Golf lost its oldest living major champion when the great Kel Nagle passed away today in Sydney aged 94. He was one of our greatest champions and one of only nine Australians to win one of the game’s four professional major championships.

The playing of golf professionally was a much different thing in Nagle’s era. Norman Von Nida, thirteen years older than Nagle, was our first full-time player relying on his skills and wits to earn a living playing the game both home and abroad. Nagle instead chose early in his life to play in Australia and mix the local competition with life as the club professional at Pymble Golf Club in Sydney.

Of course it is unimaginable in this era of golf someone could combine the two but he was a prolific winner on the Australasian tour. He eventually won 61 tournaments including six Australian PGA titles, seven New Zealand Opens and the 1959 Australian Open. Next on the all-time list of winners on the local tour is Greg Norman and he is a full thirty wins shy of Nagle’s tally.

via Australian golf loses wonderful champion and man – Golf Australia.