Known for his infectious laugh and positive attitude about golf and life, Jim Briegel started winning early in his golf career. In 1944 he won his first trophy at the Ann Arbor Junior Championship. Fifty years later he won the Ann Arbor Senior Men’s Championship. He’s the only player to have won the Ann Arbor junior, men’s and senior titles.
As a youngster, Briegel caddied for the University of Michigan golf team and admired the swing of Ben Smith and tried to copy it. He also studied the shot-making skills of two other former Wolverines, Chuck Kocsis and John “Woody” Malloy. He chose well – all three are in the Hall of Fame.
On the national scene, he played in four U.S. Amateur Public Links Championships, two U.S. Senior Amateurs and one U.S. Senior Open. He won the 70-plus division of the British Senior Open-Amateur in 1996 and won three Michigan Publinx Seniors Golf Association (MPSGA) Open-Amateur Championships. Throughout his illustrious golf career, he was known as a long driver and shot his age or better countless times, even making news when at age 95 he shot a 71, and at age 98 shot a 72.
Briegel co-founded the MPSGA and served as president four years. The MPSGA honors its best player each year with the Briegel Cup. He worked part-time in the golf shop at the University of Michigan Golf Course for several years in retirement and passed away in 2024. He was 98.
Year inducted: 2011
| Last Name | Briegel |