Description
In 1956, a casual bet between two millionaires eventually pitted two of the greatest golfers of the era — Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan — against top amateurs Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi.
Decades had passed since Eddie Lowery came to fame as the ten-year-old caddie to U.S. Open champion Francis Ouimet. Now a wealthy car dealer and avid supporter of amateur golf, Lowery had just made a bet with fellow millionaire George Coleman. Lowery claimed that two of his employees, amateurs Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi, could not be beaten in a best-ball match, and he challenged Coleman to bring any two golfers of his choice to the course at 10 a.m. the next day to settle the issue. Coleman accepted the challenge and showed up with his own pair, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, the game's greatest living professionals, with fourteen major championships between them.
In Mark Frost's peerless hands, complete with the recollections of all the participants, the story of this immortal foursome and the game they played that day — legendarily known in golf circles as the greatest private match ever played — comes to life with powerful, emotional impact and edge-of-your-seat suspense.