In the beginning the PGA Championship was a match play event. The top 32 players, for the match play portion, were determined via 36-holes of stroke-play, plus every match– five in all – were contested over 36 holes. Both Barnes and Hagen made into the top 32 after stroke play and moved up through the brackets defeating lesser players along the way setting up the final 36-hole match between Barnes and Hagen. Both players had world-class talent, but the comparisons ended there. They could not have been any different. Hagen was outgoing and flamboyant. Barnes was the exact opposite, tall and quiet, often playing Barnes appear on both sides of the picture. The cameras, in 1924 lacked wide-angle capabilities and pictures of large groups required the camera to be swiveled during the shot. As soon as the camera took the picture of Hagen and Barnes on the left side of the group, they both ran around the back of the camera to position themselves on the right side of the group picture so their images would appear on both sides. A smiling Walter Hagen can be seen standing, alongside Barnes, on both sides of the photograph. Walter Hagen and Jim Barnes were major stars in professional golf in the 20’s and both are enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame. with a sprig of grass clutched between his teeth. He said very little and let his golf swing do the ‘talking.’ Both gentlemen played well in the final match, but Hagen was just a little sharper and prevailed, 2 up. This was the first of four successive PGA Championship titles for Hagen, who won five PGA Championships in his career. Jack Nicklaus later tied Hagen’s five PGA Championships titles. The restaurant inside the clubhouse at The Donald Ross Course in French Lick is called Hagen’s, to honor his historic 1924 victory. If you look closely at the picture of the field for the 1924 PGA Championship, Hagen and
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