Early on the hazy Texas morning of Feb. 2, 1949, Ben Hogan almost died when a Greyhound bus, swinging out to pass a truck, collided with his car. Hogan heroically threw himself in front of his wife Valerie, who was in the passenger's seat; while she suffered only minor injuries, Hogan suffered a broken collarbone, a smashed rib, a double fracture of the pelvis and a broken ankle. His doctors suggested that he may never walk again.

     Just 16 months later, Ben Hogan stood on the threshold of winning the U.S. Open. It was only his seventh tournament since his brush with death. He could have won on the previous day, at the Merion Golf Club, outside Philadelphia, needing only to play the final four holes in 1-over par. But wearied by having to play 36 holes in one day for the first time since the accident - the way the U. S. Open was structured at that time involved 18 holes on Friday, 18 more on Saturday, then a grueling 36 holes on Sunday - he bogeyed 15 and 17 for a 7-over-par 287, and has to settle for being part of a three-man playoff.

     Rejuvenated by two baths and a good night's sleep, Hogan shot a 1-under 69 to finish four strokes ahead of Lloyd Mangrum and six ahead of George Fazio. His victory was made easier when Mangrum was penalized two strokes for picking up and blowing a bug off his ball on the 16th green. Hogan's putting, which had been inconsistent in the first four rounds, was solid: though he made only one putt longer than seven feet - a 50-footer for a birdie two on 17 that sealed his triumph - he didn't three-putt at all. This was his second U.S. Open win.