George archer memorial golf tournament

George Archer

American professional golfer

For other people named George Archer, see George Archer (disambiguation).

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

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

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

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

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

Professional wins (43)

PGA Tour wins (13)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (12)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Jan 31, 1965Lucky International Open68-73-69-68=278 −6 Playoff Bob Charles
2 Apr 2, 1967Greater Greensboro Open67-64-68-68=267 −17 2 strokes Doug Sanders
3 Mar 25, 1968Pensacola Open Invitational66-68-69-65=268 −20 1 stroke Tony Jacklin, Dave Marr
4 May 12, 1968 Greater New Orleans Open Invitational69-65-70-67=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, 1969Bing Crosby National Pro-Am72-68-72-71=283 −5 1 stroke Bob Dickson, Dale Douglass,
Howie Johnson
7 Apr 13, 1969 Masters Tournament67-73-69-72=281 −7 1 stroke Billy Casper, George Knudson,
Tom Weiskopf
8 Jan 31, 1971Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational67-72-68-65=272 −16 3 strokes Dave Eichelberger
9 Sep 6, 1971 Greater Hartford Open Invitational68-66-68-66=268 −16 Playoff Lou Graham, J. C. Snead
10 Jan 9, 1972Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open66-69-69-66=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, 1976Sahara Invitational67-66-69-69=271 −13 2 strokes Dave Hill, Don January
13 Sep 9, 1984Bank of Boston Classic69-66-70-65=270 −14 6 strokes Frank Conner, Joey Sindelar

PGA Tour playoff record (4–3)

Other wins (7)

Senior PGA Tour wins (19)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 15, 1989Gatlin Brothers Southwest Senior Classic69-72-68=209 −7 Playoff Orville Moody, Jimmy Powell
2 Jan 7, 1990MONY Senior Tournament of Champions73-69-67-74=283 −5 7 strokes Bruce Crampton
3 Jul 8, 1990 Northville Long Island Classic69-67-72=208 −16 1 stroke Frank Beard, Charles Coody
4 Aug 26, 1990 GTE Northwest Classic69-66-70=205 −15 2 strokes Bruce Crampton
5 Oct 28, 1990 Rancho Murieta Senior Gold Rush70-68-66=204 −12 1 stroke Dale Douglass
6 Aug 4, 1991Northville Long Island Classic (2) 68-67-69=204 −12 2 strokes Jim Colbert, Larry Laoretti
7 Sep 1, 1991 GTE North Classic66-66-67=199 −17 1 stroke Dale Douglass
8 Oct 13, 1991 Raley's Senior Gold Rush (2) 67-71-68=206 −10 1 stroke Simon Hobday
9 May 10, 1992Murata Reunion Pro-Am66-72-73=211 −5 Playoff Tommy Aaron
10 Aug 2, 1992 Northville Long Island Classic (3) 70-67-68=205 −9 2 strokes Jim Albus
11 Aug 16, 1992 Bruno's Memorial Classic66-68-74=208 −8 1 stroke Jack Kiefer, Rocky Thompson
12 Jul 18, 1993Ameritech Senior Open67-66=133* −11 1 stroke Jim Colbert, Simon Hobday,
Dick Rhyan
13 Jul 25, 1993 First of America Classic67-69-63=199 −14 Playoff Jim Colbert, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
14 Oct 17, 1993 Raley's Senior Gold Rush (3) 68-66-68=202 −14 1 stroke Bob Charles, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
15 Oct 31, 1993 Ping Kaanapali Classic67-69-63=199 −14 Playoff Dave Stockton, Lee Trevino
16 Feb 20, 1995Toshiba Senior Classic67-68-64=199 −11 1 stroke Dave Stockton, Tom Wargo
17 May 14, 1995 Cadillac NFL Golf Classic69-66-70=205 −11 1 stroke Raymond Floyd, Bob Murphy
18 Aug 16, 1998First of America Classic (2) 68-67-64=199 −17 5 strokes Jim Dent
19 Jan 23, 2000MasterCard Championship (2) 67-71-69=207 −9 2 strokes Hale Irwin, Graham Marsh,
Dana Quigley, Lee Trevino

*Note: The 1993 Ameritech Senior Open was shortened to 36 holes due to lightning.

Senior PGA Tour Tour playoff record (4–2)

Other senior wins (4)

  • 1990 Sports Shinko Cup, Princeville Classic
  • 1991 Sports Shinko Cup
  • 1994 Chrysler Cup (individual)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

  Win

  Top 10

  Did not play

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

Summary

  • Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1969 PGA – 1973 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1968 PGA – 1969 U.S. Open)

See also

References

  1. ^ abcHerskowitz, Mickey (April 13, 1964). "Home on the range or the greens". Sports Illustrated. p. E9.
  2. ^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.
  3. ^ abLitsky, Frank (September 27, 2005). "George Archer, 65, winner of golf's Masters in 1969, dies". New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  4. ^ ab"Masters champ Archer dies at 65". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). September 27, 2005. p. 2C.
  5. ^"Archer wins Masters by 1; trio shares 2nd". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. April 14, 1969. p. 1, part 2.
  6. ^Green, Bob (April 14, 1969). "Masters success won't spoil George Archer". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 20.
  7. ^ abLitsky, Frank (September 28, 2005). "1969 Masters golf champ Archer noted for putting prowess". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. E5.
  8. ^Jenkins, Dan (April 21, 1969). "Sorry, Billy". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
  9. ^"1969 Masters leaderboard". Augusta.com. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  10. ^Husar, John (April 14, 1969). "Archer's 281 wins Masters by 1 shot". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
  11. ^"George the Giant keeps his cool, wins with 281 in tense Masters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 14, 1969. p. 12.
  12. ^Historic Leaderboard: 1969 Masters. Augusta.com. Retrieved on 2018-06-09.
  13. ^"Golf Major Championships". Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  14. ^"'I'm still in a state of shock,' Tewell says". Williamson Daily News. West Virginia. April 2, 1980. p. 19.
  15. ^"Good start for Stewart means win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 17, 1989. p. 2B.
  16. ^"Golf: Archer Makes His Bow". Time. April 25, 1969. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  17. ^"1983 Masters leaderboard". Augusta.com. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  18. ^Greenday, Joe (April 11, 1983). "Elizabeth Archer enjoying a first in golf at Masters". Boca Raton News. Florida. Knight Ridder Newspapers. p. 1D.
  19. ^"Pro Archer has daughter carry bag". News and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. Associated Press. August 17, 1980. p. 8B.
  20. ^"Masters winner George Archer dies". USA Today. Associated Press. September 26, 2005. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  21. ^"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.
  22. ^"The George Archer Memorial Foundation for Literacy". Retrieved June 24, 2013.

External links