Gary McCord

Last updated
Gary McCord
Gary Mccord.jpg
McCord in October 2008
Personal information
Full nameGary Dennis McCord
Born (1948-05-23) May 23, 1948 (age 75)
San Gabriel, California
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Residence Paradise Valley, Arizona
Edwards, Colorado
SpouseDiane
ChildrenKrista
Career
College UC Riverside
Turned professional1971
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins3
Number of wins by tour
Korn Ferry Tour1
PGA Tour Champions2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
PGA Championship T54: 1984
U.S. Open DNP
The Open Championship DNP

Gary Dennis McCord (born May 23, 1948) is an American professional golfer, commentator and author.

Contents

Early life and amateur career

McCord was born in San Gabriel, California, and raised in southern California, graduating from Ramona High School in Riverside. He was a two-time Division II All-American for the UC Riverside Highlanders of the University of California, Riverside. [1] He won the NCAA Division II individual championship in 1970 [2]

Professional career

In 1971, McCord turned professional. He played in over 400 PGA Tour events but never won. [3] His best two finishes on the PGA Tour were at the Greater Milwaukee Open, placing second in both 1975 and 1977. During his years on tour, he had two dozen top-10 finishes. [3]

One year in his career won the PGA Tour category of "Fewest Putts." He helped reach this benchmark by, late in the season, deliberately missing the green and then chipping close to ensure few putts. [4]

McCord was involved in an embarrassing episode during the 1984 FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis. When lining up a putt on the 15th green, McCord's pants split open, exposing his backside as he was not wearing any underwear. McCord wrapped a towel around his midriff and went off to find a replacement pair of pants. Eventually Peter Jacobsen offered McCord his rain pants for a "fee" of $20. [5]

Broadcasting career

At age 37 in 1986, McCord joined CBS Sports as a golf analyst. He was noted for his outspokenness and irreverence, traits that got him banished from the CBS commentary team for the Masters Tournament.

During the network's Masters coverage in 1994, McCord remarked that the 17th green was so fast it seemed to be "bikini-waxed", and that "body bags" were located behind the green for players who missed their approach shots. Several months later, Augusta National Golf Club used its influence with CBS to have him removed from the Masters commentary team. [6] [7] While McCord continued to cover every other golf event aired by CBS, he did not return to Augusta with the network. He was not the first CBS commentator to be banned: Jack Whitaker referred to the gallery at the end of the 18-hole playoff in 1966 as a "mob" rather than "patrons" and was banned for the next five Masters; he was allowed to return in 1972. [8]

After 33 years, McCord was not brought back for CBS’s 2020 golf broadcast team.

McCord also plays a limited schedule on the Champions Tour. After turning 50 in May 1998, he won his first title at the Toshiba Senior Classic in March 1999, and also won that year's Ingersoll-Rand Senior Tour Championship. Back in 1991, he won the Gateway Open on the Ben Hogan Tour, the second-tier golf tour in the U.S., now called the Korn Ferry Tour.

McCord has also written two books, Just a Range Ball in a Box of Titleists and Golf for Dummies. In 1996, he appeared as himself in the Kevin Costner movie Tin Cup , a movie he says is based on his life. [9] He and fellow former CBS commentator Peter Kostis are partners in the Kostis/McCord Learning Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. McCord formerly served as a co-announcer on the EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour series [10] along with David Feherty.

Personal life

McCord lives with his wife, Diane, in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and Edwards, Colorado.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (3)

Ben Hogan Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runners-up
1Mar 30, 1991 Ben Hogan Gateway Open 67-69-69=205−115 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Tom Garner, Flag of the United States.svg Paul Trittler,
Flag of the United States.svg Rocky Walcher

Senior PGA Tour wins (2)

Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other Senior PGA Tour (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runners-up
1Mar 14, 1999 Toshiba Senior Classic 65-68-69=204−9Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Allen Doyle, Flag of the United States.svg Al Geiberger,
Flag of the United States.svg John Jacobs
2Nov 7, 1999 Ingersoll-Rand Senior Tour Championship 71-74-64-67=276−121 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Fleisher, Flag of the United States.svg Larry Nelson

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1999 Toshiba Senior Classic Flag of the United States.svg Allen Doyle, Flag of the United States.svg Al Geiberger,
Flag of the United States.svg John Jacobs
Won with birdie on fifth extra hole
Doyle and Geiberger eliminated by eagle on first hole
2 2000 LiquidGolf.com Invitational Flag of the United States.svg J. C. Snead, Flag of the United States.svg Tom Wargo Wargo won with birdie on third extra hole
Snead eliminated by par on first hole
3 2002 Turtle Bay Championship Flag of the United States.svg Hale Irwin Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament19801981198219831984
PGA Championship CUTCUTT54

Note: McCord only played in the PGA Championship.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masters Tournament</span> Golf tournament held in Augusta, Georgia, United States

The Masters Tournament is one of the four men's major golf championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the first major golf tournament of the year. Unlike the other major tournaments, the Masters is always held at the same location: Augusta National Golf Club, a private course in the city of Augusta, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Nicklaus</span> American professional golfer (born 1940)

Jack William Nicklaus, nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be either the greatest or one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tournaments in his career. Over a quarter-century, he won a record 18 major championships, three more than second-placed Tiger Woods. Nicklaus focused on the major championships—the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship—and played a selective schedule of regular PGA Tour events. He competed in 164 major tournaments, more than any other player, and finished with 73 PGA Tour victories, third behind Sam Snead (82) and Woods (82).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Furyk</span> American professional golfer

James Michael Furyk is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. In 2010, he was the FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year. He has won one major championship, the 2003 U.S. Open. Furyk holds the record for the lowest score in PGA Tour history, a round of 58 which he shot during the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship, and has earned notoriety for his unorthodox golf swing.

Donald Ray January was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the 1967 PGA Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Couples</span> American professional golfer

Frederick Steven Couples is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament in 1992, and the Players Championship in 1984 and 1996. Couples became the oldest person to make the cut in the Masters Tournament history during the Tournament's 87th edition at 63 years, six months, and five days.

CBS Sports is the sports broadcasting division of American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studios 43 and 44 of the CBS Broadcast Center on W 57th Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Nantz</span> American sportscaster

James William Nantz III is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA, and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has anchored CBS's coverage of the Masters Tournament since 1989 and been the lead play-by-play announcer on CBS's NFL coverage since 2004. He was also the lead broadcaster for the NCAA men's basketball tournament from 1990 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Feherty</span> Professional golfer, broadcaster, writer

David William Feherty is a Northen Irish-born former professional golfer and current golf broadcaster. As a touring professional he won five European Tour events, competed at the Open Championship twice, and played on Europe's 1991 Ryder Cup team. Late in his career he joined the PGA Tour. Since retiring, he has worked as a television personality; from 1997 through 2015 Feherty served as an on-course reporter for the PGA Tour on CBS. In 2011, he introduced a self-titled interview series on the Golf Channel and subsequently joined NBC Sports full-time in 2016. In July 2022, it was announced that Feherty would depart NBC and become an analyst for LIV Golf.

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

Allen Lee Geiberger Sr. is an American former professional golfer.

Hubert Myatt Green was an American professional golfer. Green won 19 PGA Tour events including two major championships: the 1977 U.S. Open and the 1985 PGA Championship. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Murphy (golfer)</span> American professional golfer (born 1943)

Robert Joseph Murphy Jr. is an American professional golfer who was formerly a member of the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour. Murphy has won 21 tournaments as a professional.

William (Billy) Ray Brown is a former American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1980s and 1990s, and a current on course reporter for Golf Channel and commentator for CBS Sports.

PGA Tour on CBS is the branding used for broadcasts of the PGA Tour that are produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States.

Golf on USA is the umbrella title for USA Network's coverage of the PGA Tour and other golf events. in the United States. USA Network's own coverage of the PGA Tour ended after the 2006 season. USA also covered the early rounds of The Masters Tournament from 1982 until 2007. The network also carried the Ryder Cup Matches regularly from 1989 until 2006, as well as overflow coverage in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of golf</span> Overview of and topical guide to golf

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to golf:

This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2019.

The PGA Tour's broadcast television rights are held by CBS Sports and NBC Sports, under contracts most recently renewed in 2021 to last through 2030. While it considered invoking an option to opt out of its broadcast television contracts in 2017, the PGA Tour ultimately decided against doing so. Golf Channel has served as the pay television rightsholder of the PGA Tour since 2007, and its current contract will also expire in 2021. Under the contracts, CBS broadcasts weekend coverage for an average of 20 events per-season, and NBC broadcasts weekend coverage for an average of 10 events per-season. Golf Channel broadcasts early-round and weekend morning coverage of all events, as well as weekend coverage of events not broadcast on terrestrial television, and primetime encores of all events. Tournaments typically featured in NBC's package include marquee events such as The Players Championship, the final three tournaments of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and the biennial Presidents Cup event. The 2011 contract granted more extensive digital rights, as well as the ability for NBC to broadcast supplemental coverage of events on Golf Channel during its broadcast windows.

References

  1. "Chancellor To Present Gary McCord With Alumni Award Of Distinction" . Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  2. "NCAA History - Division II Champions". NCAA. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Gary McCord – Profile". PGATour. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  4. Yocum, Guy (August 31, 2015). "My Shot: Peter Oosterhuis". Golf Digest. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  5. Zullo, Allan and Rodell, Chris, "Golf is a Funny Game", Andrew McMeels Publishing, Forest Fairview, North Carolina, 2008.
  6. "McCord wants Masters return". Rome News-Tribune. Rome, GA. Associated Press. September 9, 1994. p. 5B.
  7. "History of the Masters golf tournament on TV (1956–present)". Classic Sports TV and Media. April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  8. Rothenberg, Fred (April 12, 1979). "Jack Whitaker's welcome now". Boca Raton News. Associated Press. p. 2B.
  9. "Gary McCord interview sneak peek - Feherty 2012".
  10. "Game Info". EA Sports. Retrieved July 5, 2010.