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Clayton Heafner

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Clayton Heafner
Personal information
Full nameClayton Vance Heafner
Born(1914-07-20)July 20, 1914
Charlotte, North Carolina
DiedDecember 31, 1960(1960-12-31) (aged 46)
Charlotte, North Carolina
Sporting nationality United States
Career
StatusProfessional
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins7
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT7: 1946, 1950
PGA ChampionshipT5: 1949
U.S. Open2nd/T2: 1949, 1951
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Clayton Vance Heafner (July 20, 1914 – December 31, 1960) was an American golfer, and the father of golfer Vance Heafner.

Heafner was born in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Heafner won seven times on the PGA Tour, played on two Ryder Cup teams, and finished runner-up in the 1949 and 1951 U.S. Opens. Often described as “fiery” and as a “fierce competitor”, Heafner played on two victorious Ryder Cup teams, in 1949 and 1951, with a four-match record of 3-0-1. In the 1949 match, the U.S. was without Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Cary Middlecoff, but Heafner keyed a winning rally from a 3-1 team deficit by beating Dick Burton 3 and 2.

He finished second in the 1951 U.S. Open to Ben Hogan.

Heafner was also a key figure in helping Charlie Sifford break the color barrier on the PGA Tour, by playing matches against him on Mondays and providing counsel Sifford carried with him through his playing days.

Heafner played in nine Masters, and when his son Vance played in the 1978 Masters, they became one of nine father-son duos to play the storied event. Clayton and Vance are also only one of five father-son combinations to win a PGA Tour event.

Heafner died in 1960 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1974 and the Greater Charlotte Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Professional wins

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PGA Tour wins (4)

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Other wins (3)

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this list may be incomplete

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953
Masters Tournament WD T12 NT NT NT T7 T29 T8 T7 T20 T24 WD
U.S. Open T16 WD T21 NT NT NT NT T12 CUT CUT T2 WD 2 WD T26
PGA Championship NT R64 R32 QF R64

Note: Heafner never played in The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 3 6 9 7
U.S. Open 0 2 0 2 2 5 11 6
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 1 2 4 4
Totals 0 2 0 3 6 13 24 17
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1949 Masters – 1952 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1949 Masters – 1950 Masters)
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