Floyd was born on September 4, 1942, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was raised in Fayetteville. Floyd's father L.B. had a 21-year career in the U.S. Army, much of it at Fort Bragg as the golf pro at its enlisted-men's course. He also owned a nearby driving range where Raymond and younger sister Marlene, a future LPGA Tour pro, honed their games. From an early age, Floyd could play equally well left-handed, and used his skills to enhance his allowance, winning money from soldiers on the course, as well as civilians in nearby towns.[2]
After leaving college, Floyd turned professional in 1961, and quickly established himself on the PGA Tour. His first victory came two years later at age 20 in March 1963 in Florida, winning $3,500 at the St. Petersburg Open Invitational,[5] the first of his 22 wins on the PGA Tour, including four major championships.
Floyd won his first major title six years later at the PGA Championship in 1969,[6] and the second came in 1976 at The Masters, by an eight-stroke margin and was won wire-to-wire.[7] He won his second PGA Championship in 1982, after shooting a brilliant opening round of 63 in sweltering hot conditions at Southern Hills Country Club.[8] Floyd's round of 63 was the lowest round in a major championship until 2017.[9] Floyd finished 1982 ranked second in Mark McCormack's world golf rankings, behind only Tom Watson, who had won two majors that season; had those rankings been calculated over just two seasons, on a par with the system in place at the end of 2012, Floyd would have been ranked world number one in 1982, as he had earned more points from all events in total than Watson in both 1981 and 1982.[citation needed]
Floyd's fourth and final major title came at the U.S. Open in 1986 at Shinnecock Hills.[10] After three rounds, he was tied for fifth place, three shots behind leader Greg Norman,[11] who held the 54-hole lead at all four majors in 1986. Norman faltered on Sunday with a 75 (+5), but Floyd shot 66 to win by two strokes and became the then-oldest U.S. Open champion by a few months at 43 years and 9 months.[10][12] (The record was Ted Ray's since 1920, and is now held by Hale Irwin, a champion at age 45 in 1990.)[13]
The one major title that eluded Floyd, which prevented him from completing the career grand slam, was The Open Championship. His best result was in 1978 at St Andrews; he tied for second place, behind three-time winner Jack Nicklaus.
Floyd came very close to winning a second Green Jacket at the 1990 Masters, where he lost in a playoff to Nick Faldo.[14] On the second playoff hole, Floyd pulled a 7-iron shot into the pond left of the 11th green.[15] Afterward, he said, "This is the most devastating thing that's ever happened to me in my career. I've had a lot of losses, but nothing like this."[16][17]
In 1992, Floyd again finished runner-up at The Masters, two strokes behind the winner Fred Couples. Floyd's final win on the PGA Tour came at the Doral-Ryder Open in 1992 at age 49, making him one of the oldest players to win a PGA Tour event. The Doral-Ryder Open victory also gave him the distinction of winning PGA Tour events in four decades, joining Sam Snead as the second player to achieve that feat. Floyd also won on the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions) later that season, making him the first player to win on both tours in the same year.
At the end of 1992, Floyd was ranked 14th on the Official World Golf Ranking at the age of 50, one of the highest positions ever attained by a player of that age. Floyd's successful run continued on the Senior Tour, with 14 wins between 1992 and 2000, including four senior majors and two Senior Tour Championships.
In addition to Floyd's victories on the PGA and Champions Tours, he won at least 24 additional tournaments around the world, taking his total victory tally to at least 60 events. While active, Floyd was considered by most golf experts to be the best at chipping the golf ball. He holed many shots from just off the green, the most famous may have been at the Doral-Eastern Open in 1980, where his successful birdie chip on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff defeated Jack Nicklaus.[18][19]
On his decision to continue playing professional golf on the Senior Tour, Floyd spoke with Golf Digest and mused aloud: "Why do I enjoy golf after 31 years, going out there and doing things that are necessary to be competitive—having practice, having to work, having to dedicate yourself? I guess it comes down to the competition. My personality...I'm not going to play if I'm not competitive."[20]
Floyd was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989. He captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team at The Belfry in England in 1989. At a gala dinner held before the start of the matches, Floyd famously introduced his American side as "The 12 greatest players in the world."[21][22] This irritated European player Nick Faldo of England, who later said that he felt Floyd's comment was inappropriate.[23]
Floyd was an assistant Ryder Cup captain in 2008. On the eve of the Masters in 2010, Floyd announced his retirement from competitive golf.[24] He was the honoree at Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament in 2013.[25]
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).
Lee Buck Trevino is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and 29 PGA Tour events over the course of his career. He is one of only four players to twice win the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. The Masters Tournament was the only major that eluded him. He is an icon for Mexican Americans, and is often referred to as "the Merry Mex" and "Supermex," both affectionate nicknames given to him by other golfers.
Gary Jim Player DMS, OIG is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine major championships on the Champions Tour. At the age of 29, Player won the 1965 U.S. Open and became the only non-American to win all four majors in a career, known as the career Grand Slam. At the time, he was the youngest player to do this, though Jack Nicklaus (26) and Tiger Woods (24) subsequently broke this record. Player became only the third golfer in history to win the Career Grand Slam, following Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, and only Nicklaus and Woods have performed the feat since. He won over 160 professional tournaments on six continents over seven decades and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first number one ranked player following the creation of the Sony Ranking.
Thomas Sturges Watson is an American retired professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly on the PGA Tour.
Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo, is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his dedication to the game, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for a total of 97 weeks. His 41 professional wins include 30 victories on the European Tour and six major championships: three Open Championships and three Masters.
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 2023 Tournament at 63 years, six months, and five days.
Anthony Jacklin CBE is an English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain from 1983 to 1989; Europe winning two and tying another of these four events.
The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced 44 years ago in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the European Senior Tour. The lower age limit was 55 in 1980, but it was lowered to 50 for the second edition in 1981, which is the standard limit for men's senior professional golf tournaments. By definition, the event is open to amateurs, but has been dominated by professionals; through 2022, all editions have been won by pros. Like other USGA championships, it has been played on many courses throughout the United States.
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The Players Championship is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The Players Championship at one point offered the highest purse of any tournament in golf. The field usually includes the top 50 players in the world rankings, but, unlike the major championships, it is owned by the PGA Tour and not an official event on other tours.
David Knapp Stockton is an American retired professional golfer who has won tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.
The following is a partial timeline of the history of golf.
John Neuman Cook is an American professional golfer, who won eleven times on the PGA Tour and was a member of the Ryder Cup team in 1993. He was ranked in the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking for 45 weeks in 1992 and 1993. Cook currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and is a studio analyst on Golf Channel.
Scott Mabon Hoch is an American professional golfer, who represented his country in the Ryder Cup in 1997 and 2002.
The RBC Heritage, known for much of its history as the Heritage Classic or simply The Heritage, is a PGA Tour event in South Carolina, first played 55 years ago in 1969. It is currently played in mid-April, the week after The Masters in Augusta, Georgia.
The Doral Open was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in the southeastern United States. It was played annually for 45 seasons, from 1962 to 2006, on the "Blue Monster" course at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Doral, Florida, a suburb west of Miami.
The 1979 Masters Tournament was the 43rd Masters Tournament, held April 12–15 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
The 1990 Masters Tournament was the 54th Masters Tournament, held April 5–8 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; # indicates the event was won by an amateur; 1942–1945 cancelled due to World War II
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