2. Hogan's Miracle (1950)
The story at Merion Golf Club centered on one man – the great Ben Hogan. Following his glorious 1948 season when he had won 10 times, including the US Open at Riviera, the dogged Hogan had finally reached the pinnacle of the sport, if not the top of the popularity charts. However, in February 1949, he barely survived a head-on collision with a Greyhound bus, in which he threw himself across his wife Valerie, almost certainly saving her life but resulting in massive injuries to himself. It was deemed unlikely that he would walk again, never mind play golf. And yet, here he was, five months after his return to the game, with both legs heavily bandaged and in constant pain coming down the eighteenth needing a par to force a play-off with Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio. The home hole at Merion was a brute and despite a good drive, Hogan still required a one-iron to reach the green. The strike was pure and he found the centre of the putting surface, from where he two-putted his way into the play-off, which he won the following day in front of a rapturous crowd. This most miraculous of major victories helped Hogan win over a golfing public enthralled by his triumph over adversity.
