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Leo Diegel

United States · born , Gratiot Township, Michigan, USA · died

2major championships

Summary

  • First major 1928 PGA Championship
  • Last major 1929 PGA Championship
  • Ryder Cup 4 Cups · 3-3-0 · 3 points (50.0%)
  • Runner-up in majors 3 times

Wins

  1. 1928 PGA Championship Baltimore Country Club (Five Farms East) · won the final 6 & 5 against Al Espinosa
  2. 1929 PGA Championship Hillcrest Country Club · won the final 6 & 4 against Johnny Farrell

Near misses

  1. 1920 U.S. Open Inverness Club · runner-up to Ted Ray
  2. 1926 PGA Championship Salisbury Country Club · runner-up to Walter Hagen · lost the final 5 & 3
  3. 1929 The Open Muirfield · finished 3 · 299
  4. 1930 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · runner-up to Bobby Jones · 293
  5. 1933 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T3 · 293 (+1)

Ryder Cup

4 Cups, 6 matches: 3 won, 3 lost, 0 halved, 3 points. Foursomes 1-2-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 2-1-0.

  1. 1927 Worcester Country Club USA · USA won 9.5–2.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point
  2. 1929 Moortown Golf Club USA · GB won 7–5 · 2-0-0, 2 points
  3. 1931 Scioto Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · 0-1-0, 0 points
  4. 1933 Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club USA · GB won 6.5–5.5 · 0-1-0, 0 points

Rivals

Beat him

Beaten in finals and playoffs

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Walter Hagen's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1928 PGA Championship Diegel beat Walter Hagen 2 & 1 in the quarterfinals, ending Hagen's record run of 22 straight PGA match wins.
  2. 1928 PGA Championship Diegel beat Gene Sarazen 9 & 8 in the semifinals.
  3. 1929 PGA Championship Diegel beat Gene Sarazen 3 & 2 in the quarterfinals and Walter Hagen 3 & 2 in the semifinals, the same two he had eliminated in 1928.
  4. 1929 PGA Championship Al Espinosa beat Bill Mehlhorn on the 40th hole in the round of 16, at the first major played in California.

Records and firsts

  1. — PGA Championship most consecutive match wins · 22 (Walter Hagen, ended 2 & 1 by Leo Diegel in the 1928 quarterfinal)
  2. 1926 PGA Championship PGA Championship match-play finals (finals, won, lost): 3 · 2 · 1 (1926; 1928; 1929)

Results by championship

    Best day

    1929 PGA Championship

    Hillcrest Country Club, Los Angeles, California · won the final 6 & 4 against Johnny Farrell

    Diegel beat Gene Sarazen 3 & 2 in the quarterfinals and Walter Hagen 3 & 2 in the semifinals, the same two he had eliminated in 1928.

    Al Espinosa beat Bill Mehlhorn on the 40th hole in the round of 16, at the first major played in California.

    Chosen by rule: his most recent major win. Year page: 1929.

    Career line, 1920–1933

    PGA Championship
    1926 PGA Championship: runner-up to Walter Hagen1928 PGA Championship: won1929 PGA Championship: won
    U.S. Open
    1920 U.S. Open: runner-up to Ted Ray
    The Open
    1929 The Open: finished 31930 The Open: runner-up to Bobby Jones1933 The Open: finished T3
    Ryder Cup
    1927 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-1-01929 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-0-01931 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-1-01933 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-1-0
    192019251930

    11 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Leo Diegel was born on April 20, 1899, in Gratiot Township, Michigan, USA. Diegel won 2 major championships: 2 PGA Championships (1928, 1929). Diegel played in 4 Ryder Cups for USA (1927, 1929, 1931, 1933), winning 3, losing 3 and halving 0 of 6 matches for 3 points.

    See Leo Diegel in our rooms: U.S. Open, The Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (2)

    1. 1928 PGA Championship Baltimore Country Club (Five Farms East), Lutherville, Maryland · won the final 6 & 5 against Al Espinosa
    2. 1929 PGA Championship Hillcrest Country Club, Los Angeles, California · won the final 6 & 4 against Johnny Farrell

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1920 U.S. Open Inverness Club · runner-up to Ted Ray
    2. 1926 PGA Championship Salisbury Country Club · runner-up to Walter Hagen · lost the final 5 & 3
    3. 1929 The Open Muirfield · finished 3 · 299
    4. 1930 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · runner-up to Bobby Jones · 293
    5. 1933 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T3 · 293 (+1)

    U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 8 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

    Ryder Cup

    Diegel played 4 Ryder Cups for USA: 6 matches, 3 won, 3 lost, 0 halved, 3 points (50.0% of those available). By format: foursomes 1-2-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 2-1-0 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1927 Worcester Country Club USA · USA won 9.5–2.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point
    2. 1929 Moortown Golf Club USA · GB won 7–5 · 2-0-0, 2 points
    3. 1931 Scioto Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · 0-1-0, 0 points
    4. 1933 Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club USA · GB won 6.5–5.5 · 0-1-0, 0 points

    Partners, with matches played together: Al Espinosa (2), Bill Mehlhorn (1).

    PGA Championship match play

    Every recorded match in our bracket file, 1916–1957: 19 won, 11 lost, including 2 of 3 finals.

    1. 1920 Round of 32 lost to Bob MacDonald 4 & 3
    2. 1924 Round of 32 lost to Mortie Dutra 3 & 1
    3. 1925 Round of 32 beat Laurie Ayton 2 & 1
    4. 1925 Round of 16 beat Bobby Cruickshank 2 & 1
    5. 1925 Quarterfinal lost to Walter Hagen won on 40th hole
    6. 1926 Round of 32 beat Mike Patton 8 & 7
    7. 1926 Round of 16 beat Neal McIntyre 6 & 5
    8. 1926 Quarterfinal beat Abe Espinosa 3 & 2
    9. 1926 Semifinal beat Johnny Golden 1 up
    10. 1926 Final lost to Walter Hagen 5 & 3
    11. 1928 Round of 32 beat Tony Manero 10 & 8
    12. 1928 Round of 16 beat George Christ 6 & 4
    13. 1928 Quarterfinal beat Walter Hagen 2 & 1
    14. 1928 Semifinal beat Gene Sarazen 9 & 8
    15. 1928 Final beat Al Espinosa 6 & 5
    16. 1929 Round of 32 beat P.O. Hart 10 & 9
    17. 1929 Round of 16 beat Herman Barron 10 & 9
    18. 1929 Quarterfinal beat Gene Sarazen 3 & 2
    19. 1929 Semifinal beat Walter Hagen 3 & 2
    20. 1929 Final beat Johnny Farrell 6 & 4
    21. 1930 Round of 32 beat Henry Ciuci 8 & 7
    22. 1930 Round of 16 lost to Harold Sampson won on 38th hole
    23. 1931 Round of 32 lost to Bill Mehlhorn 3 & 2
    24. 1933 Round of 32 lost to Willie Goggin 4 & 3
    25. 1934 Round of 32 lost to Fay Coleman 4 & 2
    26. 1937 Round of 64 lost to Byron Nelson 2 & 1
    27. 1938 Round of 64 beat Francis Gallett 2 & 1
    28. 1938 Round of 32 lost to Horton Smith 2 & 1
    29. 1939 Round of 64 beat Willie Goggin 2 & 1
    30. 1939 Round of 32 lost to Denny Shute 3 & 1

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. — PGA Championship most consecutive match wins · 22 (Walter Hagen, ended 2 & 1 by Leo Diegel in the 1928 quarterfinal)
    2. 1926 PGA Championship PGA Championship match-play finals (finals, won, lost): 3 · 2 · 1 (1926; 1928; 1929)

    Sources

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. where2golf
    2. PGA Tour
    3. Golf Compendium PGA Tour career wins
    4. Golf Compendium winners list
    5. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    6. PGA of America winners & venues
    7. Golf Compendium 1928
    8. The Golf News Net history table (2026)
    9. Today's Golfer purse history
    10. Golf Compendium tournament records
    11. PGA of America, Hagen and the lost Wanamaker
    12. Golf Monthly, Hagen at the PGA
    13. PGA of America 2013 media guide, p. 103
    14. Golf Compendium 1929
    15. Trenham, Philadelphia PGA history 1921–1929
    16. R&A 1929
    17. R&A 1933
    18. Golf Compendium 1925
    19. Golf Compendium 1926
    20. Golf Compendium 1930
    21. GC: 1927 ryder cup
    22. Wikipedia: 1927 Ryder Cup
    23. GC: 1929 ryder cup
    24. Wikipedia: 1929 Ryder Cup
    25. GC: 1931 ryder cup
    26. Wikipedia: 1931 Ryder Cup
    27. GC: 1933 ryder cup
    28. Wikipedia: 1933 Ryder Cup