Bob Rosburg

Robert Reginald "Rossie" Rosburg (October 21, 1926 – May 14, 2009) was an American professional golfer who later became a sports color analyst for ABC television.

Rosburg was born in San Francisco, California. He played golf as a junior at the Olympic Club, and at the age of 12, he faced the then-retired baseball Hall of Famer, Ty Cobb, in the first flight of the club championship, and beat Cobb 7 and 6. Rosburg says Cobb was gracious in defeat and shook the young Rosburg's hand, but Cobb took so much kidding from the other Olympic Club members that for many years, Rosburg hardly ever saw Cobb back at the club. Rosburg was an outstanding baseball player at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California during the 1940s, and almost chose baseball as a career over golf. He graduated from Stanford in 1949, and turned pro in 1953. He is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.

During his career, Rosburg was one of the most consistent top-10 finishers on the PGA Tour. Rosburg won the Vardon Trophy in 1958 for the lowest average score (70.11) on tour that year. Rosburg's career year was 1959, when he finished seventh on the money list and was named to the Ryder Cup team, after winning the PGA Championship and finishing second in the U.S. Open. In 1969, he won the PGA Club Professional Championship. He won six tour events during the course of his career, before moving into semi-retirement after the 1972 season, his most successful financially. That year, he won the Bob Hope Desert Classic by one stroke over Lanny Wadkins.

The 1959 PGA Championship was played at the Minneapolis Golf Club in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Rosburg won with a 72-hole score of 277 by one stroke over Jerry Barber and Doug Sanders. Rosburg claimed that he won the 1959 PGA Championship without ever hitting a practice shot during that week, except for a few chips and puts. He came close to winning a second major that year, finishing 2nd at the U.S. Open to Billy Casper. He also finished in a three-way tie for 2nd at the 1969 U.S. Open, one stroke behind Orville Moody.

After his playing days on the PGA Tour finished in the mid-1970s, Rosburg became a commentator for ABC sports television. He pioneered the now-common practice of roving on the golf course and reporting from the fairways. At the time of his death, he was the longest serving active golf announcer on television, with more than 30 years behind the microphone. He is remembered for his catch phrase, "He's got no chance, Jim", which Rosburg would utter whenever he encountered a golfer who had hit his ball into a seemingly impossible position (usually behind a tree or in deep grass), upon which the player would then produce a miraculous recovery. The "Jim" is in reference to ABC commentator Jim McKay. Rosburg is also credited with helping ABC hire Judy Rankin, who was the first full-time female golf commentator to cover men's events, including the major championships. Rosburg worked nearly three decades as a commentator with Dave Marr, who like Rosburg won a single PGA Championship.

Rosburg died in Palm Springs, California after sustaining a head injury in a fall at an Indio, California restaurant. He is survived by his wife and their three children.

PGA Tour wins (6)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Dec 12, 1954	Miami Open	−7 (71-68-69-65=273)	1 stroke	Bo Wininger
2	Sep 2, 1956	Motor City Open	−4 (70-70-72-72=284)	Playoff	Ed Furgol
3	Oct 7, 1956	Convair-San Diego Open	−18 (70-68-67-65=270)	2 strokes	Dick Mayer
4	Aug 2, 1959	PGA Championship	−3 (71-72-68-66=277)	1 stroke	Jerry Barber, Doug Sanders
5	Jan 22, 1961	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	−6 (69-67-74-72=282)	1 stroke	Roberto De Vicenzo, Dave Ragan
6	Feb 13, 1972	Bob Hope Desert Classic	−16 (66-69-72-70-67=344)	1 stroke	Lanny Wadkins

PGA Tour playoff record (1–5)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1954	Motor City Open	Ed Furgol	Won with par on first extra hole
2	1957	Caracas Open	Al Besselink	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3	1958	Eastern Open Invitational	Jack Burke, Jr., Art Wall, Jr.	Wall won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1961	Greater Seattle Open Invitational	Jacky Cupit, Dave Marr	Marr won with birdie on first extra hole
5	1961	Bakersfield Open	Jack Fleck	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
6	1962	Orange County Open Invitational	Tony Lema	Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins (3)

• 1957 Mexican Open
• 1959 Utah Open
• 1969 PGA Club Professional Championship

Other senior wins (1)

• 1981 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Gene Littler)

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
1959	PGA Championship	6 shot deficit	−3 (71-72-68-66=277)	1 stroke	Jerry Barber, Doug Sanders

Results timeline

Note: Rosburg never played in The Open Championship.
DNP = Did not play
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (twice)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (three times)