Billy Casper

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Billy Casper is also the name of the protagonist of A Kestrel for a Knave.

Contents

William Earl "Billy" Casper (born June 24, 1931) is an American golfer who was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s. He was born in San Diego, California. Between 1964 and 1970 Casper won 27 tournaments on the PGA Tour which was more than legends Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player during that time period according to the World Golf Hall of Fame. He won 51 times in his career, captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1979 and was considered the best putter of his era by many. After his professional career he has been a designer for many golf courses such as The Highlands, The Palm and Eagle Crest in Sun City Summerlin, Nevada.

Casper, a Mormon, and his wife have 11 children. One of his sons, David, is serving a sentence of life-without-parole in a Nevada prison.

[edit] Career summary

Casper's principal achievements include:

[edit] PGA Tour wins (51)

Major championships are shown in bold.

[edit] Champions Tour wins (9)

Senior major championship is shown in bold.

[edit] Other wins (2)

This list is incomplete.

[edit] Major Championships

[edit] Wins (3)

Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin of Victory Runners Up
1959 U.S. Open 3 shot lead -2 (71-68-69-74=282) 1 stroke United States Bob Rosburg
1966 U.S. Open (2) 3 shot deficit -2 (69-68-73-68=278) Playoff 1 United States Arnold Palmer
1970 Masters 1 shot lead -9 (72-68-68-71=279) Playoff 2 United States Gene Littler

1 Defeated Arnold Palmer in 18-hole playoff - Casper (69), Palmer (73)
2 Defeated Gene Littler in 18-hole playoff - Casper (69), Littler (74)

[edit] Results timeline

Tournament 1956 1957 1958 1959
The Masters DNP T16 T20 CUT
U.S. Open T14 CUT T13 1
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP 2 T17
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
The Masters 4 T7 T15 T11 T5 T35 T10 T24 T16 T2
U.S. Open T12 T17 CUT DNP 4 T17 1 4 T9 T40
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 4 T25
PGA Championship T24 T15 T51 DNP T9 T2 T3 19 T6 T35
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
The Masters 1 T13 T17 T17 T37 6 8 T14 CUT 43
U.S. Open T8 CUT T11 CUT CUT DNP CUT DNP T30 DNP
The Open Championship T17 T7 T40 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T18 2 T4 T35 T63 T5 T51 T31 CUT CUT
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Masters CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT T57 CUT T50 CUT CUT
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship CUT DNP T67 CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Masters CUT CUT DNP CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT WD
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
The Masters WD CUT DNP DNP DNP WD
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP

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

[edit] See also

[edit] External link

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