Russ Cochran

For other people named Russ Cochran, see Russ Cochran (disambiguation).
Russ Cochran
Personal information
Full name Russell Earl Cochran
Born October 31, 1958 (1958-10-31) (age 53)
Paducah, Kentucky
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Paducah, Kentucky
Career
College University of Kentucky
Turned professional 1979
Current tour(s) Champions Tour
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 6
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 1
Champions Tour 3
Other 2
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament T21: 1993
U.S. Open T33: 1992
The Open Championship T28: 1992
PGA Championship T7: 1992

Russell Earl Cochran (born October 31, 1958) is an American professional golfer on the Champions Tour who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He is one of eight left-handed players to win a PGA Tour event.

Cochran was born, raised and has lived most of his life in Paducah, Kentucky. He grew up playing on Paxton Park Public Golf Course in Paducah, as did fellow PGA Tour player Kenny Perry, who came along a couple years later. After graduating from St. Mary High School in Paducah, he attended the University of Kentucky and was a member of the golf team. He turned pro in 1979 and joined the PGA Tour in 1982.

Cochran has about 60 top-10 finishes in official PGA Tour events including a victory at the 1991 Centel Western Open when he made up seven shots over eight holes to beat Greg Norman.[1] His career year was 1991, when in addition to his win at the Western Open, he had two second-place finishes—including a playoff loss to Craig Stadler at the Tour Championship – and a third and finished 10th on the money list. His best finish in a major was a tie for seventh at the 1992 PGA Championship.[2] Cochran set the Valhalla Golf Club course record (65) in the third round of the 1996 PGA Championship which stood until broken (63) in the same tournament four years later by José María Olazábal. He played some on the Nationwide Tour in his mid-to-late 40s in preparation for the Champions Tour. His best Nationwide finish was a tie for third at the 2003 Chitimacha Louisiana Open.

Cochran debuted on the Champions Tour with a tie for seventh at the Allianz Championship on February 15, 2009, at Boca Raton, Florida. He finished third at the U.S. Senior Open on August 2, 2009, at Carmel, Indiana, setting the Crooked Stick Golf Club course record with a third-round score of 8-under par 64. He ended the year by winning the Rookie of the Year award. In 2010, he earned his first victory on the Champions Tour, defeating Fred Funk on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff in the Posco E&C Songdo Championship in South Korea, and followed that up with another win in the tour's next event, the SAS Championship in North Carolina.

Cochran won his maiden senior major championship at the 2011 Senior British Open Championship at Walton Heath. Cochran finished two strokes ahead of the third round leader Mark Calcavecchia. He shot a final round 67 which included six birdies in the first ten holes to open up a five stroke advantage. Despite a large charge by Calcavecchia, Cochran parred the last four holes and held on for a two stroke victory. Afterwards Cochran claimed having his son on the bag was a factor in his success. "It feels great, I had my son (Reed) on the bag, I told him I was going to work hard and come away with something good and I think he was the lucky charm."[3]

Cochran and his wife, Jackie, have four children: three sons and a daughter. His oldest son, Ryan, played golf at the University of Florida and aspires to play professionally like his father.

Contents

Professional wins (6)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of Victory Runner-up
1 Jul 7, 1991 Centel Western Open -13 (66–72–68–69=275) 2 strokes Greg Norman

Other wins (2)

Champions Tour wins (3)

Legend
Champions Tour major championships (1)
Other Champions Tour (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of Victory Runner-up
1 Sep 12, 2010 Posco E&C Songdo Championship -12 (73–65–66=204) Playoff Fred Funk
2 Sep 26, 2010 SAS Championship -14 (64–67–71=202) 2 strokes Tom Pernice, Jr.
3 Jul 24, 2011 Senior British Open Championship -12 (72–70–67–67=276) 2 strokes Mark Calcavecchia

Results in major championships

Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP T66 DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T10 CUT DNP T28 CUT CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
The Masters DNP DNP CUT T21 T33 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT DNP T33 CUT DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP T28 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship CUT CUT T7 T44 CUT DNP T17 T61 T34 DNP CUT

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin Runner(s)-up
2011 Senior British Open Championship Tied for lead −12 (72–70–67–67=276) 2 strokes Mark Calcavecchia

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2011.

Tournament 2009 2010 2011
The Tradition T41 T18 DNP
Senior PGA Championship T33 T23 DNP
Senior British Open T19 T3 1
U.S. Senior Open 3 T28 T17
Senior Players Championship T41 T5 T15

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

See also

References

  1. ^ Cochran wins Western Open
  2. ^ "Golf Major Championships". http://golfmajorchampionships.com/players?player=700. Retrieved 2008-01-23. 
  3. ^ "Cochran wins Senior British Open Championship". Sky Sports. 2011-07-24. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12176_7060130,00.html. Retrieved 2011-07-25. 

External links

2003 Tom Watson† • 2004 Pete Oakley • 2005 Tom Watson† • 2006 Loren Roberts† • 2007 Tom Watson • 2008 Bruce Vaughan† • 2009 Loren Roberts† • 2010 Bernhard Langer • 2011 Russ Cochran
† indicates the event was won in a playoff