Hungarian Heritage Review, 1987 (16. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1987-02-01 / 2. szám
Hungarian-JVmertcan Profiles Whenever the great names of golf are listed, securely placed among the leaders is that of Julius Boros — Hungarian- American. His string of victories in eighteen major tour events, his ranking — along with Palmer, Casper and Nicklaus — as a top money winner, and his having won the PGA Championship, Westchester Classic in 1968 as the oldest winner of that Championship (48 years of age) — all these accomplishments have earned him a place in the golfing “Hall of Fame.” A Golfing Childhood In Bridgeport, Connecticut, as a child, Julius accompanied his two brothers to the Greenfield Hills Golf Course, where he became the youngest caddy in the country club. The complaint — on the part of his brothers — was that Julius was always playing golf, to the neglect of his household chores. By the time he was 13, he was shooting in the 70’s! According to Julius’ brother Ernie, when Julius told his mother that he wanted to become a professional golfer, the lady replied (typical mother!), “Why don’t you get a nice, honest job in an office. How can you make a living playing golf?” Suffice it to say that Julius’ parents became tremendously proud of their son as time went on. Outstanding Amateur and Pro Julius never received any “formal” training in golf, but his constant playing earned him a wide reputation as an amateur. Then, at the age of twenty-nine, he turned pro. In 1952 Julius won the US Open Tournament, and his name was established as one of the greats in the game. He repeated his victory in the US Open in 1963; he has also won the Tam O’Shanter Tournament and the Colonial Invitational Tournament. In 1968 he won the PGA Championship. He was also selected four times to represent the United States with the Ryder Cup Team. Members of this team are chosen on the basis of the players’ performance over their last two years; ten players are appointed to the American team and ten to the English. The Ryder Cup Tournament is held one year in the USA and one year in England. The Hungarian Heritage Julius Boros’ parents were both born in Hungary’s Szabolcs County. Married in the State Street Hungarian Reformed Church of Bridgeport, they had six children, four sons and two daughters. Interestingly, when Julius Boros’ own children were born — he has seven — the infants were brought back to the State Street Church to be baptized. This action reflects the nature of Julius’ knowledge and love of his heritage, and the pride he takes in its continuance. Julius Boros has been the Golf Professional at the Turnberry Isle Country Club in Miami, Florida, since 1970. Three of his children and his brother Ernie work in the golf shop with him, and one of his sons, Guy, is on a golf scholarship at the University of Iowa. It is apparent from this that the golf heritage runs deep in the Boros family, as does its Hungarian heritage. 14 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW FEBRUARY 1987 JULIUS BOROS: The Hungarian-American “Legend” of Professional Golf
