George Archer
| George Archer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Archer in 1972 | |||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Full name | George William Archer | ||||
| Born | October 1, 1939 San Francisco, California, U.S. | ||||
| Died | September 25, 2005 (aged 65) Incline Village, Nevada, U.S. | ||||
| Height | 6 ft 5+1⁄2 in (1.97 m) | ||||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st) | ||||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||||
| Spouse | Donna Garman Archer[1] | ||||
| Children | 2 | ||||
| Career | |||||
| College | none | ||||
| Turned professional | 1964 | ||||
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions Tour | ||||
| Professional wins | 43 | ||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||
| PGA Tour | 13 | ||||
| PGA Tour Champions | 19 | ||||
| Other | 7 (regular) 4 (senior) | ||||
| Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |||||
| Masters Tournament | Won: 1969 | ||||
| PGA Championship | T4: 1968 | ||||
| U.S. Open | T5: 1971 | ||||
| The Open Championship | WD: 1969 | ||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||
| |||||
George Archer | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service |  U.S. Army |
| Years of service | early 1960s[1] |
| Battles / wars | Cold War |
George William Archer (October 1, 1939 – September 25, 2005) was an American professional golfer who won 13 events on the PGA Tour,[2][3] including one major championship, the Masters in 1969.[4][5][6]
Early life
[edit]Born in San Francisco, California, Archer was raised just south in San Mateo. He grew to 6 ft 5+1⁄2 in (1.97 m) tall, and as a boy he dreamed of a basketball career, but took up golf at San Mateo High School after working as a caddy at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club near his home. He was kicked off the high school basketball team because he missed too many practices due to golf.[7]
Professional career
[edit]In 1964, Archer turned professional and claimed the first of 13 victories on the PGA Tour at the Lucky International Open the following year.
The leading achievement of his career was his win at the Masters in 1969.[8][9] In the first round, he fired a 67, good for second place behind Billy Casper. His subsequent rounds of 73-69-72 earned him a one-stroke victory over runners-up Casper, Tom Weiskopf, and George Knudson.[10][11][12]
Archer's other top-10 finishes in the majors came at the U.S. Open (10th in 1969, fifth in 1971) and the PGA Championship (fourth in 1968).[13]
Archer was hampered by injuries throughout his career and had surgery on his left wrist (1975), back (1979) and left shoulder (1987). In 1996, he had his right hip replaced and two years later became the first man to win on the Senior PGA Tour (now the PGA Tour Champions) after having a hip replacement. He won 19 times on the Senior Tour between 1989 and 2000, although he did not win a senior major. Archer is also the only player in PGA Tour Champions history to win a tournament in each of the first three decades of its existence.
Archer is considered one of the game's all-time great putters,[7] and at one time held the PGA Tour record for fewest putts over four rounds with 94 putts at the Sea Pines Heritage in 1980 (1.3 per hole).[14] The record stood for nine years, until broken by Kenny Knox in 1989.[15]
Archer was known as the "Golfing Cowboy," due to a summer job in his youth at his friend and sponsor, Eugene Selvage's Lucky Hereford Ranch in Gilroy.[1][16]
Archer made Masters history in 1983 when he employed its first female caddy, his 19-year-old daughter Elizabeth, in the first year that outside caddies were allowed at Augusta National.[4] He finished tied for 12th,[17] his third-best at Augusta and final top-20 finish in a major. At the time Liz was a sophomore at Stanford University and had caddied for her father at twenty previous events; a member of the Cardinal track team, she threw the javelin and discus.[18] She started caddying for him on tour in the summer of 1980, prior to her senior year at Gilroy High School.[19]
Death
[edit]
Archer died of Burkitt's lymphoma – a lymphatic system malignancy – in Incline Village, Nevada in 2005, six days before his 66th birthday. He was survived by his wife, Donna, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Marilyn.[20] He played his final round of golf with his wife in nearby Truckee on August 25, a month before his death.[3]
Illiteracy
[edit]Six months after his death, Archer's widow, Donna, revealed in the March/April 2006 issue of Golf For Women magazine that he had suffered his entire life from a severe form of learning impairment. Despite years of effort and the consultation of many experts, he was never able to read more than the simplest sentences and could only write his own name. She reported that they never revealed this truth beyond their family and that Archer lived in constant fear that the secret of his illiteracy would be revealed.[21]
In 2008, Donna created the George Archer Memorial Foundation for Literacy, a 501(c)(3) organization located in Incline Village, Nevada. The Foundation's mission is to raise funds to identify reading deficiencies, diagnose causes and effective treatments for learning disabilities, improve systems for training teachers, tutors and other educators in literacy issues, provide grants, stipends and scholarships for deserving students, and assist in the development of tools and techniques for the effective teaching of reading and writing skills. The Foundation's primary fundraiser is the George Archer Memorial Stroke of Genius Pro-Am golf tournament held every October since 2008 at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club, in San Mateo, California – the club at which Archer began his golf career.[22]
Amateur wins
[edit]- 1963 Trans-Mississippi Amateur, San Francisco City Championship
Professional wins (43)
[edit]PGA Tour wins (13)
[edit]| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (1) |
| Other PGA Tour (12) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 31, 1965 | Lucky International Open | 68-73-69-68=278 | −6 | Playoff |  Bob Charles
|
| 2 | Apr 2, 1967 | Greater Greensboro Open | 67-64-68-68=267 | −17 | 2 strokes |  Doug Sanders
|
| 3 | Mar 25, 1968 | Pensacola Open Invitational | 66-68-69-65=268 | −20 | 1 stroke |  Tony Jacklin, Dave Marr
|
| 4 | May 12, 1968 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | 69-65-70-67=271 | −17 | 2 strokes | Bert Yancey
|
| 5 | Sep 22, 1968 | PGA National Team Championship (with Bobby Nichols)
|
65-66-69-65=265 | −22 | 2 strokes | Monty Kaser and Rives McBee
|
| 6 | Jan 27, 1969 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | 72-68-72-71=283 | −5 | 1 stroke | Bob Dickson, Dale Douglass, Howie Johnson
|
| 7 | Apr 13, 1969 | Masters Tournament | 67-73-69-72=281 | −7 | 1 stroke | Billy Casper,  George Knudson, Tom Weiskopf
|
| 8 | Jan 31, 1971 | Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational | 67-72-68-65=272 | −16 | 3 strokes | Dave Eichelberger
|
| 9 | Sep 6, 1971 | Greater Hartford Open Invitational | 68-66-68-66=268 | −16 | Playoff | Lou Graham, J. C. Snead
|
| 10 | Jan 9, 1972 | Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open | 66-69-69-66=270 | −14 | Playoff | Tommy Aaron, Dave Hill
|
| 11 | Apr 2, 1972 | Greater Greensboro Open (2) | 70-68-66-68=272 | −12 | Playoff | Tommy Aaron
|
| 12 | Oct 3, 1976 | Sahara Invitational | 67-66-69-69=271 | −13 | 2 strokes | Dave Hill, Don January
|
| 13 | Sep 9, 1984 | Bank of Boston Classic | 69-66-70-65=270 | −14 | 6 strokes | Frank Conner, Joey Sindelar
|
PGA Tour playoff record (4–3)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1965 | Lucky International Open | Bob Charles
|
Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1969 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | Billy Casper, Don January, Jack Nicklaus
|
Nicklaus won with birdie on second extra hole January eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 3 | 1970 | Robinson Open Golf Classic | George Knudson
|
Lost to par on fourth extra hole |
| 4 | 1971 | Greater Hartford Open Invitational | Lou Graham, J. C. Snead
|
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 5 | 1972 | Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open | Tommy Aaron, Dave Hill
|
Won 18-hole playoff; Archer: −5 (66), Aaron: −3 (68), Hill: −3 (68) |
| 6 | 1972 | Dean Martin Tucson Open | Miller Barber
|
Lost to birdie on third extra hole after 18-hole playoff; Archer: E (72), Barber: E (72) |
| 7 | 1972 | Greater Greensboro Open | Tommy Aaron
|
Won with par on second extra hole |
Other wins (7)
[edit]- 1963 Northern California Open, Northern California Medal Play
- 1964 Northern California Open
- 1967 Northern California Open
- 1969 Argentine Masters
- 1981 Colombian Open
- 1982 Philippines Invitational
Senior PGA Tour wins (19)
[edit]
*Note: The 1993 Ameritech Senior Open was shortened to 36 holes due to lightning.
Senior PGA Tour Tour playoff record (4–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1989 | Gatlin Brothers Southwest Senior Classic | Orville Moody, Jimmy Powell
|
Won with par on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1991 | Security Pacific Senior Classic | John Brodie, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
|
Brodie won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1992 | GTE Suncoast Classic | Jim Colbert
|
Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole |
| 4 | 1992 | Murata Reunion Pro-Am | Tommy Aaron
|
Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 5 | 1993 | First of America Classic | Jim Colbert, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
|
Won with par on third extra hole Rodríguez eliminated by par on first hole |
| 6 | 1993 | Ping Kaanapali Classic | Dave Stockton, Lee Trevino
|
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Other senior wins (4)
[edit]- 1990 Sports Shinko Cup, Princeville Classic
- 1991 Sports Shinko Cup
- 1994 Chrysler Cup (individual)
Major championships
[edit]Wins (1)
[edit]| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | To par | Margin | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Masters Tournament | 1 shot deficit | 67-73-69-72=281 | −7 | 1 stroke | Billy Casper, George Knudson, Tom Weiskopf
|
Results timeline
[edit]| Tournament | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T16 | T22 | 1 | |||
| U.S. Open | T39 | T17 | WD | T16 | T10 | |
| The Open Championship | WD | |||||
| PGA Championship | T61 | T55 | T4 | T69 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T31 | 35 | T12 | T43 | WD | CUT | CUT | T19 | WD | |
| U.S. Open | T30 | T5 | T65 | T34 | T27 | CUT | ||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | T61 | T34 | T36 | T51 | T19 | 61 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | T11 | T30 | T12 | T25 | T53 | CUT | CUT | T43 | |
| U.S. Open | T58 | |||||||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | T17 | CUT | T34 | T67 | T47 |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 49 | WD | 51 |
| U.S. Open | |||
| The Open Championship | |||
| PGA Championship |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Summary
[edit]| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 24 | 16 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 10 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 14 |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 52 | 40 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1969 PGA – 1973 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1968 PGA – 1969 U.S. Open)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Herskowitz, Mickey (April 13, 1964). "Home on the range or the greens". Sports Illustrated. p. E9.
- ^ FitzGerald, Tom (September 28, 2005). "George Archer: 1939-2005: Fellow golfers praise '69 Masters champ / 'He was a consummate pro,' Johnny Miller says". SF Gate. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ^ a b Litsky, Frank (September 27, 2005). "George Archer, 65, winner of golf's Masters in 1969, dies". New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ^ a b "Masters champ Archer dies at 65". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). September 27, 2005. p. 2C.
- ^ "Archer wins Masters by 1; trio shares 2nd". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. April 14, 1969. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ Green, Bob (April 14, 1969). "Masters success won't spoil George Archer". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 20.
- ^ a b Litsky, Frank (September 28, 2005). "1969 Masters golf champ Archer noted for putting prowess". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. E5.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (April 21, 1969). "Sorry, Billy". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
- ^ "1969 Masters leaderboard". Augusta.com. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
- ^ Husar, John (April 14, 1969). "Archer's 281 wins Masters by 1 shot". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
- ^ "George the Giant keeps his cool, wins with 281 in tense Masters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 14, 1969. p. 12.
- ^ Historic Leaderboard: 1969 Masters. Augusta.com. Retrieved on 2018-06-09.
- ^ "Golf Major Championships". Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ^ "'I'm still in a state of shock,' Tewell says". Williamson Daily News. West Virginia. April 2, 1980. p. 19.
- ^ "Good start for Stewart means win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 17, 1989. p. 2B.
- ^ "Golf: Archer Makes His Bow". Time. April 25, 1969. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
- ^ "1983 Masters leaderboard". Augusta.com. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
- ^ Greenday, Joe (April 11, 1983). "Elizabeth Archer enjoying a first in golf at Masters". Boca Raton News. Florida. Knight Ridder Newspapers. p. 1D.
- ^ "Pro Archer has daughter carry bag". News and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. Associated Press. August 17, 1980. p. 8B.
- ^ "Masters winner George Archer dies". USA Today. Associated Press. September 26, 2005. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ "Former Masters Champion George Archer Battled Secret Life-long Illiteracy; Moving First-Person Account Written by Archer's Wife Appears in the March/April Issue of Golf For Women". Business Wire. February 14, 2006. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ "The George Archer Memorial Foundation for Literacy". Retrieved June 24, 2013.
External links
[edit]
- George Archer at the PGA Tour official site
- George Archer at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- An interview from 2003
- The Secret They Shared Archived March 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine Golf For Women, March/April 2006
- Sports Illustrated cover: April 21, 1969
- George Archer Memorial Foundation for Literacy Archived April 5, 2017, at the Wayback Machine