Jack Fleck facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jack Fleck |
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|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Jack Donald Fleck |
| Born | November 7, 1921 Bettendorf, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | March 21, 2014 (aged 92) Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 167 lb (76 kg; 11.9 st) |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Spouse | Carmen Fleck (m. 2001) Lynn Burnsdale Fleck (m. 1949–1975, her death) |
| Children | Craig H. |
| Career | |
| College | None |
| Turned professional | 1939 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Senior PGA Tour |
| Professional wins | 9 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 3 |
| Other | 4 (regular) 2 (senior) |
| Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1) |
|
| The Masters Tournament | T11: 1962 |
| U.S. Open | Won: 1955 |
| The Open Championship | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T7: 1962 |
Jack Fleck (born November 7, 1921 – died March 21, 2014) was an American professional golfer. He is most famous for winning the U.S. Open golf tournament in 1955. He beat another famous golfer, Ben Hogan, in a special tie-breaking round called a playoff.
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Jack Fleck's Early Life
Jack Fleck was born in 1921 and grew up in Bettendorf, Iowa. His parents were farmers who faced tough times in the 1920s. Jack went to Davenport High School and played on the golf team there.
He started working as a caddie (someone who carries golf clubs) for a local dentist in the mid-1930s. In 1939, he became a professional golfer. Before World War II, he worked as an assistant golf pro at the Des Moines Country Club.
In 1942, Jack joined the U.S. Navy. He served as a quartermaster and even took part in the D-Day invasion. This was a very important event in World War II. After leaving the Navy, Jack quickly joined the PGA's winter golf tour. He wanted to qualify for professional golf events.
Jack Fleck's Golf Career
After playing in some local and PGA Tour events, Jack Fleck decided to play full-time on the PGA Tour. Just six months later, he achieved his biggest win. This was at the 1955 U.S. Open.
Jack won an 18-hole playoff against his idol, Ben Hogan. This exciting match happened at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. Jack had been nine strokes behind the leader, Tommy Bolt, after the first round. This was the biggest comeback ever for a U.S. Open winner at that time.
After his big win, Jack moved to the Detroit area in 1956. He made it to three playoffs on tour in 1960. He won the Phoenix Open in February of that year. He also tied for third place at the U.S. Open in 1960.
Jack won his third and final tour event in October 1961, the Bakersfield Open. This was also won in a playoff. In 1962, he finished tied for seventh at the PGA Championship. He then left the tour in 1963.
After leaving the tour, Jack worked as a club pro in different states. He tried to make a comeback on tour in 1970. In 1977, at age 55, he qualified for the U.S. Open again, but he did not make the cut.
Less than two years later, in February 1979, Jack won the PGA Seniors' Championship. This was a year before the Senior PGA Tour officially started. He was honored by being inducted into the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame in 1990.
In 1993, Jack needed money to fix his small golf course in Arkansas. It was called Li'l Bit of Heaven and had been damaged by floods. So, he sold his 1955 U.S. Open gold medal. Jack lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas with his wife, Carmen Fleck.
Jack Fleck's Family Life
Jack Fleck met his first wife, Lynn Burnsdale, in 1949. She came into his pro shop in Davenport with a golf club that needed fixing. They got married six weeks later. The next year, they had their only child, a son.
Jack wanted to name his son Snead Hogan Fleck, after two famous golfers. But they decided to name him Craig, after Craig Wood. Craig Wood was a golfer who won the Masters and U.S. Open in 1941.
Lynn encouraged Jack to play on the golf tour in the early 1950s and again in the early 1970s. She passed away in 1975. Jack remarried in 1980 and then married his wife Carmen in 2001.
Jack Fleck died on March 21, 2014, in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was 92 years old. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living U.S. Open champion.
Jack Fleck's Major Wins
Jack Fleck won one major championship:
- 1955 U.S. Open
He also had other professional wins:
- 1952 RGCC Shelden Invitational
- 1954 RGCC Shelden Invitational
- 1964 Illinois PGA Championship
- 1965 Illinois Open Championship
And two wins as a senior golfer:
- 1979 PGA Seniors' Championship
- 1995 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Tommy Bolt)
Playing for the U.S. Team
Jack Fleck represented the United States in the Hopkins Trophy in 1956, where his team won.
