Bruce Crampton

Bruce Crampton
Bruce Crampton
	Crampton with wife Joan and two-years-old son Jay after winning the 1970 Westchester Classic
Personal information
Born	28 September 1935 (age 89); Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Sporting nationality	Australia
Career
Turned professional	1953
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour ; Champions Tour
Professional wins	45
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	14
PGA Tour Champions	20 (Tied-10th all-time)
Other	9 (regular); 2 (senior)
Best results in major championships;
Masters Tournament	T2: 1972
PGA Championship	2nd: 1973, 1975
U.S. Open	2nd: 1972
The Open Championship	T13: 1956
Achievements and awards
Vardon Trophy
Vardon Trophy	1973, 1975
Senior PGA Tour; money list winner	1986

Last updated June 15, 2025

Bruce Crampton (born 28 September 1935) is an Australian professional golfer.

Early life and amateur career

Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953 he reached final of the New South Wales Amateur Championship, losing 5&4 to Harry Berwick.^[1] In October, he led the Lakes Open after two rounds. According to Norman Von Nida, he was "probably" the first amateur in roughly 15 years, since Jim Ferrier, "to lead a big tournament after two rounds." Von Nida also stated that, "Crampton proves my prediction that he would become one of the greatest players Australia has produced."^[2]

Professional career

In 1953, Crampton turned professional, becoming an assistant to Billy McWilliam at Beverley Park in Sydney.^[3] His decision to turn professional came soon after he had been left out of the Australian amateur team to tour Britain in 1954 and play in the Commonwealth Tournament at St Andrews.^[4]

Crampton won the Vardon Trophy for the player with the lowest stroke average on the PGA Tour in 1973 and 1975. He had 14 career wins on the PGA Tour between 1961 and 1975 and was runner up in four major championships – one Masters, one U.S. Open, and two PGA Championships – all to Jack Nicklaus. He was ranked among the top five golfers in the world in both 1972 and 1973, according to Mark McCormack's world golf rankings. His other regular career victories included the Australian Open, New Zealand PGA Championship, Far East Open and the Philippine Open. As a senior, he won 20 times on the Champions Tour, and topped the money list in 1986.

Awards and honors

In 2001, Crampton was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame ^[5]

Professional wins (45)

PGA Tour wins (14)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	23 Jul 1961	Milwaukee Open Invitational	−8 (70-64-67-71=272)	1 stroke	Gay Brewer, Bob Goalby
2	15 Jul 1962	Motor City Open	−17 (66-65-70-66=267)	3 strokes	Dave Hill, Don Massengale
3	26 Apr 1964	Texas Open Invitational	−7 (71-69-68-65=273)	1 stroke	Bob Charles, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
4	24 Jan 1965	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	−3 (75-67-73-69=284)	3 strokes	Tony Lema
5	11 May 1965	Colonial National Invitation	−4 (71-68-71-66=276)	3 strokes	George Knudson
6	30 May 1965	500 Festival Open Invitation	−5 (71-70-67-71=279)	1 stroke	Jacky Cupit, Lionel Hebert
7	9 Nov 1969	Hawaiian Open	−14 (71-71-65-67=274)	4 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
8	2 Aug 1970	Westchester Classic	−15 (67-71-68-67=273)	1 stroke	Larry Hinson, Jack Nicklaus
9	18 Jul 1971	Western Open	−5 (66-73-69-71=279)	2 strokes	Bobby Nichols
10	14 Jan 1973	Phoenix Open	−12 (68-67-68-65=268)	1 stroke	Steve Melnyk, Lanny Wadkins
11	21 Jan 1973	Dean Martin Tucson Open	−11 (70-70-66-71=277)	5 strokes	George Archer, Gay Brewer, Labron Harris Jr.
12	6 May 1973	Houston Open	−11 (72-66-67-72=277)	1 stroke	Dave Stockton
13	24 Jun 1973	American Golf Classic	−7 (70-67-68-68=273)	3 strokes	Gay Brewer, Bob Murphy, Lanny Wadkins
14	4 May 1975	Houston Open (2)	−15 (68-70-66-69=273)	2 strokes	Gil Morgan

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1970	Houston Champions International	Gibby Gilbert	Lost to par on third extra hole
2	1974	B.C. Open	Richie Karl	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Source:^[6]

PGA Tour satellite wins (1)

1968 West End Classic

Other wins (8)

this list may be incomplete

Senior PGA Tour wins (20)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	11 May 1986	Benson & Hedges Invitational	−14 (67-67-68=202)	2 strokes	Bob Charles
2	27 Jul 1986	MONY Syracuse Senior's Pro Golf Classic	−11 (70-65-71=206)	1 stroke	Roberto De Vicenzo, Orville Moody, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
3	17 Jul 1986	GTE Northwest Classic	−6 (77-71-72=210)	2 strokes	Don January, George Lanning
4	21 Sep 1986	PaineWebber World Seniors Invitational	−9 (68-69-72=70=279)	1 stroke	Lee Elder, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
5	26 Oct 1986	Pepsi Senior Challenge	−8 (65-71=136)*	1 stroke	Gary Player
6	9 Nov 1986	Las Vegas Senior Classic	−10 (71-67-68=206)	2 strokes	Dale Douglass
7	23 Nov 1986	Shearson-Lehman Brothers Senior Classic	−16 (65-67-68=200)	4 strokes	Butch Baird
8	31 May 1987	Denver Champions of Golf	−12 (73-64-67=204)	1 stroke	Walt Zembriski
9	6 Jul 1987	The Greenbrier American Express Championship	−16 (63-70-67=200)	6 strokes	Orville Moody
10	19 Jul 1987	MONY Syracuse Senior Classic (2)	−7 (65-67-65=197)	6 strokes	Chi-Chi Rodríguez
11	6 Sep 1987	Bank One Senior Golf Classic	−13 (63-64-70=197)	6 strokes	Miller Barber, Bob Charles, Joe Jimenez
12	15 May 1988	United Hospitals Classic	−5 (71-65-69=205)	Playoff	Billy Casper
13	10 Jul 1988	GTE Northwest Classic (2)	−9 (69-68-70=207)	1 stroke	Don Bies, Bruce Devlin
14	12 Mar 1989	MONY Arizona Classic	−16 (67-64-69=200)	1 stroke	Bobby Nichols
15	23 Jul 1989	Ameritech Senior Open	−11 (70-67-68=205)	1 stroke	Jim Ferree, Orville Moody
16	5 Aug 1990	PaineWebber Invitational (2)	−11 (68-69-68=205)	3 strokes	Tom Shaw
17	14 Oct 1990	Gatlin Brothers Southwest Senior Classic	−12 (67-68-69=204)	4 strokes	Lee Trevino
18	6 Jan 1991	Infiniti Senior Tournament of Champions	−9 (70-69-69-71=279)	4 strokes	Frank Beard
19	8 Mar 1992	GTE West Classic	−15 (66-63-66=195)	3 strokes	Chi-Chi Rodríguez
20	18 May 1997	Cadillac NFL Golf Classic	−6 (76-67-67=210)	Playoff	Hugh Baiocchi

*Note: The 1986 Pepsi Senior Challenge was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1988	United Hospitals Classic	Billy Casper	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1990	GTE North Classic	Mike Hill	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3	1993	PGA Seniors' Championship	Tom Wargo	Lost to par on second extra hole
4	1997	Cadillac NFL Golf Classic	Hugh Baiocchi	Won with birdie on third extra hole

Other senior wins (2)

1987 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Orville Moody)
1988 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Orville Moody)

Results in major championships

Tournament	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament		T21	T26	CUT
U.S. Open			T19	CUT
The Open Championship	T13	T39	T34
PGA Championship

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	T16	CUT	T29	T11	T21	T11	T17	T49		T13
U.S. Open	T38	T22	T45	T5	T14	T32	T57		T46	T6
The Open Championship
PGA Championship			T17	T3	T56	T20	T43	T26	T23	T15

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976
Masters Tournament	T38	T18	T2	T43	T11	CUT	27
U.S. Open	T30	T49	2	CUT	T23		CUT
The Open Championship				T18	CUT
PGA Championship	T6	T57	T24	2	T48	2	T38

Top 10

Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	1	0	1	1	10	19	16
U.S. Open	1	0	2	3	7	17	14
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	2	5	4
PGA Championship	2	1	3	4	9	15	15
Totals	4	1	6	8	28	56	49

Most consecutive cuts made – 33 (1961 U.S. Open – 1973 Masters)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Team appearances

Amateur

Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing New South Wales): 1953

Professional

World Cup (representing Australia): 1957, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1972
Slazenger Trophy (representing British Commonwealth and Empire): 1956
Vicars Shield (representing New South Wales): 1956 (winners)

References

↑ "Berwick's first N.S.W. title". The Sun (Sydney) . No. 2625. New South Wales, Australia. 16 August 1953. p. 31. Retrieved 17 February 2021– via National Library of Australia.
↑ "Oct 16, 1953, page 44 - The Daily Telegraph at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
↑ "Crampton now pro". The Sun (Sydney) . No. 13644. New South Wales, Australia. 2 November 1953. p. 27. Retrieved 17 February 2021– via National Library of Australia.
↑ "Turn pro' advices Von Nida". The Daily Telegraph . Vol. XVIII, no. 186. New South Wales, Australia. 26 October 1953. p. 20. Retrieved 17 February 2021– via National Library of Australia.
↑ "Bruce Crampton". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
↑ "Bruce Crampton PGA TOUR Player Profile, Stats, Bio, Career". www.pgatour.com. Retrieved 14 June 2025.

External links

Media related to Bruce Crampton at Wikimedia Commons
Bruce Crampton at the PGA Tour official site
Bruce Crampton at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame

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[1] "Berwick's first N.S.W. title". The Sun (Sydney) . No. 2625. New South Wales, Australia. 16 August 1953. p. 31. Retrieved 17 February 2021– via National Library of Australia.

[2] "Oct 16, 1953, page 44 - The Daily Telegraph at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 22 July 2024.

[3] "Crampton now pro". The Sun (Sydney) . No. 13644. New South Wales, Australia. 2 November 1953. p. 27. Retrieved 17 February 2021– via National Library of Australia.

[4] "Turn pro' advices Von Nida". The Daily Telegraph . Vol. XVIII, no. 186. New South Wales, Australia. 26 October 1953. p. 20. Retrieved 17 February 2021– via National Library of Australia.

[5] "Bruce Crampton". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.

[6] "Bruce Crampton PGA TOUR Player Profile, Stats, Bio, Career". www.pgatour.com. Retrieved 14 June 2025.

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