The 64th Open | 1929 Muirfield

Hagen equals Park Snr and Morrises

Regarded as golf's first great showman, Walter Hagen capped off the third decade of the 20th century in style as he etched his name into Open folklore with his fourth success.

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His victory at The 64th Open at Muirfield saw the American icon equal the legendary feats of Willie Park Snr and the two Tom Morrises in the Championship record books.

It proved to be the last of his 11 Major titles, which also included two U.S. Opens and five PGA Championships, and came at a time when the USA had a stranglehold on the Claret Jug.

Hagen, along with amateur Bobby Jones, held a grip on the Championship not unlike the Great Triumvirate before them - and his victory in 1929 was perhaps the pick of the bunch.

There was a strong US presence in the field at Muirfield as a result of the American Ryder Cup team travelling over ahead of the first official match in Britain two weeks later.

The East Lothian venue was hosting The Open for the first time in 17 years, having been extensively re-modelled in that time by Harry Colt into the course we know today.

And while Hagen started somewhat slowly with a 75 in the opening round, he became the first player to shoot a 67 in golf's original Championship in the second round.

Hagen's superb score included seven threes and only two fives and saw him rocket up the leaderboard, which had been topped by Percy Alliss (69) - father of legendary commentator Peter Alliss - after the first round.

At the midway point, Hagen's total of 142 put him in second behind fellow American Leo Diegel, who finished the first day's play with rounds of 71 and 69 to lead on level par.

The weather took a turn for the worse on the final day and the morning saw many players struggle, with Hagen's 75 good enough to put him four shots clear of the rest of the field.

His nearest rival going into the final round was Alliss, who posted 76 in the third round, while Diegel dropped down into a tie for third with Abe Mitchell after going round in 82.

Hagen ultimately wrapped up his fourth Open title with ease, a final round of 75 earning a comfortable six-shot triumph as compatriot and reigning U.S. Open champion Johnny Farrell took second.

1928 PGA champion Diegel was a shot further behind after closing with a final round of 77, meaning it was an unprecedented one-two-three for the reigning major winners.

Alliss and Mitchell were the only non-Americans in the top 10 as the English duo shared fourth place - eight shots back from Hagen.

While the USA dominated the leaderboard, it did not prove an omen for the subsequent Ryder Cup as Hagen's Americans were defeated at Moortown two weeks later.