Jimmy Demaret

Jimmy Demaret
Personal information
Full name	James Newton Demaret
Born	May 24, 1910(1910-05-24) Houston, Texas
Died	December 28, 1983 (aged 73) Houston, Texas
Height	5 ft 10.5 in (1.79 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Nationality	United States
Career
College	None
Turned professional	1927
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	34
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	31
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 3)
The Masters	Won: 1940, 1947, 1950
U.S. Open	2nd: 1948
Open Championship	T10: 1954
PGA Championship	T3: 1942, 1946, 1948, 1950
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1983 (member page)
PGA Tour leading money winner	1947
Vardon Trophy	1947

James Newton Demaret (May 24, 1910 – December 28, 1983) was an American professional golfer. He won 31 PGA Tour events in a long career between 1935 and 1957 and was the first three-time winner of the Masters.

Demaret was born in Houston, Texas. He reached his peak in the late 1940s with wins in the Masters in 1947, runner-up to Ben Hogan in the 1948 U.S. Open, and leading money winner and Vardon Trophy winner in 1947. He reached the semifinals of the PGA Championship four times in all but never won. He played on three Ryder Cup teams: 1947, 1949, and 1951. His career declined in the 1950s although he managed several key wins including the 1952 Bing Crosby Pro-Am.

Demaret was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1983. In 2000, he was ranked as the 20th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine.^[1]

Known for his keen sense of humor and colorful outfits, Demaret was one of first Tour pros to become involved in golf broadcasting. After working as a commentator for "All Star Golf" in the early '60s, he replaced George Rogers as co-host for Shell's Wonderful World of Golf along with Gene Sarazen in 1966. Jimmy Demaret was a guest on "I Love Lucy" in the early 1950s. The over-70s groupings on the Senior PGA Tour were named the Friends of Demaret in his honor. He died of a heart attack in Houston, Texas as he was getting ready for a round of golf.

PGA Tour wins (31)

• 1938 (1) San Francisco Match Play
• 1939 (1) Los Angeles Open
• 1940 (6) Oakland Open, Western Open, New Orleans Open, St. Petersburg Open, The Masters, San Francisco Match Play
• 1941 (1) Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan)
• 1946 (3) Tucson Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan), Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan)
• 1947 (6) Tucson Open, St. Petersburg Open, The Masters, Miami Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan), Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan)
• 1948 (3) Albuquerque Open, St. Paul Open, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan)
• 1949 (1) Phoenix Open
• 1950 (3) Ben Hogan Open, The Masters, North Fulton Open
• 1952 (2) Bing Crosby Pro-Am, National Celebrities Open
• 1956 (1) Thunderbird Invitational
• 1957 (3) Thunderbird Invitational, Baton Rouge Open Invitational, Arlington Hotel Open

Major championships are shown in bold.

Source: (Barkow 1989, pp. 266–267)

Other wins

this list may be incomplete

• 1941 Argentine Open, Connecticut Open
• 1943 Michigan PGA Championship

Major Championships

Wins (3)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1940	The Masters	1 shot lead	-8 (67-72-70-71=280)	4 strokes	Lloyd Mangrum
1947	The Masters (2)	3 shot lead	-7 (69-71-70-71=281)	2 strokes	Byron Nelson, Frank Stranahan
1950	The Masters (3)	4 shot deficit	-5 (70-72-72-69=283)	2 strokes	Jim Ferrier

Results timeline

NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF, F = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

See also

• Golfers with most PGA Tour wins

References

1. ^ Yocom, Guy (July 2000). "50 Greatest Golfers of All Time: And What They Taught Us". Golf Digest. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI/is_7_51/ai_63015233. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 

Barkow, Al (1989), The History of the PGA TOUR, Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-26145-4 

External links

• World Golf Hall of Fame profile
• About.com profile
• Jimmy Demaret at Find a Grave