Doug Sanders
Doug Sanders | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Full name | George Douglas Sanders |
Nickname | "Peacock of the Fairways" |
Born |
Cedartown, Georgia | July 24, 1933
Nationality |
|
Residence | Houston, Texas |
Career | |
College | University of Florida |
Turned professional | 1956 |
Former tour(s) |
PGA Tour Champions Tour |
Professional wins | 24 |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 20 |
PGA Tour Champions | 1 |
Other | 3 |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | T4: 1966 |
U.S. Open | T2: 1961 |
The Open Championship | T2/2nd: 1966, 1970 |
PGA Championship | T2: 1959 |
U.S. Amateur | R64: 1956 |
British Amateur | R256: 1956 |
George Douglas Sanders (born July 24, 1933) is a retired American professional golfer who won 20 events on the PGA Tour and had four runner-up finishes at major championships.
Early years
Born into a poor family in Cedartown, Georgia, northwest of Atlanta,[1] Sanders was the fourth of five children and picked cotton as a teenager. The family home was near a nine-hole course and he was a self-taught golfer.[2]
Amateur career
Sanders accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Florida in Gainesville,[2] where he played for the Gators golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition in 1955.[3] In his single year as a Gator golfer, Sanders and the team won a Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship and earned a sixth-place finish at the NCAA championship tournament—the Gators' best national championship finish until that time.[3] Sanders won the 1956 Canadian Open as an amateur—the only amateur ever to do so—and turned professional shortly thereafter.[4]
Professional career
Sanders had thirteen top-ten finishes in major championships, including four second-place finishes: 1959 PGA Championship, 1961 U.S. Open, 1966 and 1970 British Opens. In 1966, he became one of the few players in history to finish in the top ten of all four major championships in a single season, despite winning none of them. He earned unfortunate notoriety for taking four shots from just 74 yards as the leader playing the final hole of the 1970 British Open at St Andrews, missing a sidehill 3-foot (0.9 m) putt to win, then lost the resulting 18-hole playoff by a single stroke the next day to Jack Nicklaus.[5] His final victory on tour came in June 1972 at the Kemper Open, one stroke ahead of runner-up Lee Trevino.[6]
Sanders is remembered for an exceptionally short, flat golf swing — a consequence, it appears, of a painful neck condition that radically restricted his movements.[5]
He was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1967, which won handily in Houston.
Personal
Sanders was a stylish, flamboyant dresser on the golf course, which earned him the nickname "Peacock of the Fairways."[5] Esquire magazine named Sanders one of America's Ten Best Dressed Jocks in August 1972.[7]
Sanders identified himself as the lead character, a playboy PGA Tour golfer, in the golf novel Dead Solid Perfect, by Dan Jenkins.[8]
Since retiring from competitive golf, Sanders has been active in his own corporate golf entertainment company and has for nearly 20 years, sponsored the Doug Sanders International Junior Golf Championship in Houston, Texas. From 1988 to 1994, he also sponsored the Doug Sanders Celebrity Classic.
He currently resides in Houston.
Honors
Sanders is a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame,[9] Georgia Sports Hall of Fame,[4] and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.[1] He was also inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."[10]
Professional wins (24)
PGA Tour wins (20)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jul 8, 1956 | Canadian Open (as amateur) | 69-67-69-68=273 | −15 | Playoff | |
2 | Jun 1, 1958 | Western Open | 69-68-70-68=275 | −13 | 1 stroke | |
3 | Dec 6, 1959 | Coral Gables Open Invitational | 68-71-69-65=273 | −11 | 3 strokes | |
4 | Mar 5, 1961 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | 68-65-69-70=272 | −16 | 5 strokes | |
5 | May 14, 1961 | Colonial National Invitation | 69-75-67-70=281 | +1 | 1 stroke | |
6 | May 21, 1961 | Hot Springs Open Invitational | 68-68-69-68=273 | −15 | 1 stroke | |
7 | Aug 6, 1961 | Eastern Open Invitational | 72-66-68-69=275 | −13 | 1 stroke | |
8 | Nov 19, 1961 | Cajun Classic Open Invitational | 67-67-67-69=270 | −14 | 6 strokes | |
9 | Mar 11, 1962 | Pensacola Open Invitational | 67-67-67-69=270 | −18 | 1 stroke | |
10 | Aug 19, 1962 | St. Paul Open Invitational | 66-69-69-65=269 | −19 | 3 strokes | |
11 | Aug 26, 1962 | Oklahoma City Open Invitational | 70-69-74-67=280 | −8 | 2 strokes | |
12 | Apr 14, 1963 | Greater Greensboro Open | 68-65-68-69=270 | −14 | 4 strokes | |
13 | Mar 7, 1965 | Pensacola Open Invitational | 68-71-65-73=277 | −11 | Playoff | |
14 | Mar 14, 1965 | Doral Open Invitational | 65-71-71-67=274 | −14 | 1 stroke | |
15 | Feb 6, 1966 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | 70-72-68-73-66=349 | −11 | Playoff | |
16 | Mar 27, 1966 | Jacksonville Open Invitational | 71-65-66-71=273 | −15 | 1 stroke | |
17 | Apr 3, 1966 | Greater Greensboro Open (2) | 65-70-71-70=276 | −8 | Playoff | |
18 | Mar 5, 1967 | Doral Open Invitational (2) | 68-71-66-70=275 | −9 | 1 stroke | |
19 | Dec 13, 1970 | Bahama Islands Open | 66-70-68-68=272 | −16 | Playoff | |
20 | Jun 4, 1972 | Kemper Open | 71-68-68-68=275 | −13 | 1 stroke |
Major championships are in bold
PGA Tour playoff record (5–5)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1956 | Canadian Open (as amateur) | Won with par on first extra hole | |
2 | 1961 | Phoenix Open | Lost 18-hole playoff (Palmer:67 Sanders:70) | |
3 | 1962 | West Palm Beach Open Invitational | Lost to birdie on the second extra hole | |
4 | 1964 | Greater Greensboro Open | Lost to par on first extra hole | |
5 | 1965 | Pensacola Open Invitational | Won with birdie on third extra hole | |
6 | 1965 | Greater Seattle Open Invitational | Lost to par on first extra hole | |
7 | 1966 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | Won with birdie on first extra hole | |
8 | 1966 | Greater Greensboro Open | Won with par on second extra hole | |
9 | 1970 | British Open | Lost 18-hole playoff (Nicklaus:72 Sanders:73) | |
10 | 1970 | Bahama Islands Open | Won with par on second extra hole |
Other wins (3)
- 1957 Colombian Open
- 1959 Sahara Pro-Am
- 1963 Yomiuri International
Senior PGA Tour wins (1)
Results in major championships
Amateur
Tournament | 1955 | 1956 |
---|---|---|
U.S. Amateur | R128 | R64 |
The Amateur Championship | R256 |
Professional
Tournament | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T31 | ||
U.S. Open | CUT | ||
The Open Championship | |||
PGA Championship | T2 |
Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T29 | T11 | T33 | T28 | T11 | T4 | T16 | T12 | T36 | |
U.S. Open | T46 | T2 | T11 | T21 | T32 | T11 | T8 | T34 | T37 | |
The Open Championship | CUT | 11 | CUT | T2 | T18 | 34 | ||||
PGA Championship | T3 | 3 | T15 | T17 | T28 | T20 | T6 | T28 | T8 | CUT |
Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | CUT | ||||||
U.S. Open | T37 | CUT | T45 | ||||
The Open Championship | 2 | T9 | 4 | T28 | T28 | ||
PGA Championship | T41 | CUT | T7 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R256, R128, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Sources: Masters Tournament,[11] U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur,[12] Open Championship,[13] PGA Championship,[14] 1956 British Amateur[15]
Summary
Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 10 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 11 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 9 |
PGA Championship | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 12 |
Totals | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 25 | 49 | 42 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1965 PGA – 1969 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1966 Masters – 1966 PGA)
See also
References
- 1 2 "Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Member – Doug Sanders". Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- 1 2 Wright, Alfred (January 22, 1962). "The bad-form champion of golf". Sports Illustrated. p. 36.
- 1 2 "Florida Men's Golf 2013 Media Supplement" (PDF). Gainesville, Florida: University Athletic Association. pp. 36–37. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- 1 2 "Inductees – Doug Sanders" (PDF). Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
- 1 2 3 Kelley, Brent. "Doug Sanders". About.com. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
- ↑ "Sanders nips Trevino in Kemper golf". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 5, 1972. p. 22.
- ↑ "Esquire names Frazier". The New Courier. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September 2, 1972. p. 12 – via newspapers.com. (Subscription required (help)).
... Doug Sanders, a golf pro selected over the more publicized fashion plates of the game, complete the Esquire "10 Best-Dressed Jocks"
- ↑ Sampson, Curt (2000). The Eternal Summer: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year. New York: Villard Publishing. ISBN 978-0375753688.
- ↑ "Inductees – Doug Sanders (1972)". Florida Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
- ↑ "Gator Greats". F Club, Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ↑ Past Winners & Results Archived October 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ USGA Championship Database Archived December 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ 1976 Open Championship leaderboard
- ↑ PGA Championship Media Guide - Doug Sanders
- ↑ "Defeat of Leading American". The Glasgow Herald. May 29, 1956. p. 4.
External links
- Official website
- Doug Sanders at the PGA Tour official site
- Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Profile