Food For Thought: Another Hale America National Open May Be Our Only 2020 Major

While it’s never to late to argue whether Ben Hogan’s Hale America National Open Golf Tournament win should count as a U.S. Open title—and boy do we have time right now!—it is probably premature to wonder if 2020 will host a similar tournament.

Making a strong case that no majors will (or should) be played in 2020, Golf.com’s Luke Kerr Dineen takes us back to the Hale America Open and the state of world affairs in 1942. The situation has parallels with the present, minus a war, but plus a contagious virus.

After setting up the times then and now, Kerr-Dineen’s pitch:

Rather than adopting a wait-and-see approach, leaving each of the four remaining majors in an independent state of limbo, let’s learn from the the Greatest Generation, which overcame even greater obstacles. Let’s have the PGA Tour, Augusta National, PGA of America, USGA and R&A join together in a show of strength and unity by jointly calling off all the majors for this year — playing one without the others doesn’t feel fair or right — with a plan to reboot them in 2021.

Instead of rushing through, at best, two majors, let’s come together for a single, unifying event — a one-time championship that would be recognized as a major, as the Hale America Open was. The tournament could be conducted in the fall, giving the governing bodies as much time as possible to pull it together, and played at an iconic venue that’s rooted in the game’s history. Augusta National, perhaps, or St. Andrews.

What the charitable cause would be and all of the particulars are not important right now.

Actually, nothing much about golf is important beyond providing an outlet to play where safe and when convenient.

While it’s lamentable to give up on 2020 from a major perspective, at some point we’ll have to be realistic about the prospects of major championships this year. Barring a rapid-fire schedule reorganization and other elements falling in line, a one-stop major may be all we can hope for. Perhaps with a little creativity it could bring the world together and showcase the women’s game, too. Shoot, it might even let the golf world start counting Hogan’s win in 1942.

____

If you’re looking for some diversionary reading, two of the all time greats have written about the Hale America. Here is His Ownself’s essay from Fairways and Greens, and a Charles Price piece from 1992 posted on Facebook.

The Hale America produced a classic photo of Hogan and Bobby Jones after the eventual winner shot 62.

And the Wikipedia page.