Doug Sanders
| Doug Sanders | |
|---|---|
| — Golfer — | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | George Douglas Sanders |
| Nickname | "Peacock of the Fairways" |
| Born |
July 24, 1933 Cedartown, Georgia |
| Nationality |
 United States |
| Residence | Houston, Texas |
| Career | |
| College | University of Florida |
| Turned professional | 1956 |
| Former tour(s) |
PGA Tour Champions Tour |
| Professional wins | 23 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 20 |
| Champions Tour | 1 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | T4: 1966 |
| U.S. Open | T2: 1961 |
| The Open Championship | T2/2nd: 1966, 1970 |
| PGA Championship | T2: 1959 |
| U.S. Amateur | R64: 1956 |
| British Amateur | R256: 1956 |
George Douglas Sanders (born July 24, 1933) is an American former PGA Tour professional golfer who won 20 PGA Tour events during his career.
Early years
Sanders was born in Cedartown, Georgia,[1] to a poor family and picked cotton as a teenager. He was a self-taught golfer.
College and amateur career
He accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for the Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition in 1955.[2] In his single year as a Gator golfer, Sanders and the team won a Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship and earned a sixth-place finish at the NCAA championship tournament—the Gators' best national championship finish until that time.[2] Sanders won the 1956 Canadian Open as an amateur—the only amateur ever to do so—and turned professional shortly thereafter.[3]
Professional career
Sanders had 13 top-10 finishes in major championships, including four second-place finishes: 1959 PGA Championship, 1961 U.S. Open, 1966 and 1970 British Opens. In 1966, he became one of the few players in history to finish in the top ten of all four major championships in a single season, despite winning none of them. He earned unfortunate notoriety for taking four shots from just 74 yards as the leader playing the final hole of the 1970 British Open at St Andrews, missing a sidehill 3-foot putt to win, before losing the resulting 18-hole playoff by just a single shot the next day to Jack Nicklaus.[4]
He is remembered for an exceptionally short, flat golf swing—a consequence, it appears, of a painful neck condition that radically restricted his movements.[4]
Personal
Sanders has always been known as a stylish, flamboyant dresser on the golf course, which earned him the nickname "Peacock of the Fairways."[4] Esquire magazine named Sanders one of America's Ten Best Dressed Jocks in 1973.
Sanders identified himself as the lead character, a playboy PGA Tour golfer, in the golf novel Dead Solid Perfect, by Dan Jenkins.[5]
Since retiring from competitive golf, Sanders has been active in his own corporate golf entertainment company and has for nearly 20 years, sponsored the Doug Sanders International Junior Golf Championship in Houston, Texas. From 1988 to 1994, he also sponsored the Doug Sanders Celebrity Classic.
He currently resides in Houston.
Honors
He is a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame,[6] Georgia Sports Hall of Fame,[3] and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.[1] He was also inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."[7]
Professional wins (23)
PGA Tour wins (20)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 8, 1956 | Canadian Open (as an amateur) |
−15 (69-67-69-68=273) | Playoff | Dow Finsterwald |
| 2 | Jun 1, 1958 | Western Open | −13 (69-68-70-68=275) | 1 stroke | Dow Finsterwald |
| 3 | Dec 6, 1959 | Coral Gables Open Invitational | −11 (68-71-69-65=273) | 3 strokes | Dow Finsterwald |
| 4 | Mar 5, 1961 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | −16 (68-65-69-70=272) | 5 strokes | Gay Brewer, Mac Main |
| 5 | May 14, 1961 | Colonial National Invitation | +1 (69-75-67-70=281) | 1 stroke |  Kel Nagle |
| 6 | May 21, 1961 | Hot Springs Open Invitational | −15 (68-68-69-68=273) | 1 stroke | Dave Ragan, Jerry Steelsmith |
| 7 | Aug 6, 1961 | Eastern Open Invitational | −13 (72-66-68-69=275) | 1 stroke | Ken Venturi |
| 8 | Nov 19, 1961 | Cajun Classic Open Invitational | −14 (67-67-67-69=270) | 6 strokes | Ken Still |
| 9 | Mar 11, 1962 | Pensacola Open Invitational | −18 (67-67-67-69=270) | 1 stroke | Don Fairfield |
| 10 | Aug 19, 1962 | St. Paul Open Invitational | −19 (66-69-69-65=269) | 3 strokes | Dave Hill |
| 11 | Aug 26, 1962 | Oklahoma City Open Invitational | −8 (70-69-74-67=280) | 2 strokes | Johnny Pott |
| 12 | Apr 14, 1963 | Greater Greensboro Open | −10 (68-65-68-69=270) | 4 strokes | Jimmy Clark |
| 13 | Feb 28, 1965 | Pensacola Open Invitational | −11 (68-71-65-73=277) | Playoff | Jack Nicklaus |
| 14 | Mar 7, 1965 | Doral Open Invitational | −14 (65-71-71-67=274) | 1 stroke | Bruce Devlin |
| 15 | Feb 6, 1966 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | −11 (70-72-68-73-66=349) | Playoff | Arnold Palmer |
| 16 | Mar 27, 1966 | Jacksonville Open Invitational | −15 (71-65-66-71=273) | 1 stroke | Gay Brewer |
| 17 | Apr 3, 1966 | Greater Greensboro Open | −8 (65-70-71-70=276) | Playoff | Tom Weiskopf |
| 18 | Mar 5, 1967 | Doral Open Invitational | −13 (68-71-66-70=275) | 1 stroke | .svg.png){kind=small} Harold Henning, Art Wall, Jr. |
| 19 | Dec 13, 1970 | Bahama Islands Open | −16 (66-70-68-68=272) | Playoff | Chris Blocker |
| 20 | Jun 4, 1972 | Kemper Open | −13 (71-68-68-68=275) | 1 stroke | Lee Trevino |
Major championships are in bold
PGA Tour playoff record (5–5)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1956 | Canadian Open (as an amateur) |
Dow Finsterwald |
Won with par on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1961 | Phoenix Open | Arnold Palmer |
Lost 18-hole playoff (Palmer:67 Sanders: 70) |
| 3 | 1962 | West Palm Beach Open Invitational | Dave Ragan |
Lost to birdie on the second extra hole |
| 4 | 1964 | Greater Greensboro Open | Julius Boros |
Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 5 | 1965 | Pensacola Open Invitational | Jack Nicklaus |
Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 6 | 1965 | Greater Seattle Open Invitational | Gay Brewer |
Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 7 | 1966 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | Arnold Palmer |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 8 | 1966 | Greater Greensboro Open | Tom Weiskopf |
Won with par on second extra hole |
| 9 | 1970 | British Open | Jack Nicklaus |
Lost 18-hole playoff (Nicklaus:72 Sanders: 73) |
| 10 | 1970 | Bahama Islands Open | Chris Blocker |
Won with par on second extra hole |
Other wins (2)
- 1957 Colombian Open
- 1959 Sahara Pro-Am
Senior PGA Tour wins (1)
Results in major championships
Amateur
| Tournament | 1955 | 1956 |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Amateur | R128 | R64 |
| The Amateur Championship | DNP | R256 |
Professional
| Tournament | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T31 | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | CUT | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | T2 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T29 | T11 | T33 | T28 | DNP | T11 | T4 | T16 | T12 | T36 |
| U.S. Open | T46 | T2 | T11 | T21 | T32 | T11 | T8 | T34 | T37 | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | 11 | CUT | T2 | T18 | 34 | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T3 | 3 | T15 | T17 | T28 | T20 | T6 | T28 | T8 | CUT |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | T37 | CUT | DNP | DNP | T45 | DNP |
| The Open Championship | 2 | T9 | 4 | T28 | DNP | DNP | T28 |
| PGA Championship | T41 | CUT | T7 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
LA = Low Amateur
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10
Sources: Masters Tournament,[8] U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur,[9] Open Championship,[10] PGA Championship,[11] 1956 British Amateur[12]
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 10 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 11 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 9 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 12 |
| Totals | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 25 | 49 | 42 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1965 PGA – 1969 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1966 Masters – 1966 PGA)
See also
- List of American Ryder Cup golfers
- List of Florida Gators men's golfers on the PGA Tour
- List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
References
- 1 2 "Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Member – Doug Sanders". Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- 1 2 "Florida Men's Golf 2013 Media Supplement" (PDF). Gainesville, Florida: University Athletic Association. pp. 36–37. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- 1 2 "Inductees – Doug Sanders" (PDF). Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
- 1 2 3 Kelley, Brent. "Doug Sanders". About.com. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
- ↑ Sampson, Curt (2000). The Eternal Summer: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year. New York: Villard Publishing. ISBN 978-0375753688.
- ↑ "Inductees – Doug Sanders (1972)". Florida Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
- ↑ "Gator Greats". F Club, Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ↑ Past Winners & Results
- ↑ USGA Championship Database
- ↑ 1976 Open Championship leaderboard
- ↑ PGA Championship Media Guide - Doug Sanders
- ↑ "Defeat of Leading American". The Glasgow Herald. May 29, 1956. p. 4.
External links
- Official website
- Doug Sanders at the PGA Tour official site
- Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Profile
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