Angel Miguel: Spanish Golf Pioneer, World Cup Champ
Date of birth: December 27, 1929
Place of birth: Madrid, Spain
Date and place of death: April 13, 2009, in Marbella, Spain
His Biggest Wins
- 1954 Portuguese Open
- 1954 Open de Cataluna
- 1954 Alexandria Open
- 1955 Morocco Open
- 1956 Open de France
- 1956 Portuguese Open
- 1958 Canada Cup (individual title)
- 1959 Mexican Open
- 1961 Spanish Open
- 1962 Argentine Open
- 1964 Spanish Open
- 1964 Portuguese Open
- 1965 Gevacolor Tournament
- 1965 Swallow-Penfold Tournament
- 1965 Dutch Open
- 1966 Agfa-Gevaert Tournament
In the Majors
Miguel had two Top 10 finishes in majors. His best finish, tied for fourth, was in the 1957 British Open. And he tied for eighth in the 1964 British Open.Miguel played in The Open Championship nine times, first in 1955, last in 1965. He tied 13th in 1956, 16th in 1960 and tied 14th in 1961. He also played in The Masters five times, tying for 25th on his debut in 1959 but missing the cut the other four times. Miguel never played in the U.S. Open or U.S. PGA Championship.
More About Angel Miguel
Angel Miguel and his brother Sebastian Miguel were the first Spanish golfers in the post-World War II era to make a mark on European golf. Both Miguel brothers won important titles in Spain and elsewhere on the continent, but Angel was considered the more accomplished golfer and more outgoing personality.Peter Alliss wrote about him, "Angel was a forerunner of the large numbers of very good Spanish golfers," and called Angel "a slim, elegant swinger who would have made much in the richer European tournament scene of today."
With his brother, Angel, from around 1954 through about 1968, headed to England each year and spent several months living out of a small apartment while traveling to tournaments. Editors of a 1975, British-published The Encyclopedia of Golf (affiliate link) wrote that "even now ... it is doubtful whether there is proper appreciation of (the Miguel brothers') work breaking down the narrow national boundaries of Continental golf."
The editors of that tome wrote of Angel that he had "a classic swing reminiscent almost of Hogan in its compactness and tempo."
Angel Miguel got into the game through caddying at the Madrid club Puerta de Hierro.
His first tournament victory of note came at age 24 in the 1953 Spanish Professionals Championship. He went on to win that title five more times, last in 1965, and still holds the tournament record for wins.
His first big win outside of Spain was in the 1954 Portuguese Open, and Miguel went on to record national championship victories in the Morocco Open (1955), French Open (1956), Mexican Open (1959), Argentine Open (1962), the Portuguese Open twice more (1956 and 1964), and the Dutch Open in 1965.
He also won his native Spanish Open twice, in 1961 and 1964. He beat Lionel Platts in playoff for the 1965 Swallow-Penfold title. And Miguel also twice won the Agfa-Gevaert Tournament on the British circuit, in 1964 and 1966, the latter his last big tournament victory.
The Spanish Open is one tournament in which Sebastian Miguel got the better of Angel Miguel: Sebastian won it three times to his brother's two victories. Angel was runner-up to Sebastian in the 1954 Spanish Open.
Angel Miguel represented Spain in the World Cup nine times (called the Canada Cup in most of those appearances), and his biggest victory happened in that tournament, in which 2-man squads played for national glory.
In the 1958 Canada Cup, the Miguel brothers formed Team Spain, and they finished second by three strokes to Team Ireland (Harry Bradshaw and Christy O'Connor Sr.). The mighty Team USA squad of Ben Hogan and Sam Snead was sunk when Snead was forced to withdraw following Round 2.
But Angel Miguel won the individual championship for himself and Spain, tying Harry Bradshaw at 286, then beating Bradshaw on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Angel also represented Spain in the Canada Cup (World Cup) in 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964 and 1965. That last year, he helped Spain finish second again. Angel also played on the Continental ("Rest of Europe") team against the British Isles in the Joy Cup in 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1958.
On the British/European circuits that predated today's European Tour, in addition to his multiple wins, Miguel also recorded many second-place finishes. Those included runner-up in the 1954 and 1955 Spanish Opens, the 1956 Belgian Open, 1957 French Open, 1959 Bowmaker Tournament and 1959 Caltex Tournament.
Miguel left the tour in the late 1960s. In 1965, Miguel founded Rio Real club in Marbella, Spain. According to El Pais newspaper, that was just the third golf course built in the Costa del Sol region, a region world-famous as a golf destination today. Miguel also was head pro at at Los Monteros in Marbella.
Angel's brother Sebastian had numerous wins in Spain, and also won the Portuguese Open and Monte Carlo Open. Sebastian Miguel died in 2006. Angel Miguel was 79 years old when he died in 2009.
Sources:
(Book titles are affiliate links; commissions earned)
Alliss, Peter. The Who's Who of Golf, 1983, Orbis Publishing.
Arribas, Carlos. "Angel Miguel, a pioneer of golf in Spain," El Pais, April 14, 2009, https://elpais.com/diario/2009/04/14/necrologicas/1239660001_850215.html.
Glasgow (Scotland) Herald. "Locke first in Bowmaker Tournament," June 23, 1959, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0XZAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cqMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2957%2C7006490.
Glasgow (Scotland) Herald. "A. Miguel Triumphs in Play-Off," May 10, 1965, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mmJAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jKMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1771%2C1430840.
Steel, Donald, and Ryde, Peter. The Encyclopedia of Golf, 1975, The Viking Press.
