2020 May Memorabilia Auction Featuring Ken Venturi Collection
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/24/2020
1946 Western Open at Sunset Country Club Contestant Badge, Invitation, & 21 Photos - Rod Munday Collection
1946, by many accounts, was the most successful on the golf course for Bantam Ben Hogan, especially based on sheer number of wins at 13. It would also be the year that Hogan would win his first major at the PGA Championship in Portland, Oregon, over Ed Oliver 6 and 4. Representing his sixth win of the season and first of two Western Open victories are the contestant badge, tournament invitation and 21 photos giving a visual account of the tournament from the Rod Munday Collection. Ben Hogan shot a then tournament record -17 under for the week and four strokes ahead of the nearest golfer in Lloyd Mangrum. Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Horton Smith, Rod Munday and Herman Keiser are all captured in these original photographs from the tournament at Sunset C.C., many featuring the legend in action and labelled appropriately on the reverse. The contestant badge is in good condition, with expected aging present. Photos are mostly 3 3/4" x 5 1/4."
Rod Munday Collection
A contemporary of Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead, and Paul Runyan, Rod Munday traveled the same proving ground as many of the touring and club professionals in a career that spanned over 50 years. His friendship with those individuals and fellow teaching professionals lasted throughout his life as a pro golfer that started in Northern California and ended in Pennsylvania. Rod competed in many pro tournaments including both the 1940 and 1946 Masters Tournaments. He frequently qualified for and played in the PGA Championship from the 1930’s through the early 1960’s, and competed in the 1934, 1935, 1946, and 1947 US Open. If a putt would have fallen one way or another, Munday could have been a golfer that was mentioned in the same sentence as the legendary golfers of his day.
Munday, a World War II army vet who received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, was the preferred teaching professional for many celebrities and dignitaries, none larger than President and General Dwight D Eisenhower. Eisenhower became Rod’s #1 pupil at the Gettysburg Country Club in Pennsylvania. Munday was just as much a personal friend to these larger than life figures as a golf instructor. Many of the leading tour players such as 1941 Masters champion Craig Wood, considered Rod Munday one of the top putting minds of the 1950’s. Horton Smith, Byron Nelson, Henry Cotton, Jack Grout, and Gene Sarazen all kept in contact with Munday over the years. The allure to play exhibitions at Munday’s clubs at Highland Meadows in Toledo, Ohio and the Country Club of York in Pennsylvania was there for many, including visits and fundraisers attended by one of his closest friends, Ben Hogan.
The Golf Auction is proud to offer the Rod Munday Collection, helping to tell the story of the man himself.AUCTION CLOSING RULES:
Place your bids now as this auction will end at 9:00pm EST Sunday, May 24th with EXTENDED BIDDING to follow. All items that have received multiple bids in the auction will remain open until no items have received a bid within a 15 minute time period (at 10pm EST, the countdown clock will be adjusted to a 5 minute interval). Place your bids now!
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