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Bob Rosburg
Professional golfer

Bob Rosburg

The basics

Quick Facts

Intro
Professional golfer
Work field
Gender
Male
Place of birth
San Francisco
Age
82 years
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

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.

Early years, college

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.

PGA Tour career

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.

Broadcasting career

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.

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (6)

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

PGA Tour playoff record (1–5)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
11954Motor City OpenUnited States Ed FurgolWon with par on first extra hole
21957Caracas OpenUnited States Al BesselinkLost to birdie on first extra hole
31958Eastern Open InvitationalUnited States Jack Burke, Jr., United States Art Wall, Jr.Wall won with birdie on first extra hole
41961Greater Seattle Open InvitationalUnited States Jacky Cupit, United States Dave MarrMarr won with birdie on first extra hole
51961Bakersfield OpenUnited States Jack FleckLost to birdie on first extra hole
61962Orange County Open InvitationalUnited States Tony LemaLost 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)

Major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
1959PGA Championship6 shot deficit−3 (71-72-68-66=277)1 strokeUnited States Jerry Barber, United States Doug Sanders

Results timeline

Tournament19481949
Masters Tournament52DNP
U.S. OpenCUTDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNPDNP
Tournament1950195119521953195419551956195719581959
Masters TournamentDNPDNPDNPDNPT6T416CUTDNPT30
U.S. OpenDNPDNPDNPT21T29T5T45DNPT52
PGA ChampionshipDNPDNPDNPDNPDNPDNPDNPDNPT111
Tournament1960196119621963196419651966196719681969
Masters TournamentT20T15DQCUTCUTCUTT10T21T30DNP
U.S. OpenT232113CUTT9T38T44DNPDNPT2
PGA ChampionshipCUTT19DNPT40T56CUTT43CUTCUTCUT
Tournament19701971197219731974
Masters Tournament44DNPT45DNPDNP
U.S. OpenT64T3CUTDNPDNP
PGA Championship63T9T53T6676

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

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament0001371712
U.S. Open02156101815
The Open Championship00000000
PGA Championship1000241611
Totals121611215138
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (twice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (three times)

The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
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