Al Espinosa

Abel Ruben "Al" Espinosa (March 24, 1891 – January 4, 1957) was an American professional golfer. He left his mark on golf in Ohio by serving as the Head Professional at Akron’s Portage Country Club from 1931 through 1944. During his tenure at Portage he won the Ohio Open three times (1932, 1933, and 1936). While head pro at Portage Country Club in Akron, Ohio, in the early 1940s, Espinosa hired as his assistant future Masters champion Herman Keiser. He was inducted into the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame in 1957.

Biography

Espinosa was born on March 24, 1891, in Monterey, California. He was of Mexican American descent, and served in the U.S. Army in World War I.

Espinosa won nine times on the PGA Tour in the 1920s and 1930s. He was on the Ryder Cup teams in 1927, 1929, and 1931, although he did not play in 1927. He lost to Leo Diegel in the PGA Championship finals in 1928. He tied with Bobby Jones in the U.S. Open in 1929 at Winged Foot, but lost by 23 strokes in the 36-hole playoff. He won the Mexican Open four times. His older brother Abe (1889–1980) also won on the PGA Tour.

He died of cancer at age 65 in 1957 in San Francisco, and is buried at San Carlos Cemetery in Monterey.

Professional wins (20)

PGA Tour wins (9)

1924 (1) Missouri Open
1926 (1) Oklahoma City Open
1928 (2) Florida West Coast Open, Mid-America Open
1930 (1) Houston Open
1932 (1) Ohio Open
1933 (1) Ohio Open
1934 (1) Miami International Four-Ball (with Denny Shute)
1935 (1) Indianapolis Open

Other wins (11)

this list may be incomplete

1922 Washington Open
1923 Washington Open
1925 Chicago District Open Championship
1927 Illinois PGA Championship
1928 Illinois PGA Championship
1930 Illinois PGA Championship
1936 Ohio Open
1944 Mexican Open
1945 Mexican Open
1946 Mexican Open
1947 Mexican Open

Results in major championships

NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place