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| File-This June 20, 1964 file photo shows Ken Venturi making the final putt on the 18th green during the U.S. Open Golf Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. The former U.S. Open champion has died just 12 days after he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He was 82. His son, Matt Venturi, says he died Friday May 17, 2013 in a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Venturi had been hospitalized the last two months for a spinal infection, pneumonia and an intestinal infection. |
Ken Venturi, who
overcame dehydration to win the 1964 U.S. Open and spent 35 years in the
booth for CBS Sports, died Friday afternoon. He was 82.
His
son, Matt Venturi, said he died in a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Venturi had been hospitalized the last two months for a spinal
infection, pneumonia, and then an intestinal infection that he could no
longer fight.
Venturi died 12 days after he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
He
couldn't make it to the induction. His sons, Matt and Tim, accepted on
his behalf after an emotional tribute by Jim Nantz, who worked alongside
Venturi at CBS.
"When dad did receive the
election into the Hall of Fame, he had a twinkle in his eye, and that
twinkle is there every day," Tim Venturi said that night.
Venturi was all about overcoming the odds.
A
prominent amateur who grew up in San Francisco, he captured his only
major in the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional, the last year the final
round was 36 holes. In oppressive heat, Venturi showed signs of
dehydration and a doctor recommended he stop playing because it could be
fatal. Venturi pressed on to the finish, closed with a 70 and was heard
to say, "My God, I've won the U.S. Open."
He
had a severe stuttering problem as a child, yet went on to become one of
the familiar voices in golf broadcasting. He began working for CBS in
1968 and lasted 35 years.
"We all knew what a
wonderful player Ken Venturi was, and how he fashioned a second
successful career as an announcer," Jack Nicklaus said. "But far more
important than how good he was at playing the game or covering it, Ken
was my friend. Ken was fortunate in that the game of golf gave him so
much, but without question, Ken gave back far more to the game he loved
than he ever gained from it. Over the years, Ken developed a circle of
friends that is enormous and whose collective heart is heavy today."
Venturi played on one Ryder Cup team and was U.S. captain in the 2000 Presidents Cup.
As
an amateur, he was the 54-hole leader in the 1956 Masters until closing
with an 80, and he was runner-up at Augusta National in 1960 to Arnold
Palmer, who birdied the last two holes.
Venturi
was born May 15, 1931, in San Francisco, and he developed his game at
Harding Park Golf Course. He won the California State Amateur at Pebble
Beach in 1951 and 1956, while serving in the Army in Korea between those
two amateur titles.
His stammering problem is what led him to golf.
"When
I was 13 years old, the teacher told my mother, `I'm sorry, Mrs.
Venturi, but your son will never be able to speak. He's an incurable
stammerer,'" Venturi said in 2011. "My mother asked me what I planned to
do. I said, `I'm taking up the loneliest sport I know,' and picked up a
set of hickory shaft across the street from a man and went to Harding
Park and played my first round of golf."
He
turned pro after his close call in the 1956 Masters, and won his first
PGA Tour at the St. Paul Open Invitational. Venturi won eight times over
the next three years, including the Los Angeles Open and the Bing
Crosby National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, before injuries started to
affect his game after nearly winning the 1960 Masters.
He
hurt his back in 1961 and badly injured his wrist in a car accident the
next year. He missed the U.S. Open three straight years until he
narrowly qualified for Congressional. It turned out to be an epic final
day for the Californian coping with broiling heat.
Venturi
shot 66 in the third round, but was feeling weak during the break
before the final round that afternoon. John Everett, a doctor and member
at Congressional, checked on him and found a normal pulse but symptoms
of dehydration.
"Dr. Everett told me ... I was
lying next to my locker and he says, `I suggest that you don't go out.
It could be fatal,'" Venturi said in 2011 when he returned to
Congressional for the U.S. Open. "I looked up at him and I said, `Well,
it's better than the way I've been living.' And I got off the floor, and
I do not remember walking to the first tee. I don't remember the front
nine until I started coming into it."
Venturi
was so shaken, so weak, when it was over that his final act was to sign
the scorecard. He couldn't even read the numbers. Joe Dey, the executive
director of the USGA, looked over his shoulder, checked the scores and
told him to sign it.
Sports Illustrated honored him as its "Sportsman of the Year" in 1964.
Venturi won three more times, his last win coming in 1966 at the Lucky International at Harding Park, where it all started.
He
eventually developed Carpel Tunnel Syndrome in his hands and was forced
to retire. That's when he moved into the booth as the lead analyst for
CBS Sports, and his voice filled living rooms for the next 35 years
until he retired in 2002.
"He was a deeply
principled man with a dynamic presence. He just exuded class," Nantz
said. "Through his competitive days and unequalled broadcasting career,
Kenny became a human bridge connecting everyone from Sarazen, Nelson and
Hogan to the greatest players of today's generation. Kenny faced many
adversities in his life and always found a way to win."
Venturi
was elected to the Hall of Fame through the Lifetime Achievement
category. Nantz gave an emotional tribute that night, and then called
Venturi's two sons to the stage to hold the trophy because "we need to
put the crystal in the hands of the Venturi family."
"If
there is some sense of fairness, it is that Ken was inducted into a
Hall of Fame that he very much deserved to be in and, in fact, should
have been in for many years," Nicklaus said. "While I know he was not
able to be there in person for his induction, I am certain there was an
overwhelming sense of pride and peace that embraced Ken. It was a dream
of Ken Venturi's that became a reality before he sadly left us."
Venturi is survived his wife of 10 years, Kathleen, and his two sons. Matt Venturi said services were pending.
