David Francis Marr Jr.(December 27, 1933 – October 5, 1997) was an Americanprofessional golferandsportscaster,best known for winning the1965PGA Championship.
| Dave Marr | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | David Francis Marr Jr. | ||
| Born | December 27, 1933 Houston,Texas,U.S. | ||
| Died | October 5, 1997(aged 63) Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st)[1] | ||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||
| Career | |||
| College | Rice University University of Houston | ||
| Turned professional | 1953 | ||
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 5 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| PGA Tour | 3 | ||
| Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |||
| Masters Tournament | T2:1964 | ||
| PGA Championship | Won:1965 | ||
| U.S. Open | T4:1966 | ||
| The Open Championship | T8:1966 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Early years
editMarr was born and raised inHouston,Texas,the son of a professional golfer.[2]He attendedSt. Thomas High School,and while there was on the honor roll, captain of the golf team and member of the Letterman's Club.[3]Following graduation, he attendedRice Instituteand theUniversity of Houston.
Professional career
editIn 1953 at age 19, Marr left college and turned professional. He began his professional golfing career by accepting a position at Westwood Country Club inWestwood,New Jersey,in 1953. A short time later, Marr took a job as an assistant club pro toClaude HarmonatWinged Foot Golf ClubinMamaroneck, New York,where he began to blossom.[2]He began playing regularly on the PGA tour in 1960, and in that year earned his first professional win at theSam Snead Festival.A year later, he won theGreater Seattle Open Invitationaland then theAzalea Openin 1962. Marr joined the elite in golf world in 1965 when he captured the coveted PGA Championship, was named to theRyder Cupteam and elected PGA Player of the Year.[3]
The1965 PGA Championshipwas played at theLaurel Valley Golf ClubinLigonier,Pennsylvania.He defeated golf legendsJack NicklausandBilly Casperby two strokes with a four-day total score of 280.[4][5]Incredibly, this wasn't the biggest news story of the day in the Marr family – a few hours after his victory, his third child, son Tony, was born.
Marr played in the1965 Ryder Cup,finishing his six matches with a 4-2 record. He was the appointed non-playing captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in1981.[2]
Marr was a close friend ofArnold Palmer.Marr and Palmer were both sons of PGA pros and developed a close bond. Palmer called Marr's 1965 PGA victory "one of the happiest moments of my life," won at Palmer's home course. The two of them used to joke that between them they won acareer grand slam.(Palmer won sevenmajorsin his career, but never the PGA Championship, where he was a runner-up three times.)
Later years
editMarr served as a golf analyst forABCfrom 1972 until 1991,[2]and was usually teamed with hostJim McKayand fellow one-time PGA Championship winner,Bob Rosburg.He later worked for theBBCin Britain andNBCin the U.S.[2]
Marr and long-time golfing partner Jay Riviere established agolf coursearchitectural and design firm in 1981, and designed many Texas courses and one each in Louisiana and Arizona.[3][6]
After a battle withstomachcancer,Marr died at age 63 at theM.D. Anderson Cancer Centerin Houston on October 5, 1997. He was survived by his wife, Tally, and sons Dave III, Anthony, Wayne Bunch, Tucker Bunch, and daughter Elizabeth Hallas.[2]Marr's oldest son, Dave III, worked forGolf Channelcovering theChampions Tour.[7]
Marr's children scattered his ashes around the various courses that meant so much to him during his playing days –Royal Birkdale,inEngland,where he played on the1965 Ryder Cupteam;Walton Heath,also in England, where he captained the1981 Ryder Cupteam; at the 18th hole atLaurel Valley,the site of his1965 PGA Championship,along with Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston.[8]
Awards and honors
editMarr was elected to the National Collegiate Hall of Fame in 1977 and the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 1978. He was selected for the Gold Tee Award presented by the Met (N.Y.) Golf Writers in 1990.
Golf executive Bryan Naugle created theDave Marr Awardthe year after his death. It is awarded annually in conjunction with the Insperity Invitational. From 1995 through 1997 Marr was a member of the NBC Sports Golf broadcast team covering the US Open, US Amateur and Ryder Cup. Past winners of the Dave Marr Award includeGene Sarazen,Byron Nelson,Jack Nicklaus,Judy Rankin,Gary Player,Former President George H. W. BushandArnold Palmer.
Professional wins (5)
editPGA Tour wins (3)
edit| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (1) |
| Other PGA Tour (2) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 17,1961 | Greater Seattle Open Invitational | −15 (67-69-66-63=265) | Playoff |  Jacky Cupit,Bob Rosburg
|
| 2 | Apr 1,1962 | Azalea Open | −7 (73-66-71-71=281) | Playoff | Jerry Steelsmith
|
| 3 | Aug 15,1965 | PGA Championship | −4 (70-69-70-71=280) | 2 strokes | Billy Casper,Jack Nicklaus
|
PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1961 | Greater Seattle Open Invitational | Jacky Cupit,Bob Rosburg
|
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1962 | Azalea Open | Jerry Steelsmith
|
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Other wins (2)
editMajor championships
editWins (1)
edit| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | PGA Championship | Tied for lead | −4 (70-69-70-71=280) | 2 strokes | Billy Casper,Jack Nicklaus
|
Results timeline
edit| Tournament | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | CUT | T15 | ||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | T44 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T34 | CUT | T2 | CUT | CUT | T16 | T20 | CUT | ||
| U.S. Open | T17 | CUT | T21 | CUT | T4 | T9 | T32 | T10 | ||
| The Open Championship | T8 | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | T10 | T22 | T51 | CUT | 65 | 1 | T18 | T33 | CUT | T48 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | |||
| U.S. Open | T30 | CUT | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | T41 | T11 | CUT | |
| PGA Championship | T35 | CUT | T46 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Summary
edit| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 4 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 8 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| PGA Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 11 |
| Totals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 42 | 26 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1966 U.S. Open – 1968 U.S. Open)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1966 U.S. Open – 1966 Open Championship)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Gundelfinger, Phil (August 14, 1965)."Aaron still leads PGA with 137".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.p. 1.
- ^abcdefBrink, Bill (October 6, 1997)."Dave Marr, 63, golf champion and television commentator".New York Times.RetrievedMay 9,2010.
- ^abc"Profile from St. Thomas High School Alumni Hall of Honor page".Archived fromthe originalon March 19, 2005.
- ^Gundelfinger, Phil (August 16, 1965)."Dave Marr wins PGA with 280".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.p. 1.
- ^Wright, Alfred (August 23, 1965)."Diary of a career in turmoil".Sports Illustrated.p. 24. Archived fromthe originalon December 13, 2013.
- ^"Jay Riviere designed golf courses, ratings and reviews".
- ^"Dave Marr III bio".Golf Channel. Archived fromthe originalon May 20, 2008.RetrievedMay 9,2010.
- ^"Senior PGA Championship News".