Jimmy Demaret

James Newton Demaret (born May 24, 1910 - December 28, 1983 ) was an American professional golfer. He won 31 PGA Tour tournaments in a long career between 1935 and 1957. Three wins at the Masters are his greatest achievement.

Origin and successes as a professional

Demaret was born in 1910, the fifth of ten children, and was born in Houston , Texas . As a child, like many golf professionals of his era, he made a living as a caddy. When he was 17, Jackie Burke Sr. hired him as a temporary pro at the River Oaks Golf Club in Houston. One of his first jobs was herding Jackie Burke Jr. , a two-time major winner who would become a great golfer himself. However, Demaret's path should not lead him directly into the professional tour. For a while he alternated between playing golf and singing in nightclubs.

From 1938 he concentrated entirely on the PGA tour. An extremely successful career began with 35 victories on the PGA Tour, 17th place on the all-time leaderboard. The highlights were the three Masters victories in 1940, 1947 and 1950. The second place behind Ben Hogan at the US Open in 1947 also meant that he was the winner of the money list that year. Although he reached the semi-finals of the PGA Championship , which was still held as a match game at the time, four times , he remained without a title here. He was a member of the US Ryder Cup teams three times in a row : in 1947, 1949 and 1951. In 1983 Demaret was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame due to his successes .

Style of play

"He was the most undervalued golfer in history," said Ben Hogan. Especially in terms of the versatility of the strokes, Hogan had learned a lot from Demaret. Jack Burke Jr. also praised Demaret's qualities as a versatile shotmaker, although his preferred shot was the flat fade. Unlike Hogan, he was also nobody who would have hit balls intensely on the range. Demaret relied more on feeling, instinct, imagination and courage. In addition, he had the right physical conditions. Large, gripping hands were joined by a strong stature.

PGA Tour victories (31)

• 1938 (1) San Francisco Match Play
• 1939 (1) Los Angeles Open
• 1940 (6) Oakland Open, Western Open, New Orleans Open, St. Petersburg Open Invitational, The Masters , San Francisco Match Play
• 1941 (1) Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan )
• 1946 (3) Tucson Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan ), Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan)
• 1947 (6) Tucson Open, St. Petersburg Open Invitational, The Masters , Miami Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan ), Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan)
• 1948 (3) Albuquerque Open, St. Paul Open, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan )
• 1949 (1) Phoenix Open
• 1950 (3) Ben Hogan Open , The Masters , North Fulton Open
• 1952 (2) Bing Crosby Pro-Am , National Celebrities Open
• 1956 (1) Thunderbird Invitational
• 1957 (3) Thunderbird Invitational, Baton Rouge Open Invitational, Arlington Hotel Open

Major championships are in bold .

Results in the major tournaments

Tournament	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T33
US Open	DNP	DNP	T16	CUT	T22
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	R64	R64	R64	R16	DNP

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949
The Masters	1	T12	6th	NT	NT	NT	T4	1	T18	T8
US Open	WD	WD	NT	NT	NT	NT	T6	T39	2	WD
The Open Championship	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	R32	R64	SF	NT	DNP	DNP	SF	R64	SF	QF

Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
The Masters	1	T30	WD	T46	T29	DNP	T34	3	T14	CUT
US Open	T20	T14	T15	T4	T29	DNP	CUT	3	WD	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T10	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	SF	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	R64	DNP	DQ	DNP

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967
The Masters	CUT	CUT	T5	T43	T32	T35	DNP	CUT
US Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = not started
NT = no tournament played
WD = withdrawn
CUT = failed on cut
"T" = shared rank
Green background for victories. Yellow background for top 10.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Jimmy Demaret on the World Golf Hall of Fame website .
2. ↑ 50 Greatest Golfers of All Time: AND WHAT THEY TAUGHT US ( Memento from July 10, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )