Harry Cooper (golfer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 PGA Tour wins (31)
2 Results in major championships
3 See also
4 External links

Harry E. Cooper (August 6, 1904 – October 17, 2000) was a prominent PGA Tour golfer of the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in the town of Leatherhead, England. His father was a professional golfer who had served as an apprentice to Old Tom Morris at St. Andrews. Cooper's family moved to Texas when Cooper was young, and his father took a job as a club professional in Dallas.

A perennial U.S. Open contender (with seven top-10 finishes and second place in 1927 and 1936), "Lighthorse Harry", as he was nicknamed, also placed second in the 1936 and 1938 Masters as well as reaching the semi-finals of the 1925 PGA Championship. In all, he finished 19 times in the top-10 at major championships.

In the 1936 U.S. Open at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, Cooper was involved in a highly controversial match with Tony Manero, who was suspected of cheating. Manero defeated Harry Cooper by two shots to win the tournament. In later years, Cooper would say that he had a mental hangup during major tournaments and couldn't picture himself in the winner's circle. His greatest successes were across the border, as he won the Canadian Open in 1932 and 1937. Cooper won 31 PGA Tour titles in all and the inaugural Vardon Trophy in 1937. Subsequently was active as a senior golfer, placing sixth in the 1955 Senior PGA Championship. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.

Harry Cooper was classified as the greatest golfer who never won a major tournament, and he is the only golfer in the PGA Hall of Fame who does not have a major title to his credit. After his PGA tour career ended, he became the head professional at the Metropolis Country Club in Greenburgh, NY. He held that position for many years. Following his retirement from Metropolis, he took a teaching position at Westchester Country Club in Rye, NY, where he remained until his death. Harry Cooper was remarkable for his ability to work in the golf industry into his nineties.

In the 1960s and 1970s, he was the Director of Golf on the Oceanic Cruise Liner, which sailed between New York City and the Caribbean during the Christmas season.

Harry Cooper's unmarked grave in Kensico Cemetery

Harry Cooper had no children. He died in a hospital in White Plains, New York at the age of 96. He is interred with his wife Emma in an unmarked grave in the Kensico Gardens Section of the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.

[edit] PGA Tour wins (31)

1923 Texas Open
1924 Texas Open
1926 Los Angeles Open, Del Monte Open
1929 Western N.Y. PGA, Medinah Open, Oklahoma Open, Shawnee Open
1930 Pasadena Open, St. Paul Open
1932 Canadian Open, Tri-State Open
1933 Illinois Open
1934 Western Open, Illinois Open, Illinois PGA Championship
1935 St. Paul Open, Medinah Open, Illinois Open
1936 St. Paul Open, Florida West Coast Open
1937 Los Angeles Open, Houston Open, St. Petersburg Open, Canadian Open, True Temper Open, Oakland Open, Crescent City Open, New Orleans Open
1939 Goodall Round Robin Invitational
1942 Bing Crosby Pro-Am

[edit] Results in major championships

Tournament	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929
The Masters	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	2	CUT	T51
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T17	DNP	T3	T17	T9	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
The Masters	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	WD	T25	2	4	T2	T33
U.S. Open	4	T15	T7	T29	T3	T28	2	4	T3	T12
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T9	DNP	DNP	T9	T9	T33	T9	T5	T33	T33

Tournament	1940	1941	1942
The Masters	T4	T14	T18
U.S. Open	CUT	DNP	NT
The Open Championship	NT	NT	NT
PGA Championship	T33	DNP	T5

NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10