Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American
professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional
majors is third behind
Jack Nicklaus (18) and
Tiger Woods (14). He won the
U.S. Open twice, and in
1922 he became the first native-born American to win the
British Open, which he went on to win four times in total. He also won the
PGA Championship a record-tying five times (
1921,
1924–
1927), and the
Western Open five times when it had near-major championship status. Hagen totaled 45 PGA wins in his career, and was a six-time
Ryder Cup captain.