Mason Rudolph

Edgar Mason Rudolph (May 23, 1934 – April 18, 2011) was an American professional golfer who won five times on the PGA Tour.

Rudolph was born in Clarksville, Tennessee. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1950. In 1956, he won the Western Amateur and the Tennessee State Open (as an amateur). He played on the 1957 Walker Cup team.

Rudolph turned professional in 1958; he joined the PGA Tour in 1959 and was Rookie of the Year. He won five official PGA Tour events during his career. Rudolph also won the Tennessee State Open five times as a pro (1959, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1972). He played on the 1971 Ryder Cup team.

In December 1960, Rudolph took part in a controversial match against Sam Snead. Snead decided to deliberately lose the televised match during its final holes after he discovered he had too many golf clubs (more than 14) in his bag on the 12th hole of the match. The too many clubs in his bag would have caused him to be immediately disqualified After the match was over, Snead said he did not disqualify himself in order to not spoil the show.

Rudolph was inducted as a charter member of the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame in 1990. A 9-hole, regulation-length golf course in his hometown is named for him. A men's and a women's collegiate golf tournament also bears his name.

PGA Tour wins (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Sep 27, 1959	Golden Gate Championship	−9 (67-72-67-69=275)	2 strokes	Dow Finsterwald, Bob Goalby
2	Oct 27, 1963	Fig Garden Village Open Invitational	−13 (66-67-71-71=275)	3 strokes	Tommy Aaron, Al Geiberger
3	Mar 2, 1964	Greater New Orleans Open Invitational	−5 (68-70-70-75=283)	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus, Chi-Chi Rodríguez, Glenn Stuart
4	Aug 14, 1966	Thunderbird Classic	−10 (69-70-70-69=278)	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
5	Sep 27, 1970	Green Island Open Invitational	−6 (75-68-67-64=274)	2 strokes	Chris Blocker

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1963	Portland Open Invitational	George Knudson	Lost to eagle on first extra hole

Other wins (8)

• 1956 Tennessee Open (as an amateur)
• 1959 Tennessee Open
• 1962 Haig & Haig Scotch Foursome (with Kathy Whitworth)
• 1963 Tennessee Open
• 1964 Tennessee Open
• 1966 Tennessee Open
• 1969 Tennessee PGA Championship
• 1972 Tennessee Open

• "Rudolph Holds Off Bear". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. August 15, 1966. p. 1-C. 

Note: Rudolph never played in The Open Championship.
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 – 14 (1960 PGA – 1965 PGA)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1964 PGA – 1965 Masters)

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 1957 (winners)

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1971 (winners)