George Archer
George Archer | |||||
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Personal information | |||||
Full name | George William Archer | ||||
Born | San Francisco, California,U.S. | October 1, 1939||||
Died | September 25, 2005 Incline Village, Nevada,U.S. | (aged 65)||||
Height | 6 ft5+1⁄2in (1.97 m) | ||||
Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st) | ||||
Sporting nationality | United States | ||||
Spouse | Donna Garman Archer[1] | ||||
Children | 2 | ||||
Career | |||||
College | none | ||||
Turned professional | 1964 | ||||
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions Tour | ||||
Professional wins | 43 | ||||
Number of wins by tour | |||||
PGA Tour | 13 | ||||
PGA Tour Champions | 19 | ||||
Other | 7 (regular) 4 (senior) | ||||
Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |||||
Masters Tournament | Won:1969 | ||||
PGA Championship | T4:1968 | ||||
U.S. Open | T5:1971 | ||||
The Open Championship | WD: 1969 | ||||
Achievements and awards | |||||
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George Archer | |
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Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | U.S. Army |
Years of service | early 1960s[1] |
Battles/wars | Cold War |
George William Archer(October 1, 1939 – September 25, 2005) was an Americanprofessional golferwho won 13 events on thePGA Tour,[2][3]including onemajor championship,theMastersin1969.[4][5][6]
Early life
[edit]Born inSan Francisco,California,Archer was raised just south inSan Mateo.He grew to6 ft5+1⁄2in (1.97 m) tall, and as a boy he dreamed of abasketballcareer, but took up golf atSan Mateo High Schoolafter working as a caddy at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club near his home. He was kicked off the high school basketball team because he missed too many practices due to golf.[7]
Professional career
[edit]In 1964, Archer turned professional and claimed the first of 13 victories on the PGA Tour at theLucky International Openthe following year.
The leading achievement of his career was his win at theMastersin1969.[8][9]In the first round, he fired a 67, good for second place behindBilly Casper.His subsequent rounds of 73-69-72 earned him a one-stroke victory over runners-up Casper,Tom Weiskopf,andGeorge Knudson.[10][11][12]
Archer's other top-10 finishes in the majors came at theU.S. Open(10th in1969,fifth in1971) and thePGA Championship(fourth in1968).[13]
Archer was hampered by injuries throughout his career and had surgery on his left wrist (1975), back (1979) and left shoulder (1987). In 1996, he had his right hip replaced and two years later became the first man to win on the Senior PGA Tour (now thePGA Tour Champions) after having a hip replacement. He won 19 times on the Senior Tour between1989and2000,although he did not win asenior major.Archer is also the only player in PGA Tour Champions history to win a tournament in each of the first three decades of its existence.
Archer is considered one of the game's all-time great putters,[7]and at one time held the PGA Tour record for fewest putts over four rounds with 94 putts at theSea Pines Heritagein1980(1.3 per hole).[14]The record stood for nine years, until broken byKenny Knoxin1989.[15]
Archer was known as the "Golfing Cowboy," due to a summer job in his youth at his friend and sponsor,Eugene Selvage's Lucky Hereford Ranch inGilroy.[1][16]
Archer made Masters history in1983when he employed its first female caddy, his 19-year-old daughter Elizabeth, in the first year that outside caddies were allowed at Augusta National.[4]He finished tied for 12th,[17]his third-best at Augusta and final top-20 finish in a major. At the time Liz was a sophomore atStanford Universityand had caddied for her father at twenty previous events; a member of theCardinaltrack team, she threw thejavelinanddiscus.[18]She started caddying for him on tour in the summer of1980,prior to her senior year atGilroy High School.[19]
Death
[edit]Archer died ofBurkitt's lymphoma– a lymphatic system malignancy – inIncline Village, Nevadain 2005, six days before his 66th birthday. He was survived by his wife, Donna, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Marilyn.[20]He played his final round of golf with his wife in nearbyTruckeeon August 25, a month before his death.[3]
Illiteracy
[edit]Six months after his death, Archer's widow, Donna, revealed in the March/April 2006 issue ofGolf For Womenmagazine that he had suffered his entire life from a severe form of learning impairment. Despite years of effort and the consultation of many experts, he was never able to read more than the simplest sentences and could only write his own name. She reported that they never revealed this truth beyond their family and that Archer lived in constant fear that the secret of hisilliteracywould be revealed.[21]
In 2008, Donna created the George Archer Memorial Foundation for Literacy, a 501(c)(3) organization located inIncline Village, Nevada.The Foundation's mission is to raise funds to identify reading deficiencies, diagnose causes and effective treatments for learning disabilities, improve systems for training teachers, tutors and other educators in literacy issues, provide grants, stipends and scholarships for deserving students, and assist in the development of tools and techniques for the effective teaching of reading and writing skills. The Foundation's primary fundraiser is the George Archer Memorial Stroke of Genius Pro-Am golf tournament held every October since 2008 at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club, inSan Mateo, California– the club at which Archer began his golf career.[22]
Amateur wins
[edit]- 1963Trans-Mississippi Amateur,San Francisco City Championship
Professional wins (43)
[edit]PGA Tour wins (13)
[edit]Legend |
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Major championships (1) |
Other PGA Tour (12) |
PGA Tour playoff record (4–3)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1965 | Lucky International Open | Bob Charles | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
2 | 1969 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | Billy Casper,Don January, Jack Nicklaus |
Nicklaus won with birdie on second extra hole January eliminated by birdie on first hole |
3 | 1970 | Robinson Open Golf Classic | George Knudson | Lost to par on fourth extra hole |
4 | 1971 | Greater Hartford Open Invitational | Lou Graham,J. C. Snead | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
5 | 1972 | Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open | Tommy Aaron,Dave Hill | Won 18-hole playoff; Archer: −5 (66), Aaron: −3 (68), Hill: −3 (68) |
6 | 1972 | Dean Martin Tucson Open | Miller Barber | Lost to birdie on third extra hole after 18-hole playoff; Archer: E (72), Barber: E (72) |
7 | 1972 | Greater Greensboro Open | Tommy Aaron | Won with par on second extra hole |
Other wins (7)
[edit]- 1963Northern California Open,Northern California Medal Play
- 1964Northern California Open
- 1967Northern California Open
- 1969Argentine Masters
- 1981 Colombian Open
- 1982 Philippines Invitational
Senior PGA Tour wins (19)
[edit]*Note: The 1993 Ameritech Senior Open was shortened to 36 holes due to lightning.
Senior PGA Tour Tour playoff record (4–2)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1989 | Gatlin Brothers Southwest Senior Classic | Orville Moody,Jimmy Powell | Won with par on second extra hole |
2 | 1991 | Security Pacific Senior Classic | John Brodie,Chi-Chi Rodríguez | Brodie won with birdie on first extra hole |
3 | 1992 | GTE Suncoast Classic | Jim Colbert | Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole |
4 | 1992 | Murata Reunion Pro-Am | Tommy Aaron | Won with birdie on third extra hole |
5 | 1993 | First of America Classic | Jim Colbert,Chi-Chi Rodríguez | Won with par on third extra hole Rodríguez eliminated by par on first hole |
6 | 1993 | Ping Kaanapali Classic | Dave Stockton,Lee Trevino | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Other senior wins (4)
[edit]- 1990 Sports Shinko Cup, Princeville Classic
- 1991 Sports Shinko Cup
- 1994 Chrysler Cup (individual)
Major championships
[edit]Wins (1)
[edit]Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | To par | Margin | Runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1969 | Masters Tournament | 1 shot deficit | 67-73-69-72=281 | −7 | 1 stroke | Billy Casper,George Knudson, Tom Weiskopf |
Results timeline
[edit]Tournament | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T16 | T22 | 1 | |||
U.S. Open | T39 | T17 | WD | T16 | T10 | |
The Open Championship | WD | |||||
PGA Championship | T61 | T55 | T4 | T69 |
Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T31 | 35 | T12 | T43 | WD | CUT | CUT | T19 | WD | |
U.S. Open | T30 | T5 | T65 | T34 | T27 | CUT | ||||
The Open Championship | ||||||||||
PGA Championship | T61 | T34 | T36 | T51 | T19 | 61 |
Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | CUT | T11 | T30 | T12 | T25 | T53 | CUT | CUT | T43 | |
U.S. Open | T58 | |||||||||
The Open Championship | ||||||||||
PGA Championship | T17 | CUT | T34 | T67 | T47 |
Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 |
---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 49 | WD | 51 |
U.S. Open | |||
The Open Championship | |||
PGA Championship |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Summary
[edit]Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 24 | 16 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 10 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 14 |
Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 52 | 40 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1969 PGA – 1973 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1968 PGA – 1969 U.S. Open)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcHerskowitz, Mickey (April 13, 1964)."Home on the range or the greens".Sports Illustrated.p. E9.
- ^FitzGerald, Tom (September 28, 2005)."George Archer: 1939-2005: Fellow golfers praise '69 Masters champ / 'He was a consummate pro,' Johnny Miller says".SF Gate.RetrievedApril 4,2017.
- ^abLitsky, Frank (September 27, 2005)."George Archer, 65, winner of golf's Masters in 1969, dies".New York Times.RetrievedApril 4,2017.
- ^ab"Masters champ Archer dies at 65".St. Petersburg Times.(Florida). September 27, 2005. p. 2C.
- ^"Archer wins Masters by 1; trio shares 2nd".Milwaukee Sentinel.UPI. April 14, 1969. p. 1, part 2.
- ^Green, Bob (April 14, 1969)."Masters success won't spoil George Archer".Reading Eagle.(Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 20.
- ^abLitsky, Frank (September 28, 2005)."1969 Masters golf champ Archer noted for putting prowess".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.p. E5.
- ^Jenkins, Dan(April 21, 1969)."Sorry, Billy".Sports Illustrated.p. 24.
- ^"1969 Masters leaderboard".Augusta.com.RetrievedApril 15,2014.
- ^Husar, John (April 14, 1969)."Archer's 281 wins Masters by 1 shot".Chicago Tribune.p. 1, sec. 3.
- ^"George the Giant keeps his cool, wins with 281 in tense Masters".Spokesman-Review.(Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 14, 1969. p. 12.
- ^Historic Leaderboard: 1969 Masters.Augusta.com. Retrieved on 2018-06-09.
- ^"Golf Major Championships".RetrievedJune 1,2011.
- ^"'I'm still in a state of shock,' Tewell says ".Williamson Daily News.West Virginia. April 2, 1980. p. 19.
- ^"Good start for Stewart means win".Eugene Register-Guard.(Oregon). Associated Press. April 17, 1989. p. 2B.
- ^"Golf: Archer Makes His Bow".Time.April 25, 1969. Archived fromthe originalon December 14, 2008.RetrievedJanuary 31,2013.
- ^"1983 Masters leaderboard".Augusta.com.RetrievedApril 15,2014.
- ^Greenday, Joe (April 11, 1983)."Elizabeth Archer enjoying a first in golf at Masters".Boca Raton News.Florida. Knight Ridder Newspapers. p. 1D.
- ^"Pro Archer has daughter carry bag".News and Courier.Charleston, South Carolina. Associated Press. August 17, 1980. p. 8B.
- ^"Masters winner George Archer dies".USA Today.Associated Press. September 26, 2005.RetrievedJune 24,2013.
- ^"Former Masters Champion George Archer Battled Secret Life-long Illiteracy; Moving First-Person Account Written by Archer's Wife Appears in the March/April Issue of Golf For Women".Business Wire. February 14, 2006.RetrievedJune 24,2013.
- ^"The George Archer Memorial Foundation for Literacy".RetrievedJune 24,2013.
External links
[edit]- George Archerat thePGA Tourofficial site
- George Archerat theOfficial World Golf Rankingofficial site
- An interview from 2003
- The Secret They SharedArchivedMarch 15, 2006, at theWayback MachineGolf For Women, March/April 2006
- Sports Illustratedcover: April 21, 1969
- George Archer Memorial Foundation for LiteracyArchivedApril 5, 2017, at theWayback Machine