Jim Ferrier

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Jim Ferrier
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name	James Bennett Elliott Ferrier
Born	(1915-02-24)24 February 1915 Sydney, Australia
Died	13 June 1986(1986-06-13) (aged 71) Burbank, California, U.S.^[1]
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	192 lb (87 kg; 13.7 st)
Nationality	Australia United States
Spouse	Norma K. Jennings Ferrier (m. 1938–79, her death) Lorraine R. (Devirian) Sheldon^[1] (m. 1980–86, his death)
Career
Turned professional	1941^[2]^[3]
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	30
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	18
PGA Tour of Australasia	10
Other	2
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	2nd: 1950
U.S. Open	T5: 1950
The Open Championship	T44: 1936
PGA Championship	Won: 1947
British Amateur	2nd: 1936

James Bennett Elliott Ferrier (24 February 1915 – 13 June 1986)^[1] was an Australian professional golfer from Manly, New South Wales. He won the PGA Championship in 1947. Ferrier became an American citizen in 1944.

Early years

Ferrier was born in Sydney, Australia. He was taught golf as a youth by his father, a low handicap player. Ferrier injured a leg playing soccer in his teens, and he had to contend with a severe limp for the rest of his life.^[4] Ferrier was playing to a scratch handicap by his mid-teens, when he left school to be able to play more golf. He was runner-up in the 1931 Australian Open at the age of sixteen. He won the Australian Amateur title in 1935, 1936, 1938 and 1939. He was also victorious in the Australian Open as an amateur in 1938 and 1939, and won several other significant Australian events. He was runner-up in the British Amateur at St Andrews in 1936. Ferrier worked as a golf reporter and writer for several Australian publications.^[5]

Joins PGA Tour

In 1940, Ferrier went to the United States as a golf journalist,^[6] but was not allowed to qualify for the U.S. Amateur, due to a golf manual published earlier in the year that he was contracted to receive royalties from.^[7]^[8] He turned professional in 1941 and joined the PGA Tour as a club pro based in Elmhurst, Illinois.^[2]^[3] He and his wife Norma worked in defense industry jobs during World War II; this was part of conditions to become American citizens.^[5] He served in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1945, rising to the rank of staff sergeant.^[1] While stationed in the artillery at Camp Roberts, California,^[9] he gained his first tour victory at the Oakland Open in December 1944, a week after a runner-up finish to Byron Nelson in San Francisco.^[10]^[11]

Ferrier's most significant win came at the PGA Championship in 1947, one of golf's four major championships. He was the first Australian to win a major, and at the time this gave him a lifetime exemption to PGA Tour events. The previous year, he was the medalist in the stroke play qualifier and set the scoring record.^[12]

At the 1950 Masters, Ferrier led Jimmy Demaret by three shots with six holes to play, but finished two strokes back as the runner-up. He scored 16 of his 18 PGA titles between 1947 and 1952, with a peak of five wins in 1951. Ferrier's other significant victories included consecutive Canadian Open titles in 1950 and 1951. He was also runner-up in the 1960 PGA Championship at age 45, and was renowned as an outstanding putter.

In June 1954, Ferrier appeared on the television game show You Bet Your Life hosted by Groucho Marx, of Marx Brothers fame. Paired with Marilyn Pierce, a dog trainer and former model, he showed a conservative betting style and great charm, as evidenced by this short exchange with Groucho:

Groucho: "I play golf too, you know. What is your handicap, Jim?"

Ferrier: "Well, as a pro, I don't have a handicap."

Groucho: "Well congratulations. How is it a tall, handsome man like you isn't married?"

Ferrier: "I'm married. I have a wife."

Groucho: "You just said you didn't have a handicap. Haven't you got the same handicap that fifty million other men have?"

Ferrier: "Well, I don't consider my wife a handicap."

Later years

In his later years, Ferrier stirred some controversy by appearing in PGA Tour events when he was well past his prime, and was no longer competitive, thereby depriving younger players of spots in the playing field. However, Ferrier was within his rights to do this, as he had earned a lifetime Tour exemption with his 1947 PGA Championship win. The eligibility rules were later tightened up. The Champions Tour, which began in the late 1970s, came about a decade too late for him to compete effectively. Ferrier has not yet been inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame, but his career achievements are comparable or even superior to those of Tommy Bolt, a Hall member born in 1916, who played on the PGA Tour during approximately the same era as Ferrier.

Ferrier died in Burbank, California, in 1986 at the age of 71.^[1]

Professional wins (30)

PGA Tour wins (18)

1944 (1) Oakland Open
1947 (2) St. Paul Open, PGA Championship
1948 (1) Miami International Four-Ball (with Cary Middlecoff)
1949 (3) Grand Rapids Open, Kansas City Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Cary Middlecoff)
1950 (3) St. Paul Open, Canadian Open, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Sam Snead)
1951 (5) St. Petersburg Open, Miami Beach Open, Jacksonville Open, Canadian Open, Fort Wayne Open
1952 (2) Empire State Open, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Sam Snead)
1961 (1) Almaden Open Invitational

Major championship is shown in bold.

Australasian Tour wins (10)

Note: all wins as an amateur

1933 New South Wales Open
1934 Queensland Open
1935 New South Wales Open
1936 New South Wales Open
1937 New South Wales Open
1938 Australian Open, New South Wales Open, Queensland Open
1939 Australian Open, Queensland Open

Other wins (2)

1944 Northern California Open
1945 Northern California Open

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Runner-up
1947	PGA Championship	2 & 1	Chick Harbert

Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958

Results timeline

Tournament	1936	1937	1938	1939
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	T44	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Amateur Championship	2	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949
Masters Tournament	26	T29	T15	NT	NT	NT	T4	T6	T4	T16
U.S. Open	T29	T30	NT	NT	NT	NT	CUT	T6	CUT	T23
The Open Championship	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	NT	DNP	DNP	R16	1	R32	SF

Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament	2	7	T3	T15	WD	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T5	CUT	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	R32	R16	R32	R32	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T38

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	T5	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT	T22	DNP	DNP	CUT	WD	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	2	T45	T39	7	T56	CUT	T49	T64	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	WD

NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	1	1	5	7	10	15	12
U.S. Open	0	0	0	1	2	4	13	6
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
PGA Championship	1	1	1	3	6	10	22	16
Totals	1	2	2	9	15	24	51	35

Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (twice)
Longest streak of top-10s – 5 (1946 PGA – 1948 Masters)

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Stoddart, Brian. "Ferrier, James Bennett Elliott (Jim) (1915–1986)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
↑ 2.0 2.1 "Dawson and Ferrier meet in golf finals". Evening Independent (St. Petersburg, Florida). Associated Press. 17 January 1941. p. 16.
↑ 3.0 3.1 Snider, Steve (20 July 1941). "Ben Hogan tops Chicago golf". Eugene Register-Guard. United Press. p. 13.
↑ Sampson, Curt (1992). The Eternal Summer. Taylor Publishing. p. 191. ASIN B000M1PWB4.
↑ 5.0 5.1 Barkow, Al (1986). Gettin' to the Dance Floor. Atheneum. ISBN 978-0689115172.
↑ Witwer, Stan (21 December 1940). "Jim Ferrier displays links skill". St. Petersburg Times. p. 13.
↑ Snider, Steve (27 August 1940). "USGA bars Big Jim Ferrier from Amateur tournament". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 21.
↑ McLemore, Henry (13 September 1940). "Jim Ferrier still best amateur". Calgary Herald. United Press. p. 6.
↑ "Jim Ferrier leads Byron by stroke". St. Petersburg Times. United Press. 4 December 1944. p. 9.
↑ Wood, Hall (11 December 1944). "Jim Ferrier hottest thing in golf pants". Oxnard Press-Courier. p. 2.
↑ "Ferrier victor in open golf". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. 11 December 1944. p. 3.
↑ "Ferrier blasts new golf mark". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. 21 August 1946. p. 10.

External links

Sport Australia Hall of Fame – Jim Ferrier
Australian Dictionary of Biography – Jim Ferrier
Jim Ferrier at Find a Grave

v t e PGA Championship champions

Match play era	1916 Jim Barnes 1917–18 Cancelled due to World War I 1919 Jim Barnes 1920 Jock Hutchison 1921 Walter Hagen 1922 Gene Sarazen 1923 Gene Sarazen 1924 Walter Hagen 1925 Walter Hagen 1926 Walter Hagen 1927 Walter Hagen 1928 Leo Diegel 1929 Leo Diegel 1930 Tommy Armour 1931 Tom Creavy 1932 Olin Dutra 1933 Gene Sarazen 1934 Paul Runyan 1935 Johnny Revolta 1936 Denny Shute 1937 Denny Shute 1938 Paul Runyan 1939 Henry Picard 1940 Byron Nelson 1941 Vic Ghezzi 1942 Sam Snead 1943 Cancelled due to World War II 1944 Bob Hamilton 1945 Byron Nelson 1946 Ben Hogan 1947 Jim Ferrier 1948 Ben Hogan 1949 Sam Snead 1950 Chandler Harper 1951 Sam Snead 1952 Jim Turnesa 1953 Walter Burkemo 1954 Chick Harbert 1955 Doug Ford 1956 Jack Burke, Jr. 1957 Lionel Hebert

Stroke play era	1958 Dow Finsterwald 1959 Bob Rosburg 1960 Jay Hebert 1961 Jerry Barber† 1962 Gary Player 1963 Jack Nicklaus 1964‡ Bobby Nichols 1965 Dave Marr 1966 Al Geiberger 1967 Don January† 1968 Julius Boros 1969‡ Raymond Floyd 1970 Dave Stockton 1971 Jack Nicklaus 1972 Gary Player 1973 Jack Nicklaus 1974 Lee Trevino 1975 Jack Nicklaus 1976 Dave Stockton 1977 Lanny Wadkins† 1978 John Mahaffey† 1979 David Graham† 1980 Jack Nicklaus 1981 Larry Nelson 1982‡ Raymond Floyd 1983‡ Hal Sutton 1984 Lee Trevino 1985 Hubert Green 1986 Bob Tway 1987 Larry Nelson† 1988 Jeff Sluman 1989 Payne Stewart 1990 Wayne Grady 1991 John Daly 1992 Nick Price 1993 Paul Azinger† 1994 Nick Price 1995 Steve Elkington† 1996 Mark Brooks† 1997 Davis Love III 1998 Vijay Singh 1999 Tiger Woods 2000‡ Tiger Woods† 2001 David Toms 2002 Rich Beem 2003 Shaun Micheel 2004 Vijay Singh† 2005 Phil Mickelson 2006 Tiger Woods 2007 Tiger Woods 2008 Pádraig Harrington 2009 Y. E. Yang 2010 Martin Kaymer† 2011 Keegan Bradley† 2012 Rory McIlroy 2013 Jason Dufner

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire

Persondata
Name	Ferrier, Jim
Alternative names	Ferrier, James B.
Short description	Professional golfer
Date of birth	24 February 1915
Place of birth	Sydney, Australia
Date of death	13 June 1986
Place of death	Burbank, California

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