Cary Middlecoff

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Cary Middlecoff
Personal information
Full name Emmett Cary Middlecoff
Nickname Doc
Born January 6, 1921(1921-01-06)
Halls, Tennessee
Died September 1, 1998(1998-09-01) (aged 77)
Memphis, Tennessee
Nationality  United States
Spouse Edith Buck (m. 1947)
Career
College University of Mississippi
University of Tennessee College of Dentistry
Turned professional 1947
Retired 1961
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 41
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 40 (9th all time)
Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 3)
Masters Tournament Won: 1955
U.S. Open Won: 1949, 1956
The Open Championship 14th: 1957
PGA Championship 2nd: 1955
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 1986 (member page)
Vardon Trophy 1956

Emmett Cary Middlecoff (January 6, 1921 – September 1, 1998) was a dentist who gave up his practice to become a professional golfer on the PGA Tour in the 1940s.

Middlecoff was born in Halls, Tennessee. He graduated from Christian Brothers High School. He played collegiate golf at the University of Mississippi (UM) where he was the school's first golf All-American in 1939. As a UM undergraduate and a dental student at the University of Tennessee, Middlecoff won the Tennessee State Amateur Championship for four straight years (1940–1943). After obtaining his DDS degree in 1944, he entered the United States Army Dental Corps during World War II. He won a PGA Tour tournament as an amateur in 1945, and then turned professional in 1947.

During his playing career, Middlecoff won 40 PGA Tour tournaments,[1] including the 1955 Masters and U.S. Open titles in 1949 and 1956. He won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average in 1956. He played on three Ryder Cup teams: 1953, 1955, and 1959.

During the decade of the 1950s, Middlecoff won 28 Tour titles, more than any other player during that span. A tall player with plenty of power and good accuracy, Middlecoff during his best years was also a superb putter. He was known for often taking excessive time to play his shots. Back problems and struggles with his nerves during competition ended his career in the early 1960s, when he was only in his early 40s.

Middlecoff later developed a reputation as one of the best of the early golf television commentators. He also appeared in two motion pictures as himself (Follow the Sun (1950) and The Bellboy (1960)) and wrote a newspaper column, "The Golf Doctor." He also appeared in a short biographical sports documentary Golf Doctor (1947).

In 1986, Middlecoff was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He died of heart disease in Memphis, Tennessee.

Contents

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (40)

(missing one win)[1][2]

Major championships are shown in bold.

Other wins

this list is probably incomplete

Major Championships

Wins (3)

Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin Runner(s) up
1949 U.S. Open 1 shot lead +2 (75-67-69-75=286) 1 stroke United States Clayton Heafner, United States Sam Snead
1955 Masters Tournament 4 shot lead -9 (72-65-72-70=279) 7 strokes United States Ben Hogan
1956 U.S. Open 1 shot lead +1 (71-70-70-70=281) 1 stroke United States Julius Boros, United States Ben Hogan

Results timeline

Tournament 1946 1947 1948 1949
The Masters T12 LA T29 2 T23
U.S. Open DNP CUT T21 1
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
The Masters T7 T12 11 T27 T9 1 3 CUT T6 2
U.S. Open T10 T24 T24 WD T11 T21 1 2 T27 T19
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 14 DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP T5 T17 T3 2 DNP DNP T20 T8
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
The Masters CUT CUT T29 CUT CUT CUT WD CUT CUT WD
U.S. Open T43 CUT CUT CUT DNP DNP WD DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T29 T11 T15 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1970 1971
The Masters CUT WD
U.S. Open DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP

LA = Low Amateur
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "All-Time Records - Top 50 All-Time PGA Tour Winners". PGA TOUR 2007 Guide. PGA Tour. 2006. p. 6-12. 
  2. ^ Barkow, Al (November 1989). The History of the PGA TOUR. Copyright PGA Tour. Doubleday. p. 265. ISBN 0-385-26145-4. 

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