One of my favorite golfers is Ben Hogan. He had arguably the best golf swing of all time, won 63 PGA events, including 9 majors. Four of these majors were U.S. Open victories, but one of them was his most memorable.  

In 1949 he and his wife Valerie survived a near-fatal car accident. While crossing a fog dense bridge in Texas, his car struck a Greyhound bus head on. Hogan threw himself in front of his wife Valerie in an attempt to protect her. He probably would have been killed if he had not done so, because simultaneously the steering column was pushed into the driver seat during the horrific impact. This accident left him with a fractured pelvis, ankle and collar bone. He also had near fatal blood clots which contributed to lifelong circulation problems. His doctors even felt he might never walk again. Hogan was in the hospital for two months.

But Ben shocked the golf world by returning to his first professional event 11 months later. He took second place in the 1950 Los Angeles Open only to lose to Sam Snead in a playoff Two months later he would win the Greenbrier Open. Then, 16 months  after the accident he was competing in his first U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club.

“There are no seven iron shots at Merion.” Hogan removed his seven iron from his bag instead of his one iron to comply with USGA rules. Tied for the lead on the 18th hole and 210 yards from the pin, he pulled out his one iron. Ben hit this famous shot 40 feet from the hole. He two putted for a par and went on the went the playoff the following day.

_{Resources:
http://www.benhogan.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hogan}

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