Gary Koch

Gary D. Koch (born November 21, 1952) is an American professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer, who formerly played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour.

Koch was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1952, and raised in Florida. He won the Florida Open in 1969 as an amateur at the age of 16. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1970. He attended C. Leon King High School in Tampa, Florida. The 1969 King High golf team consisting of Koch, Eddie Pearce, Brian Hawke and Phil Reid won the Florida high school title setting a scoring record that stood for thirty years.

Koch accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he became a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity (Florida Upsilon Chapter). While he was an undergraduate, Koch played for coach Buster Bishop's Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1971 to 1974. As a Gator golfer, he was a four-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection, and a three-time All-American. He was also a member of the Gators teams that won SEC championships in 1973 and 1974 and an NCAA Championship in 1973. Individually, he was a two-time medalist in the SEC tournament (1973, 1974), and the runner-up behind Ben Crenshaw at the 1973 NCAA championship tournament. His Gators teammates included fellow future PGA Tour professionals Woody Blackburn, Andy Bean, Phil Hancock and Andy North. Koch graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1976, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1978.

Koch turned professional in 1975, and won six events as a professional on the PGA Tour during the 1970s and 1980s. His career year in professional golf came in 1984 when he finished seventeenth on the money list and captured two titles: the Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open and the Bay Hill Classic.

In preparation for play on the Champions Tour, Koch played some on the Nationwide Tour in his late 40s. After turning 50 in November 2002, he began play on the Champions Tour. His best finish in this venue was a tie for second at both the ACE Group Classic and Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in 2004.

Koch's career as a sportscaster began in 1990 with ESPN working Champions Tour telecasts. Before the end of the decade, he joined NBC Sports. A long-time member of the NBC Sports announcing team (1996–present), he is mostly known for his "Better than Most" call in the third round of the 2001 Players Championship at the TPC at Sawgrass. Three down from leader Kenny Perry, Tiger Woods was facing a long, triple-breaking, fringe putt for birdie on the 17th hole's famous Island Green. Koch's call of that putt has gone down as one of the most famous in golf history as it was during the height of Tiger's dominance, on an iconic hole of a well-known course, on the way to an inevitable, yet routine Woods comeback to win the tournament.

Koch also maintains an interest in golf course design and helped design the front nine of "The Forest" course at The Eagles Golf Course in Odessa, Florida. Koch was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Koch currently resides in Tampa, Florida.

this list may be incomplete

• 1970 U.S. Junior Amateur
• 1973 Trans-Mississippi Amateur

PGA Tour wins (6)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Apr 18, 1976	Tallahassee Open	71-69-67-70=277	−11	1 stroke	John Mahaffey
2	Mar 7, 1977	Florida Citrus Open	70-69-65-70=274	−14	2 strokes	Dale Hayes, Joe Inman
3	Feb 27, 1983	Doral-Eastern Open	69-67-65-70=271	−17	5 strokes	Ed Fiori
4	Jan 29, 1984	Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open	68-70-69-65=272	−16	Playoff	Gary Hallberg
5	Mar 18, 1984	Bay Hill Classic	69-68-72-63=272	−12	Playoff	George Burns
6	May 8, 1988	Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational	68-73-66-67=274	−14	1 stroke	Peter Jacobsen, Mark O'Meara

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1984	Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open	Gary Hallberg	Won with birdie on second extra hole
2	1984	Bay Hill Classic	George Burns	Won with birdie on second extra hole

Other wins (1)

• 1969 Florida Open (as an amateur)

Senior wins (3)

• 2003 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Raphael Division (with Roger Maltbie)
• 2008 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Raphael Division (with Roger Maltbie)
• 2009 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Raphael Division (with Roger Maltbie)

Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	2004	Vintage ARCO Invitational	Craig Stadler, Tom Watson	Stadler won with birdie on first extra hole

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

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (four times)

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 1973 (winners), 1975 (winners)
• Eisenhower Trophy: 1974 (winners)