Skee Riegel
Encyclopedia
Robert Henry "Skee" Riegel (November 25, 1914 – February 22, 2009) was an American
professional golf
er.
Riegel 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.
During World War II he was a flying instructor for the U S Army Air Corp in Arkedelphia, Arkansaw.
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.
Riegel turned professional in 1950 and played in 11 straight Masters 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 1952-1953. He served as head pro at Radnor Valley Country Club from 1954 to 1961 and then became involved in the ownership of York Road Country Club in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
.
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 "Skee" on the walls of its Clubhouse, as well a number of Plaques located on the 18th tee.
Professional
LA = Low Amateur
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
Source for The Masters: www.masters.com
Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database
Source for PGA Championship: PGA Championship Media Guide
Source for 1947 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 30, 1947, pg. 5.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er.
Riegel attended West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
, Hobart College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Hobart and William Smith Colleges, located in Geneva, New York, are together a liberal arts college offering Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Teaching degrees. In athletics, however, the two schools compete with separate teams, known as the Hobart Statesmen and the...
, and Lafayette College
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
where he played football and baseball but not golf. He took up golf at the age of 23.
During World War II he was a flying instructor for the U S Army Air Corp in Arkedelphia, Arkansaw.
Riegel won the 1947 U.S. Amateur over Johnny Dawson
Johnny Dawson
John W. Dawson was an American amateur golfer and golf course architect.Dawson was born in Chicago, Illinois. Although he was a life-long amateur golfer, his amateur status was rescinded by the United States Golf Association for a time due to his employment with the Spalding sporting goods company...
at the Pebble Beach Golf Links
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Pebble Beach Golf Links is a golf course located in Pebble Beach, California, on the west coast of the United States.Pebble Beach is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful courses in the world. It hugs the rugged coastline and has wide open views of Carmel Bay, opening to the Pacific Ocean,...
, 2 and 1. He played on the Walker Cup
Walker Cup
The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in odd numbered years between teams comprising the leading amateur golfers of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland...
teams of 1947 and 1949.
Riegel turned professional in 1950 and played in 11 straight Masters from 1947 to 1957. In the 1951 Masters Tournament
1951 Masters Tournament
The 1951 Masters Tournament was contested from April 5 to April 8 at Augusta National Golf Club. It was the 15th Masters Tournament.Ben Hogan went into the final round trailing by one stroke and shot a bogey-free round of 68 . This was Hogan's first Masters victory...
, he was tied with Sam Snead
Sam Snead
Samuel Jackson Snead was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events including seven majors. He failed to win a U.S...
after three rounds and finished second to Ben Hogan
Ben Hogan
William Ben Hogan was an American golfer, generally considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game...
by two strokes.
Riegel finished second to Ted Kroll in the 1952 Insurance City Open.
Riegel stopped playing full time in 1952-1953. He served as head pro at Radnor Valley Country Club from 1954 to 1961 and then became involved in the ownership of York Road Country Club in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
.
Riegel was the Pro Emeritus at the Cape May National Golf Club in Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...
. 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 "Skee" on the walls of its Clubhouse, as well a number of Plaques located on the 18th tee.
Amateur wins
- 1942 Florida State Amateur
- 1943 Southern Oregon Amateur
- 1946 Trans-Mississippi AmateurTrans-Mississippi AmateurThe Trans-Mississippi Amateur or Trans-Miss Amateur is an annual golf tournament. It is organized by the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association and was first played in 1901. It is played at a different course each year that are located near or west of the Mississippi River. From 1987 to 2009, the field...
- 1947 U.S. Amateur
- 1948 Trans-Mississippi AmateurTrans-Mississippi AmateurThe Trans-Mississippi Amateur or Trans-Miss Amateur is an annual golf tournament. It is organized by the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association and was first played in 1901. It is played at a different course each year that are located near or west of the Mississippi River. From 1987 to 2009, the field...
, Western AmateurWestern AmateurThe Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association....
Professional wins
this list may be incomplete- 1957 Pennsylvania Open ChampionshipPennsylvania Open ChampionshipThe Pennsylvania Open Championship is the Pennsylvania state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Pennsylvania Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1912 at a variety of courses around the state...
- 1959 Pennsylvania Open ChampionshipPennsylvania Open ChampionshipThe Pennsylvania Open Championship is the Pennsylvania state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Pennsylvania Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1912 at a variety of courses around the state...
, Yorktown Open - 1960 Philadelphia Open ChampionshipPhiladelphia Open ChampionshipThe Philadelphia Open Championship is an annual golf tournament played in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. It is organized by the Golf Association of Philadelphia. It has been played annually since 1903 at member clubs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. It was considered a PGA Tour...
, Genessee (Genny) Open - 1967 Salsbury Open
- 1968 Salsbury Open
Amateur wins (1)
| Year | Championship | Winning Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | U.S. Amateur | 2 & 1 |  Johnny DawsonJohnny Dawson John W. Dawson was an American amateur golfer and golf course architect.Dawson was born in Chicago, Illinois. Although he was a life-long amateur golfer, his amateur status was rescinded by the United States Golf Association for a time due to his employment with the Spalding sporting goods company... |
Results timeline
Amateur| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | NT | NT | NT | DNP | T50 | T13 LA | T30 |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
DNP | DNP | NT | NT | NT | NT | CUT | T59 | CUT | T14 LA |
| U.S. Amateur | R64 | R16 | NT | NT | NT | NT | R32 | 1 | R64 | R32 |
| The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held annually in the United Kingdom. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the U.S. Amateur... |
NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | DNP | R16 | DNP | DNP |
Professional
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T21 | 2 | T14 | T29 | T38 | T13 | T40 | T31 | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
T12 | T10 | CUT | DNP | T42 | T40 | CUT | DNP | CUT | CUT |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | R64 | R32 | R32 | T40 | CUT |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | 48 | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | CUT |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
DNP | DNP | CUT | T63 | DNP | DNP | CUT | T51 | DNP | DNP |
LA = Low Amateur
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
Source for The Masters: www.masters.com
Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database
Source for PGA Championship: PGA Championship Media Guide
Source for 1947 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 30, 1947, pg. 5.
External links
- Biography
- Career Highlights
- Skee Riegel, 1947 U.S. Amateur Champion, Dies At 94 - USGA obituary
- Robert Riegel, 94, golf champion - The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
obituary