on second extra hole
12	1962	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	Joe Campbell	Won with par on first extra hole

• 1956 Metropolitan Open
• 1957 Panama Open, Metropolitan PGA Championship, Westchester PGA Championship
• 1958 Metropolitan PGA Championship
• 1959 Eldorado Professional (tied with Sam Snead)
• 1960 Metropolitan PGA Championship
• 1961 Westchester Open, Westchester PGA Championship
• 1963 Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA Championship, Westchester PGA Championship

• 1981 Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am
• 1987 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Jerry Barber)
• 1996 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Art Wall Jr.)

Sources:

Playoff record

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1981	Michelob-Egypt Temple Senior Classic	Don January	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Major championships

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1955	PGA Championship	n/a	4 & 3		Cary Middlecoff
1957	Masters Tournament	3 shot deficit	−5 (72-73-72-66=283)	3 strokes	Sam Snead

Tournament	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament				T21	T21	T33		T6	1	T2	T25
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	41	T19	T21	T35	T7	T9	T17	34	T5
The Open Championship
PGA Championship							1	R32	R16	T11	T11

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	T25	T32	T44	T11	T46	T31	T17	T31	T48	CUT
U.S. Open	T33	T6	T8	CUT	CUT		CUT
The Open Championship					T24
PGA Championship	T7	T5	5	T27	CUT	T20	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	CUT	T46	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	WD
U.S. Open				CUT	CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	T56	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	CUT	WD	CUT	WD	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	CUT	WD

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	CUT	WD	CUT	CUT	WD	WD	CUT	CUT	WD	WD
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

Tournament	2000	2001
Masters Tournament	WD	WD
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Source:

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	1	1	0	2	3	9	49	17
U.S. Open	0	0	0	1	5	8	19	12
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
PGA Championship	1	0	0	3	5	9	27	11
Totals	2	1	0	6	13	27	96	41

• Most consecutive cuts made – 31 (1951 U.S. Open – 1963 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1955 U.S. Open – 1956 U.S. Open)

U.S. national team appearances

• Ryder Cup: 1955 (winners), 1957, 1959 (winners), 1961 (winners)
• Hopkins Trophy: 1952 (winners), 1953 (winners), 1956 (winners)