What has Ken Venturi done to contribute to his legacy in golf?
He shot a final round 80 and relinquished a four shot lead which prevented him from winning outright and thus becoming the first amateur to do so in the history of The Masters. —————- Kenneth Venturi (born May 15, 1931) is an American former professional golfer and golf broadcaster. Biography Venturi was born in San Francisco, California. Venturi first gained national attention in 1956 when, as an amateur, he finished second in that year’s Masters after leading from the first round. He shot a final round 80 and relinquished a four shot lead which prevented him from winning outright and thus becoming the first amateur to do so in the history of The Masters. Years later it would be compared to Greg Norman’s back nine collapse in 1996. In the early 50’s, Venturi had been a pupil of the great Byron Nelson and was also influenced by playing partner Ben Hogan. With this fine tuning combined with his tremendous talent, Venturi was a regular winner during his early years on the PGA T
The house is quiet. Ken Venturi is in his personal golf museum—his small office in his comfortable home on Marco Island, on Florida’s Gulf Coast. On the walls that surround him are his medals, his putter, pictures of him, tributes to him. An alarm on his desk goes off. It is a quarter past eight on a weekday night. A powerful storm is barreling across the island, and the air is humid, and the ground is sodden, outside and in. Even the shag carpet, a late-1970s period piece, in the living room feels a little soggy. Venturi has been in a reverie. He has been talking about the 1964 U.S. Open, which he won, at Congressional, where the national championship will be played next week. He has been talking about his late father, who sold nets and twine to fishermen in San Francisco and down the coast to Monterey. He has been remembering his father’s reaction to his only child’s great triumph 33 years ago. The alarm catches the 66-year-old Venturi off guard. His words stop. His fingers find the
