Jimmy Demaret: The Swing's the Thing tells this champion’s fascinating and untold life story. Jimmy Demaret was the first golfer to win three Masters, with victories in 1940, 1947, and 1950. His total of 31 wins on the PGA Tour still ranks him among the top 15 golfers in total wins. These records established Demeret’s prominence in golf from the mid-1930s through the 1980s and led to his work as the host of All-Star Golf and Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf. An exuberant character, Demaret was known for his flamboyant attire and famous friends. In the year 2000, both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest named him one of the most important players ever in the game. This book includes photos of Demaret and his friends Ben Hogan, Bing Crosby, and Bob Hope, as well as rare images from throughout his career. The first player to win the Masters three times (1940, 1947, 1950), Jimmy Demaret has 31 PGA Tour wins, putting him among the top fifteen on the list of all-time PGA Tour event winners. He places at the top of the list of players who enjoy their time on a golf course. Whether joking with the golf fans at events, singing a tune while walking down a fairway, or brightening professional golf with his colorful clothes, Demaret was a unique presence in golf for fifty years. In 1940 he led the PGA Tour in victories with six wins. The year he was leading money winner on tour, 1947, he won the Vardon Trophy for having the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour. As a participant on three Ryder Cup teams, he achieved a six win, no losses record. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, PGA of America Hall of Fame, and Texas Sports Hall of Fame. His accomplishments beyond his competitive career were equally noteworthy. He co-founded, with Jack Burke, Champions Golf Club in Houston, site of several major tournaments. He participated in the development of Onion Creek in Austin, Texas, where he helped found the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf Tournament, which inspired the creation of the PGA Senior Tour, now the Champions Tour. On television he was commentator for All-Star Golf and Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf . Counting among his friends Ben Hogan, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Phil Harris, astronaut Gene Cernan, as well as thousands of golf fans who enjoyed seeing him play, Demaret was known for bringing warmth wherever he went. When presented the Walter Hagen Award for 1974, the citation read, “Jimmy Demaret has shown us that the sport of golf can rise beyond being merely an athletic event into an occasion and opportunity for building goodwill and friendships among peoples of varying background and nationalities.” “A more colorful player or personality has never set foot on the Tour. Jimmy’s clothes were something else: pink, canary yellow, and robin egg blue, when others wore gray, navy and brown. He always said when someone whistled at him, he just whistled back with a big smile. And what a smile he had. When he met you, he’d give you that handshake and a smile and a laugh that made you feel warm inside.” —From the Introduction by Ben Crenshaw John Companiotte attended high school in Dallas, Texas and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from S.M.U. He is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America and is the co-author with Catherine Lewis of the book The PGA Championship: The Season’s Final Major , which will appear in the spring of 2004. His articles have appeared in Golf Magazine , Links , Carolina Fairways , Golf Georgia , Atlanta Business Chronicle , Art & Antiques , Elite Traveler , and AirTran Arrivals . He has been a volunteer with the Georgia State Golf Association for over ten years, serving on the executive committee since 2000. He was named to the national communication committee of the United States Golf Association in 2002. Used Book in Good Condition