Miller Barber

Miller Barber
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name	Miller Westford Barber, Jr.
Nickname	Mr. X
Born	(1931-03-31)March 31, 1931 Shreveport, Louisiana
Died	June 11, 2013(2013-06-11) (aged 82) Scottsdale, Arizona
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st)
Nationality	United States
Career
College	University of Arkansas
Turned professional	1958
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	41
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	11
Champions Tour	24
Other	1 (regular) 5 (senior)
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	7th: 1969
U.S. Open	6th/T6: 1969, 1970
The Open Championship	10th: 1969
PGA Championship	T4: 1971

Miller Westford Barber, Jr. (March 31, 1931 – June 11, 2013) was an American professional golfer who enjoyed significant success on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s, and a greater degree of success on the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) in the 1980s.

Career

Barber was born in Shreveport, Louisiana.^[1] He graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1954, turned professional four years later, and won his first PGA Tour event in 1964. He earned 11 career tour wins, but did not win a major championship. The closest he came was in 1969 at the U.S. Open at Houston, where he held a three-shot lead over the field after three rounds, but shot 78 in the last round to finish three shots behind winner Orville Moody. Also in 1969, Barber entered the final round of the Masters Tournament two shots out of the lead and was paired in Sunday's final group but shot a final round 74 to finish 7th. He played on the Ryder Cup team in 1969 and 1971, and in the latter year was ranked sixth on the McCormack rankings.

In 1973, Barber won the longest regulation tournament in PGA Tour history. The World Open Golf Championship played at Pinehurst Country Club was a 144-hole affair. Barber won by three strokes over Ben Crenshaw.

Barber became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour around a year after it was founded. He was one of the dominant players on the tour throughout the 1980s, competing on even terms with players who had had much more distinguished earlier careers, such as Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer. His 24 wins on the tour included five senior majors, three of them U.S. Senior Opens.

Barber holds the record for combined PGA Tour and Champions Tour starts at 1,297.^[1]

Barber played with an unusual looped backswing/downswing, but squared up very consistently through impact. Several other PGA Tour players, including Jim Furyk, have had success with similar methods.

Death

Barber died June 11, 2013 at the age of 82 of lymphoma in Scottsdale, Arizona.^[1]^[2] Barber was survived by his wife of 43 years, Karen,^[3] and sons Larry and Richard and stepsons Casey, Doug, Brad.^[3]^[4]

Professional wins (41)

PGA Tour wins (11)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Nov 22, 1964	Cajun Classic Open Invitational	−7 (72-70-68-67=277)	5 strokes	Gay Brewer, Jack Nicklaus
2	May 28, 1967	Oklahoma City Open Invitational	−10 (70-72-68-68=278)	Playoff	Gary Player
3	Apr 28, 1968	Byron Nelson Golf Classic	−10 (67-68-65-70=270)	1 stroke	Kermit Zarley
4	Jan 20, 1969	Kaiser International Open Invitational	−9 (68-67=135)	1 stroke	Bruce Devlin
5	Apr 20, 1970	Greater New Orleans Open Invitational	−10 (68-71-69-70=278)	Playoff	Bob Charles, Howie Johnson
6	Jan 24, 1971	Phoenix Open Invitational	−23 (65-64-67-65=261)	2 strokes	Billy Casper, Dan Sikes
7	Jan 23, 1972	Dean Martin Tucson Open	−15 (68-73-67-65=273)	Playoff	George Archer
8	Nov 17, 1973	World Open Golf Championship	+2 (68-74-73-74-67-73-72-69=570)	3 strokes	Ben Crenshaw
9	Sep 22, 1974	Ohio Kings Island Open	−7 (68-68-69-72=277)	3 strokes	George Johnson
10	Oct 2, 1977	Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic	−16 (71-66-70-65=272)	2 strokes	George Archer
11	Jan 15, 1978	Phoenix Open	−12 (68-69-70-65=272)	1 stroke	Jerry Pate, Lee Trevino

PGA Tour playoff record (3–4)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1964	Pensacola Open	Arnold Palmer, Gary Player	Lost 18-hole playoff (Player:71, Palmer:72, Barber:74)
2	1967	Oklahoma City Open	Gary Player	Won with birdie on third extra hole
3	1970	Greater New Orleans Open Invitational	Bob Charles, Howie Johnson	Won with birdie on second extra hole
4	1972	Dean Martin Tucson Open	George Archer	Won with birdie on third extra hole after 18-hole playoff (Archer:72, Barber:72)
5	1973	Greater New Orleans Open	Jack Nicklaus	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
6	1973	Liggett & Myers Open	Bert Greene	Lost to birdie on fifth extra hole
7	1976	San Antonio Texas Open	Butch Baird	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (1)

1962 Metropolitan Open

Senior PGA Tour wins (24)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 14, 1981	Peter Jackson Champions	−12 (67-68-69=204)	Playoff	Gene Littler
2	Oct 18, 1981	Suntree Seniors Classic	−12 (68-71-65=204)	4 strokes	Bob Goalby
3	Dec 6, 1981	PGA Seniors' Championship	−7 (68-72-68-73=281)	2 strokes	Arnold Palmer
4	Jul 11, 1982	U.S. Senior Open	−2 (72-74-71-65=282)	4 strokes	Gene Littler, Dan Sikes
5	Oct 17, 1982	Suntree Classic	−24 (66-66-66-66=264)	5 strokes	Don January
6	Oct 24, 1982	Hilton Head Seniors International	−6 (69-69=138)	Tie^[1]	Dan Sikes
7	Jun 12, 1983	Senior Tournament Players Championship	−10 (71-69-70-68=278)	1 stroke	Gene Littler
8	Jul 17, 1983	Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am	−16 (65-66-69=200)	5 strokes	Gay Brewer
9	Oct 2, 1983	United Virginia Bank Seniors	−5 (68-71-72=211)	1 stroke	Roberto De Vicenzo, Rod Funseth, Don January
10	Oct 23, 1983	Hilton Head Seniors International	−7 (72-69-71-69=281)	3 strokes	Gay Brewer, Jim Ferree, Gene Littler
11	Jun 17, 1984	Roy Clark Senior Challenge	−1 (71-73-68=212)	1 stroke	Don January, Peter Thomson
12	Jul 1, 1984	U.S. Senior Open	+6 (74-71-70-71=286)	2 strokes	Arnold Palmer
13	Jul 8, 1984	Greater Syracuse Senior's Pro Classic	−10 (69-70-67=206)	3 strokes	Rod Funseth
14	Sep 12, 1984	Denver Post Champions of Golf	−8 (68-70-70=208)	3 strokes	Gay Brewer
15	Feb 10, 1985	Sunrise Senior Classic	−5 (76-66-69=211)	1 stroke	Orville Moody
16	Jun 30, 1985	U.S. Senior Open	−3 (71-72-71-71=285)	4 strokes	Roberto De Vicenzo
17	Sep 22, 1985	PaineWebber World Seniors Invitational	−11 (72-67-67-71=277)	2 strokes	Gay Brewer
18	Jan 11, 1986	MONY Senior Tournament of Champions	−6 (70-70-70-72=282)	5 strokes	Arnold Palmer
19	Aug 30, 1987	Showdown Classic	−6 (71-67-72=210)	1 stroke	Bruce Crampton
20	Sep 27, 1987	Newport Cup	−14 (67-70-65=202)	2 strokes	Bruce Crampton
21	Ju1 18, 1988	Showdown Classic	−9 (70-67-70=207)	2 strokes	Orville Moody, Dick Rhyan, Ben Smith
22	Nov 13, 1988	Fairfield Barnett Classic	−19 (64-65-68=197)	5 strokes	Homero Blancas
23	Jan 8, 1989	MONY Senior Tournament of Champions	−8 (73-67-68-72=280)	1 stroke	Dale Douglass
24	Mar 5, 1989	Vintage Chrysler Invitational	−7 (70-70-72-69=281)	1 stroke	Don Bies, Bob Charles, Larry Mowry

¹ The 1982 Hilton Head Seniors International was shortened to 36 holes due to inclement weather. Barber and Dan Sikes were declared co-champions.

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1981	Peter Jackson Champions	Gene Littler	Won with par on first extra hole
2	1986	Bank One Senior Golf Classic	Bob Goalby, Gene Littler	Littler won with par on third extra hole Goalby eliminated with par on first hole

Senior majors are shown in bold.

Other senior wins (5)

1982 Vintage Invitational
1985 Shootout at Jeremy Ranch (with Ben Crenshaw)
1987 Mazda Champions (with Nancy Lopez)
2002 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jim Ferree)
2003 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jim Ferree)

Results in major championships

Tournament	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T12	7
U.S. Open	CUT	22	CUT	DNP	T32	T26	T18	T24	T6
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	10
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DQ	T34	DNP	T8	T5

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	T21	CUT	CUT	T43	T15	T26	DNP	DNP	T24	T12
U.S. Open	6	59	T29	T25	DNP	T24	T38	CUT	T35	CUT
The Open Championship	CUT	T60	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	CUT	T4	T16	T24	T60	DNP	T51	T25	DNP	T28

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986
Masters Tournament	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	CUT
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T65	CUT	T34	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	1	6	11	8
U.S. Open	0	2	7	19	13
The Open Championship	0	1	1	4	2
PGA Championship	2	3	6	15	12
Totals	2	7	20	49	35

Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1966 U.S. Open – 1970 U.S. Open)
Longest streak of top-10s – 5 (1968 PGA – 1969 PGA)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (5)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1981	PGA Seniors' Championship	−7 (68-72-68-73=281)	2 strokes	Arnold Palmer
1982	U.S. Senior Open	−2 (72-74-71-65=282)	4 strokes	Gene Littler, Dan Sikes
1983	Senior Players Championship	−10 (71-69-70-68=278)	1 stroke	Gene Littler
1984	U.S. Senior Open (2)	+6 (74-71-70-71=286)	2 strokes	Arnold Palmer
1985	U.S. Senior Open(3)	−3 (71-72-71-71=285)	4 strokes	Roberto De Vicenzo

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

Ryder Cup: 1969 (winners), 1971 (winners)

References

1 2 3 "Miller Barber passes away at age 82". PGA Tour. June 12, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
↑ "Golfer Miller Barber dies at 82". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 13, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
1 2 http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2013/06/remembering-miller-barber-as-a-great-player-and-a-singular-c.html
↑ http://www.legacy.com/ns/obituary.aspx?n=miller-barber&pid=165294036

External links

Miller Barber at the PGA Tour official site

Miller Barber in the senior major championships

Senior PGA Championship champions

1980 Arnold Palmer† 1981 Miller Barber 1982 Don January 1983 Not held 1984 (Jan) Arnold Palmer 1984 (Dec) Peter Thomson 1985 Not held 1986 Gary Player 1987 Chi-Chi Rodríguez 1988 Gary Player 1989 Larry Mowry 1990 Gary Player 1991 Jack Nicklaus 1992 Lee Trevino 1993 Tom Wargo† 1994 Lee Trevino 1995 Raymond Floyd 1996 Hale Irwin 1997 Hale Irwin 1998 Hale Irwin 1999 Allen Doyle 2000 Doug Tewell 2001 Tom Watson 2002 Fuzzy Zoeller 2003 John Jacobs 2004 Hale Irwin 2005 Mike Reid† 2006 Jay Haas† 2007 Denis Watson 2008 Jay Haas 2009 Michael Allen 2010 Tom Lehman† 2011 Tom Watson† 2012 Roger Chapman 2013 Kōki Idoki 2014 Colin Montgomerie 2015 Colin Montgomerie

† indicates the event was won in a playoff

U.S. Senior Open champions

1980 Roberto De Vicenzo 1981 Arnold Palmer† 1982 Miller Barber 1983 Billy Casper† 1984 Miller Barber 1985 Miller Barber 1986 Dale Douglass 1987 Gary Player 1988 Gary Player† 1989 Orville Moody 1990 Lee Trevino 1991 Jack Nicklaus† 1992 Larry Laoretti 1993 Jack Nicklaus 1994 Simon Hobday 1995 Tom Weiskopf 1996 Dave Stockton 1997 Graham Marsh 1998 Hale Irwin 1999 Dave Eichelberger 2000 Hale Irwin 2001 Bruce Fleisher 2002 Don Pooley† 2003 Bruce Lietzke 2004 Peter Jacobsen 2005 Allen Doyle 2006 Allen Doyle 2007 Brad Bryant 2008 Eduardo Romero 2009 Fred Funk 2010 Bernhard Langer 2011 Olin Browne 2012 Roger Chapman 2013 Kenny Perry 2014 Colin Montgomerie† 2015 Jeff Maggert

† indicates the event was won in a playoff

Senior Players Championship champions

1983 Miller Barber 1984 Arnold Palmer 1985 Arnold Palmer 1986 Chi-Chi Rodríguez 1987 Gary Player 1988 Billy Casper 1989 Orville Moody 1990 Jack Nicklaus 1991 Jim Albus 1992 Dave Stockton 1993 Jim Colbert 1994 Dave Stockton 1995 J. C. Snead† 1996 Raymond Floyd 1997 Larry Gilbert 1998 Gil Morgan 1999 Hale Irwin 2000 Raymond Floyd 2001 Allen Doyle† 2002 Stewart Ginn 2003 Craig Stadler 2004 Mark James 2005 Peter Jacobsen 2006 Bobby Wadkins 2007 Loren Roberts 2008 D. A. Weibring 2009 Jay Haas 2010 Mark O'Meara† 2011 Fred Couples† 2012 Joe Daley 2013 Kenny Perry 2014 Bernhard Langer 2015 Bernhard Langer

† indicates the event was won in a playoff

Miller Barber in the Ryder Cup

United States Ryder Cup team – 1969

Tommy Aaron Miller Barber Frank Beard Billy Casper Dale Douglass Raymond Floyd Dave Hill Gene Littler Jack Nicklaus Dan Sikes Ken Still Lee Trevino Sam Snead (non-playing captain)

Tied: 16 – 16

United States Ryder Cup team – 1971

Miller Barber Frank Beard Billy Casper Charles Coody Gardner Dickinson Gene Littler Jack Nicklaus Arnold Palmer Mason Rudolph J. C. Snead Dave Stockton Lee Trevino Jay Hebert (non-playing captain)

Won: 18.5 – 13.5

Authority control	VIAF: 40990993

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