Frank Strafaci was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 amateur golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

er, who competed against the top amateurs of his time. He is remembered as one of Brooklyn's top amateur golfers.

Career

Frank Strafaci was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He started his dominance on the amateur scene at Dyker Beach Golf Course in 1935 when he joined the Shoreview Golf Club. He won the U.S. Amateur Public Links

U.S. Amateur Public Links

The U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, often referred to as the Public Links or the Publinx, is a men's amateur golf tournament, one of 10 individual amateur championships organized by the United States Golf Association. The USGA typically calls the event the U.S. Amateur Public Links, which...

 in 1935. He won the Shoreview's Club Championship in 1936 and again in 1938. Over the next 15 years he dominated amateur golf in the area. He won the Long Island Golf Association Amateur Championship

Long Island Golf Association Amateur Championship

The Long Island Golf Association Amateur Championship has been held annually since 1922 in Long Island. Throughout its history, no one has dominated this Championship like Gene Francis. Beginning in 1962, he won 7 times, finished 2nd 4 times, and was the medalist on 4 occasions...

 five times, the Metropolitan Amateur

Metropolitan Amateur

The Metropolitan Amateur or Met Amateur is an amateur golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1899 and is one of the oldest amateur golf tournaments in the United States along with the U.S. Amateur and the Western Amateur...

 seven times, the North and South Amateur twice and the Richardson Invitational Championship twice. He also took his talents overseas, playing in the British and French Amateur Championships.

In 1954, Strafaci played in the U.S. Amateur and had a very interesting first match opponent named Arnold Palmer

Arnold Palmer

Arnold Daniel Palmer is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955...

; this was Palmer's final amateur appearance before turning professional. Palmer later stated that his toughest match was against Strafaci, who was all square with him entering the 17th hole. Palmer eventually beat Strafaci 1-up and went on to win the championship.

Strafaci semi-retired from amateur golf in the late 1950s and became Executive Director of the Florida Golf Association. In 1960 he became the Director of Golf at the famed Doral Country Club. He has been credited with naming the course the "Blue Monster". He continued to live in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 until his death in 1988.

Family

Strafaci was one of five brothers, all of whom were top amateur golfers. His brother, Thomas U. Strafaci, was the only brother to turn professional and became the head golf pro with his son Thomas Strafaci, Jr. at Dyker Beach Golf Course

Dyker Beach Golf Course

Dyker Beach Golf Course is a public golf course located in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Its roots go back more than 100 years. It is one of the most played public golf courses in the nation. It has produced some notable golfers.-History:...

 in Brooklyn.

Amateur wins (21)

• 1935 U.S. Amateur Public Links
  U.S. Amateur Public Links
  The U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, often referred to as the Public Links or the Publinx, is a men's amateur golf tournament, one of 10 individual amateur championships organized by the United States Golf Association. The USGA typically calls the event the U.S. Amateur Public Links, which...
  
  
• 1938,1941,1947,1949,1951 Long Island Golf Association Amateur Championship
  Long Island Golf Association Amateur Championship
  The Long Island Golf Association Amateur Championship has been held annually since 1922 in Long Island. Throughout its history, no one has dominated this Championship like Gene Francis. Beginning in 1962, he won 7 times, finished 2nd 4 times, and was the medalist on 4 occasions...
  
  
• 1952,1953 Long Island Golf Association - Richardson Invitational
• 1938,1939,1945,1946,1947,1950,1954 Metropolitan Amateur
  Metropolitan Amateur
  The Metropolitan Amateur or Met Amateur is an amateur golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1899 and is one of the oldest amateur golf tournaments in the United States along with the U.S. Amateur and the Western Amateur...
  
  
• 1938,1939 North and South Amateur
• 1938 Long Island Golf Association - Amateur/Professional Championship
• 1937 Hochster Memorial Tournament at Quaker Ridge CC
• 1936,1938 Shoreview Men's Golf Club - Club Champion

Other career highlights

• 1938, 1950 Masters Tournament participant
• 1937, 1946 U.S. Open
  U.S. Open (golf)
  The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
  
   participant
• 1953 Western Amateur
  Western Amateur
  The Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association....
  
   medalist
• 1933 Long Island Junior Championship medalist

Results timeline

Tournament	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	WD	DNP
U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...	DNP	DNP	9	DNP	DNP
U.S. Amateur	R256	R32	R16	R16	R64
The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held annually in the United Kingdom. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the U.S. Amateur...	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...	DNP	DNP	NT	NT	NT	NT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Amateur	R16	R32	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	QF	R256	QF
The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held annually in the United Kingdom. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the U.S. Amateur...	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958
Masters Tournament	58	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Amateur	DNP	R128	R64	R64	R256	R128	DNP	R128	DNP
The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held annually in the United Kingdom. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the U.S. Amateur...	R256	R256	R16	R128	R64	R64	R128	R64	R32

LA = Low Amateur

NYF = Tournament not yet founded

NT = No tournament

DNP = Did not play

WD = Withdrew

"T" indicates a tie for a place

DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion

R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10