Skee Riegel

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Skee Riegel

| image = Skee Riegel 1951.png

| image_size =

| caption = Riegel at the 1951 Masters Tournament

| fullname = Robert Henry Riegel

| nickname = Skee

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|11|25}}

| birth_place = New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|2|22|1914|11|25}}

| death_place = West Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| height =

| weight =

| sporting_nationality = {{USA}}

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| college = West Point
Hobart College
Lafayette College

| yearpro = 1950

| extour = PGA Tour

| prowins = 7

| otherwins =

| majorwins =

| masters = 2nd: 1951

| usopen = T10: 1951

| open = DNP

| pga = T17: 1956, 1957

| wghofid =

| wghofyear =

| award1 =

| year1 =

| award2 =

| year2 =

| awardssection =

}}

Robert Henry "Skee" Riegel (November 25, 1914 – February 22, 2009) was an American professional golfer.

Early life

Riegel was born in 1914 in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania and grew up in Upper Darby.{{cite magazine |url=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2002/02/26/riegel-relishes-amateur-golfs-heyday/ |title=Riegel relishes amateur golf’s heyday |magazine=Golfweek |date=February 26, 2002 |first=Bob |last=Lentz}} He attended West Point, Hobart College, and Lafayette College where he played football and baseball, but not golf. He took up golf at the age of 23.{{cite web |url=http://www.usga.org/news/2009/february/riegelobit.html |title=Skee Riegel, 1947 U.S. Amateur Champion, Dies At 94 |publisher=USGA |date=February 24, 2009 |first=Ken |last=Klavon |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303214334/http://www.usga.org/news/2009/february/riegelobit.html |archivedate=March 3, 2009}} During World War II, he was a flying instructor for the US Army Air Corp in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

Career

Riegel won the 1947 U.S. Amateur over Johnny Dawson at the Pebble Beach Golf Links, 2 and 1. He played on the Walker Cup teams of 1947 and 1949 under captain as Francis Ouimet. He went undefeated in his four Walker Cup matches.

Riegel was the low amateur (T13) in the 1948 Masters Tournament.

Riegel turned professional in 1950 and played in 11 straight Masters Tournaments from 1947 to 1957. In the 1951 Masters Tournament, he was tied with Sam Snead after three rounds and finished second to Ben Hogan by two strokes.

Riegel finished second to Ted Kroll in the 1952 Insurance City Open.

Riegel stopped playing full-time in 1953. He served as head pro at Radnor Valley Country Club{{cite news |url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/obituaries/20090226_Robert_Riegel__94__golf_champion.html |title=Robert Riegel, 94, golf champion |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=February 26, 2009 |first=Walter F. |last=Naedele}} from 1954 to 1961 and then became involved in the ownership of York Road Country Club in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.{{cite web |url=http://www.juniorgolfers.net/cmcjgfriegel/historyofskee.html |title=Highlights of Robert H. "Skee" Riegel's Career |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724002144/http://www.juniorgolfers.net/cmcjgfriegel/historyofskee.html |archivedate=July 24, 2008}}

Riegel was the pro emeritus at the Cape May National Golf Club in Cape May, New Jersey. He was often found walking the grounds with his poodle John Paul. Cape May National holds a large amount of history, with a number of articles about Riegel on the walls of its clubhouse, as well as a number of plaques located on the 18th tee.

Amateur wins

1942 Florida State Amateur
1943 Southern Oregon Amateur
1946 Trans-Mississippi Amateur
1947 Monroe Invitational, U.S. Amateur
1948 Trans-Mississippi Amateur, Western Amateur

Professional wins

this list may be incomplete

1957 Pennsylvania Open Championship
1959 Pennsylvania Open Championship, Yorktown Open
1960 Philadelphia Open Championship, Genesee (Genny) Open
1967 Salsbury Open
1968 Salsbury Open

Major championships

=Amateur wins (1)=

class="wikitable"

!Year!!Championship!!Winning Score!!Runner-up

1947

U.S. Amateur

align=center|2 & 1

{{flagicon|USA}} Johnny Dawson

=Results timeline=

Amateur

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1940

!1941

!1942

!1943

!1944

!1945

!1946

!1947

!1948

!1949

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T50

|T13 LA

|T30

align=left|U.S. Open

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|CUT

|T59

|CUT

|T14 LA

align=left|U.S. Amateur

|R64

|style="background:yellow;"|R16

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|R32 M

|style="background:#00ff00;"|1

|R64

|R32

align=left|The Amateur Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|R16

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

Professional

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1950

!1951

!1952

!1953

!1954

!1955

!1956

!1957

!1958

!1959

align=left|Masters Tournament

|T21

|style="background:yellow;"|2

|T14

|T29

|T38

|T13

|T40

|T31

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|T12

|style="background:yellow;"|T10

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T42

|T40

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|R64

|R32

|T40

|CUT

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1960

!1961

!1962

!1963

!1964

!1965

!1966

!1967

!1968

!1969

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|48

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|T63

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|T51

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

Note: Riegel never played in The Open Championship.

M = medalist

LA = low amateur

NT = no tournament

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1962 PGA Championship)

"T" indicates a tie for a place

R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in match play

Sources: Masters,[http://www.masters.com/en_US/tournament/past_winners.html www.masters.com] U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur,[http://champsdatabase.usga.org/ USGA Championship Database] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221024412/http://champsdatabase.usga.org/ |date=2010-12-21 }} PGA Championship,[https://www.pga.org/sites/default/files/assets/library/Media/mg_2015_pga-champ-complete.pdf PGA Championship Media Guide] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304134715/https://www.pga.org/sites/default/files/assets/library/Media/mg_2015_pga-champ-complete.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }} 1947 British Amateur{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19470530&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |title=Four Scots In Last Eight |newspaper=Glasgow Herald |date=May 30, 1947 |page=5}}

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Walker Cup: 1947 (winners), 1949 (winners)

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20070208065706/http://www.cmngc.addr.com/Skee_Riegel.htm Biography]

Category:American male golfers

Category:Golfers from Pennsylvania

Category:United States Military Academy alumni

Category:Military personnel from Pennsylvania

Category:Hobart and William Smith Colleges alumni

Category:Lafayette Leopards baseball players

Category:Lafayette Leopards football players

Category:Players of American football from Pennsylvania

Category:People from Perry County, Pennsylvania

Category:1914 births

Category:2009 deaths

Category:20th-century American sportsmen