Pittsburgher who caddied for Ben Hogan at 1953 U.S. Open at Oakmont makes emotional return
With the first round of the U.S. Open kicking off at Oakmont Country Club on Thursday, there is a long legacy of winners who have lifted the championship trophy at Oakmont.
However, behind every winner is a caddy helping them through the course. For one fan on Thursday, it was a return to one of his biggest memories.
"I look back on it all the time, and it was one of the most exciting times of my life," Carl Nasse said.
Nasse lives in Florida now but is an Oakmont native. He caddied at the country club in his youth. In 1953, he lived the dream.
"I caddied for Mr. Ben Hogan," Nasse said with a smile.
Hogan won the 1953 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. Nasse was 15 years old at the time and had been caddying for five years.
Two weeks before the U.S. Open, his father died, and it was agreed that Nasse would benefit the most from caddying for the golf legend.
"I never expected to caddy for him," Nasse recalled.
Now 87 years old, Nasse's four sons — Vaughn, Steve, Gary and Keith — wanted him to come back to Oakmont to see this year's event. After some convincing, they got him to make the trip.
While Carl Nasse is modest about his winning legacy, his sons love sharing the story.
"My son Gary keeps on reminding me of it," Carl Nasse said.
"It's the highlight of his life. When we got together this morning, he was crying. It was just special to him," Gary Nasse said.
While the course has changed over the past seven decades, the joy he felt in June all those years ago has never faded.
"Because I caddied for the winner," Carl Nasse said. "I caddied for Hogan, which I never expected to caddy for."
The man and his sons went around the holes on Thursday and made the most of their trip to Oakmont. Nasse is one of the oldest living U.S. Open-winning caddies.
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