First American female Olympic champion was a Chicago golfer who never received a medal Artwork...
Journey to the PGA Tour had unusual beginnings
Photographs by Charles Cherney
This article appeared in the August 2024 edition of Chicago District Golfer.
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During a recent trip home to see family, Gary Hallberg visited The Club at Wynstone in Barrington.
"Everybody has their story, right,” Gary Hallberg said of his beginnings in golf. “I have a cool story. Do you mind if I tell it?”
Please, go ahead.
Hallberg’s parents were from Sweden, and Swedish was the primary language that was spoken in his house. His father, George, worked in construction, and he did not like that his fellow workers used a lot of coarse language. At one point, his wife had to talk George out of moving back to Sweden; he did not want his kids to grow up in a country with so much swearing.
One day, George was at work when he observed a couple of golfers. George had no idea about golf, and he asked someone to explain the sport to him.
“Can you make money doing that?” George asked. The person said yes, if you are really good. George also liked the fact he did not hear the golfers swear.
Hallberg said, “So my dad went home and tells my mom, ‘Gary is going to be a golfer.’”
And just like that, 7-year-old Gary Hallberg began his journey in golf.
Before Hallberg became a three-time PGA Tour winner and arguably the best player ever produced in the Chicago area, that young boy first drew notice for his exceptional play in Illinois Junior Golf Association tournaments and as a state champion at Barrington High School. Hallberg’s overall legacy will be honored when he gets inducted as part of the 2024 class into the Illinois Junior Golf Association Hall of Fame on Aug. 28 in ceremonies at Cantigny Golf.
“This is such a great honor,” said Hallberg, 65, who now lives in Colorado. “I can’t say enough about how much junior golf meant to me and the impact it had on me as a player.”
Part of Hallberg's illustrious amateur career was playing on the victorious 1977 Walker Cup team. Hallberg is second from the left in the top row, with August National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley on his left.
The honor gave Hallberg a chance to reminisce about a special time in his life. He recalled winning his first tournament while living in Park Ridge at the age of 7 on a pitch-and-putt course, beating a field that included people as old as 21. He said his summers were spent being dropped off at the golf course before dawn and being picked up at dark.
“It was hot dogs and golf all day long,” Hallberg said.
Hallberg remembered playing junior tournaments throughout the state. He considered himself fortunate to play at a time in the 1970s when the competition was truly elite.
Hallberg met a kid from Waukegan named Dave Ogrin, whose long run on the PGA Tour included winning the Texas Open in 1996. He also faced Gary Pinns, who played for four years on the PGA Tour and was inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame in 2014.
“Dave was kind of my first buddy,” Hallberg said. “His dad and my dad were blue-collar guys and they would walk around these junior tournaments with us. Gary also played a lot with us. All we wanted to do was compete against each other all the time. Go play somewhere and try to beat them. And I think that sharpened our swords, and ultimately made us better players.”
Hallberg’s family moved and he eventually went to Barrington High School. That’s where he first started to realize that his game was out of the ordinary. As a freshman, he played in the Lake Park Invitational, a big 36-team event. He weighed all of 98 pounds and remembered being extremely nervous because the coach started him instead of one of the seniors.
“The other four guys weren’t happy about it,” Hallberg said. “They said if you don’t break 100, we’re going to beat you up.”
"This is such a great honor. I can't say enough about how much junior golf has meant to me and the impact it has had on me as a player." -Gary Hallberg
It was a cold blustery day, and Hallberg was one of the last players to finish.
“They came up to me and said, ‘What did you shoot?’” Hallberg said. “I was so nervous; I really didn’t know. I just went out there and did the best I could.”
Hallberg had no idea he shot 69, beating the runner-up by 10 shots.
“That's the time when I felt like, yeah, maybe this is my thing,’” Hallberg, who won back-to-back Illinois State Amateur Championships in 1978 and 1979, said.
Hallberg went on to have a celebrated career at Wake Forest as a four-time All-American and was the 1979 NCAA champion. Fittingly, he was awarded the Arnold Palmer Scholarship at the legend’s alma mater. When he was 11, Palmer taught Hallberg the correct grip at one of his camps in California.
Hallberg was an immediate success after turning pro, being named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 1980. He broke through with his first win at the Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open (now known as the Farmers Insurance Open) in 1983. He had sixth-place finishes in the 1984 PGA Championship and the 1985 Masters. He moved on to the Champions Tour in 2008, winning the 2010 Ensure Classic, and he still plays occasionally with his fellow seniors.
His induction into the IJGA Hall of Fame now gives Hallberg a chance to reflect on his roots in the game. To think, he says, his life might have been completely different if his father hadn’t noticed a couple of guys playing golf.
“Mr. Rogers once was asked about what advice he would give to parents,” Hallberg said. “He said, ‘I would give a kid a place to go. Give them a sport or give them something to play, because otherwise, they're going get into drugs and things that are not so desirable.’
“I think my parents somehow got lucky. I got lucky. They brought me a golf club, right? Who knows where I would have gone? I was pretty mischievous as a young kid. Golf was my sanctuary. It gave me a place to go. And then the people who put on the tournaments gave me a chance to play, to develop my game. I am so thankful for them. It really was great.”
A former Chicago Tribune golf writer, Ed Sherman is a frequent contributor to Chicago District Golfer.
