Miller Barber
| Miller Barber | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | Mr. X |
| Born | March 31, 1931 Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st) |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Career | |
| College | University of Arkansas |
| Turned professional | 1958 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions Tour |
| Professional wins | 40 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 11 |
| Champions Tour | 24 |
| Other | 1 (regular) 4 (senior) |
| Best results in Major Championships |
|
| Masters Tournament | 7th: 1969 |
| U.S. Open | 6th/T6: 1969, 1970 |
| The Open Championship | 10th: 1969 |
| PGA Championship | T4: 1971 |
Miller Barber (born March 31, 1931) is an American professional golfer who enjoyed significant success on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s, and a greater degree of success on the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) in the 1980s.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Barber was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. He graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1954, turned professional four years later, and won his first PGA Tour event in 1964. He notched up eleven tour wins in total, but did not win a major championship. The closest he came was in 1969 at the U.S. Open at Houston, where he held a three-shot lead over the field after three rounds, but shot 78 in the last round to finish three shots behind winner Orville Moody. He played on the Ryder Cup team in 1969 and 1971, and in the latter year was ranked sixth on the McCormack rankings.
In 1973, Barber won the longest regulation tournament in PGA Tour history. The World Open Golf Championship played at Pinehurst Country Club was a 144-hole affair. Barber won it by three strokes over Ben Crenshaw.
Barber became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour around a year after it was founded. He was one of the dominant players on the tour throughout the 1980s, competing on even terms with players who had had much more distinguished earlier careers, such as Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer. His 24 wins on the Tour included five senior majors, three of them U.S. Senior Opens.
As of September 25, 2009, Barber held the record for combined PGA Tour and Champions Tour starts at 1292.[1]
Barber played with an unusual looped backswing / downswing, but squared up very consistently through impact; several other PGA Tour players, including Jim Furyk, have had success with similar methods.
[edit] Professional wins (40)
[edit] PGA Tour wins (11)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nov 22, 1964 | Cajun Classic Open Invitational | -7 (72-70-68-67=277) | 5 strokes | Gay Brewer, Jack Nicklaus |
| 2 | May 28, 1967 | Oklahoma City Open Invitational | -10 (70-72-68-68=278) | Playoff |  Gary Player |
| 3 | Apr 28, 1968 | Byron Nelson Golf Classic | -10 (67-68-65-70=270) | 1 stroke | Kermit Zarley |
| 4 | Jan 17, 1969 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | -9 (68-67=135) | 1 stroke |  Bruce Devlin |
| 5 | Apr 20, 1970 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | -10 (68-71-69-70=278) | Playoff |  Bob Charles, Howie Johnson |
| 6 | Jan 24, 1971 | Phoenix Open Invitational | -23 (65-64-67-65=261) | 2 strokes | Billy Casper, Dan Sikes |
| 7 | Jan 23, 1972 | Dean Martin Tucson Open | -15 (68-73-67-65=273) | Playoff | George Archer |
| 8 | Nov 17, 1973 | World Open Golf Championship | +2 (68-74-73-74-67-73-72-69=570) | 3 strokes | Ben Crenshaw |
| 9 | Sep 22, 1974 | Ohio Kings Island Open | -7 (68-68-69-72=277) | 3 strokes | George Johnson |
| 10 | Oct 2, 1977 | Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic | -16 (71-66-70-65=272) | 2 strokes | George Archer |
| 11 | Jan 15, 1978 | Phoenix Open | -12 (68-69-70-65=272) | 1 stroke | Jerry Pate, Lee Trevino |
PGA Tour playoff record (3-4)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1964 | Pensacola Open | Arnold Palmer, Gary Player |
Lost 18-hole playoff (Player:71, Palmer:72, Barber:74) |
| 2 | 1967 | Oklahoma City Open | Gary Player |
Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 3 | 1970 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | Bob Charles, Howie Johnson |
Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 4 | 1972 | Dean Martin Tucson Open | George Archer |
Won with birdie on third extra hole after 18-hole playoff (Archer:72, Barber:72) |
| 5 | 1973 | Greater New Orleans Open | Jack Nicklaus |
Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
| 6 | 1973 | Liggett Meyers Open | Bert Greene |
Lost to birdie on fifth extra hole |
| 7 | 1976 | San Antonio Texas Open | Butch Baird |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
[edit] Other wins (1)
- 1962 Metropolitan Open
[edit] Senior PGA Tour wins (24)
- 1981 (3) Peter Jackson Champions, Suntree Seniors Classic, PGA Seniors' Championship
- 1982 (3) U.S. Senior Open, Suntree Classic, Hilton Head Seniors International (tie with Dan Sikes)
- 1983 (4) Senior Tournament Players Championship, Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am, United Virginia Bank Seniors, Hilton Head Seniors International
- 1984 (4) Roy Clark/Skoal Bandit Senior Challenge, U.S. Senior Open, Greater Syracuse Senior's Pro Classic, Denver Post Champions of Golf
- 1985 (3) Sunrise Senior Classic, U.S. Senior Open, PaineWebber World Seniors Invitational
- 1986 (1) MONY Senior Tournament of Champions
- 1987 (2) Showdown Classic, Newport Cup
- 1988 (2) Showdown Classic, Fairfield Barnett Classic
- 1989 (2) MONY Senior Tournament of Champions, Vintage Chrysler Invitational
Senior majors are shown in bold.
[edit] Other senior wins (4)
- 1985 Shootout at Jeremy Ranch (with Ben Crenshaw)
- 1987 Mazda Champions (with Nancy Lopez)
- 2002 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jim Ferree)
- 2003 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jim Ferree)
[edit] Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T12 | 7 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | 22 | CUT | DNP | T32 | T26 | T18 | T24 | T6 |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | 10 |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DQ | T34 | DNP | T8 | T5 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T21 | CUT | CUT | T43 | T15 | T26 | DNP | DNP | T24 | T12 |
| U.S. Open | 6 | 59 | T29 | T25 | DNP | T24 | T38 | CUT | T35 | CUT |
| The Open Championship | CUT | T60 | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | CUT | T4 | T16 | T24 | T60 | DNP | T51 | T25 | DNP | T28 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | CUT |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T65 | CUT | T34 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
[edit] Champions Tour major championships
[edit] Wins (5)
| Year | Championship | Winning Score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | PGA Seniors' Championship | −7 (68−72−68−73=281) | 2 strokes | Arnold Palmer |
| 1982 | U.S. Senior Open | −2 (72−74−71−65=282) | 4 strokes | Gene Littler, Dan Sikes |
| 1983 | Senior Players Championship | −10 (71−69−70−68=278) | 1 stroke | Gene Littler |
| 1984 | U.S. Senior Open (2) | +6 (74−71−70−71=286) | 2 strokes | Arnold Palmer |
| 1985 | U.S. Senior Open(3) | −3 (71−72−71−71=285) | 4 strokes |  Roberto De Vicenzo |
[edit] U.S. national team appearances
Professional
[edit] See also
- Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
- Golfers with most Champions Tour wins
- Golfers with most Champions Tour major championship wins
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Miller Barber at the PGA Tour official site
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