Claude Harmon

Claude Harmon
Personal information
Full name	Eugene Claude Harmon, Sr.
Born	July 14, 1916(1916-07-14) Savannah, Georgia
Died	July 23, 1989(1989-07-23) (aged 73) Houston, Texas
Nationality	United States
Career
Status	Professional
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	10
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	2
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1948
U.S. Open	T3: 1959
The Open Championship	27th: 1948
PGA Championship	T3: 1945, 1948, 1953

Eugene Claude Harmon, Sr. (July 14, 1916 – July 23, 1989) was an American golfer.

Harmon was born in Savannah, Georgia, and spent much of his boyhood in the Orlando area. A youthful prodigy, Harmon qualified for the U.S. Amateur at age 15 in 1931. He was the last-ever club professional to win a major championship, winning the 1948 Masters Tournament by five shots, and earning $2,500 for his efforts. Harmon served as the head professional at the New York City area club, Winged Foot Golf Club from 1945 to 1959, and also served as the winter professional for many years at the Seminole Golf Club in Florida. In 1959, he was hired as the head professional at Thunderbird Country Club in Palm Springs, California, where he served for over a decade, and finally took a club job in the Houston area. In 1959, Harmon played in the U.S. Open that was held at Winged Foot, placing third. Harmon was a close friend of legendary star Ben Hogan, and the two played together frequently and worked together on their games. Harmon was a semi-finalist three times in the PGA Championship, competing as a club pro against many players who competed full-time.

He died of heart failure in Houston, Texas at the age 73; he is interred at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California. Harmon's sons Butch, Craig, and Bill all occupy spots in Golf Digest's "top 50 teachers" list. His other son Dick Harmon, also a top golf instructor, died on February 10, 2006 at age 58. Harmon is a member of the World Golf Teachers' Hall of Fame.

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins

• 1948 Masters Tournament
• 1950 Miami International Four-Ball (with Pete Cooper)

Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins

this list may be incomplete

• 1946 Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA Championship
• 1947 Westchester Open
• 1950 Westchester Open
• 1951 Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA Championship
• 1953 Westchester Open
• 1960 Westchester Open

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner-up
1948	Masters Tournament	2 shot lead	-9 (70-70-69-70=279)	5 strokes	Cary Middlecoff

Results timeline

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	NT	NT	NT	18	T26	1	T11
U.S. Open	DQ	DNP	NT	NT	NT	NT	T15	T19	CUT	T8
The Open Championship	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	27	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	NT	DNP	SF	R64	R16	SF	R32

Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
The Masters	T32	T35	T14	T34	T53	T28	T46	T38	T9	CUT
U.S. Open	T38	T54	DNP	CUT	T15	CUT	DNP	DNP	CUT	T3
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	R16	R64	DNP	SF	R32	R16	R32	6	T56	T38

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
The Masters	T16	CUT	CUT	WD	CUT	CUT	WD	WD	WD	WD
U.S. Open	T27	DNP	CUT	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	CUT	T44	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1970	1971
The Masters	DNP	WD
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP

NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF, F = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

References

• "Claude Harmon", Almanac of Famous People, 8th ed. Gale Group, 2003.

External links

• Dustin Raymond (January 14, 2004). "Claude Harmon, Sr". Professional golfer. Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8277366.