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Bill Britton

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Bill Britton
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Timothy Britton
Born (1955-11-13) November 13, 1955 (age 68)
Staten Island, New York
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight140 lb (64 kg; 10 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceRumson, New Jersey[1]
Career
CollegeMiami Dade North
University of Florida
Turned professional1979
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins5
Highest ranking97 (August 4, 1991)[2]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT7: 1990
PGA Championship4th: 1990
U.S. OpenT60: 1984
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995

William Timothy Britton (born November 13, 1955) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour for fifteen years during the 1980s and 1990s.

Early life and amateur career

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Britton was born and raised on Staten Island, New York, and attended Monsignor Farrell High School.[3] He played college golf at Miami Dade College, and in 1975 he won the National Junior College Athletic Association Championship. He received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Buster Bishop's Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) competition in 1976 and 1977.[4] Britton graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in health and human performance in 1979. He was mentored by Jim Albus, a club professional and six-time winner on the Champions Tour.

Britton is a two-time winner of the Metropolitan Amateur, and was the two-time defending champion when the tournament was held at Century Country Club in Purchase, New York, in 1977. He advanced to the quarterfinals at Century, and played Lou Mattiace, the father of future PGA Tour player Len Mattiace. In a memorable match, Mattiace dethroned the Staten Island native on the 18th green, 1-up.

Professional career

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Britton then turned professional in 1979 and joined the PGA Tour in 1980.[5] During his 15 years on the Tour, Britton won once and had 23 top-10 finishes. His best finishes in majors came in 1990: T-7 at The Masters and 4th in the PGA Championship.[5][6]

After his years as a touring pro were over, Britton became a teaching pro and author in New Jersey. He has published articles for The Met Golfer, New Jersey Golfer and Sports Illustrated. He has been named one of the "Top Ten Teachers" in New Jersey by Golf Digest. He was New Jersey Section PGA's Player of the Year in 2002, and Senior Player of the Year in 2006.[5] He has played in a limited number of PGA Tour Champions events, playing his last event in 2017. He currently serves as the head men's golf coach for Monmouth University.

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (5)

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PGA Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Oct 1, 1989 Centel Classic −16 (71-66-63=200)* 4 strokes United States Ronnie Black

*Note: The 1989 Centel Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1982 Walt Disney World Golf Classic United States Hal Sutton Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole

Other wins (4)

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Results in major championships

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Tournament 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT T60 CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT T77 T41
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Masters Tournament T7 CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship 4 CUT T21 CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 1 2 6 4
Totals 0 0 0 1 2 3 17 6
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (1989 PGA – 1990 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1990 Masters – 1990 PGA)

Results in senior major championships

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Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2016 2017
Senior PGA Championship T68 T16 T33 T75 CUT T35 CUT CUT
U.S. Senior Open T53 T50 CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Awards and honors

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Edelson, Stephen. "Rumson's Britton wins Senior PGA Pro National" Archived 2015-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, Asbury Park Press, November 1, 2009. Accessed February 14, 2011.
  2. ^ "Week 31 1991 Ending 4 Aug 1991" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  3. ^ "Bill Britton". Monsignor Farrell Hall of Fame. May 2, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  4. ^ Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement Archived 2012-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 34, 39, 41 (2010). Retrieved July 11, 2011.[dead link]
  5. ^ a b c "Biographical information from Bill Britton Golf School". Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  6. ^ "Golf Major Championships".
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