Charles Coe
Charles Coe | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Full name | Charles Robert Coe |
Nickname | Bucket |
Born |
Ardmore, Oklahoma | October 26, 1923
Died |
May 16, 2001 77) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | (aged
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] |
Weight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st)[1] |
Nationality | United States |
Spouse | Elizabeth Coe (m. 1948-2001) |
Children | Charles, Jr., Ross, Ward |
Career | |
College | University of Oklahoma |
Status | Amateur |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | T2: 1961 |
U.S. Open | T13: 1958 |
The Open Championship | DNP |
PGA Championship | DNP |
Achievements and awards | |
Bob Jones Award | 1964 |
Charles Robert "Charlie" Coe (October 26, 1923 – May 16, 2001) was an American amateur golfer who is considered by many to be one of the greatest amateurs in history.[2] A two-time U.S. Amateur winner, Coe never turned professional, instead choosing to spend time with his wife and family. He had a successful career in the oil business.
Born in Ardmore, Oklahoma,[1] Coe served as a pilot during World War II,[3] and later attended the University of Oklahoma from 1946-48. He won the Big Seven Conference championship all three years.[4] Member of the Gamma Phi Chapter of Beta Theta Pi.
Coe won the U.S. Amateur in 1949, beating Rufus King 11 & 10 in the finals, and won it again in 1958 with a 5 & 4 victory over Tommy Aaron. He finished runner-up to Jack Nicklaus in the 1959 tournament. Coe won the Western Amateur in 1950, and made the finals of the British Amateur in 1951, losing to Dick Chapman. He won four Trans-Mississippi Amateurs (1947, 1949, 1952, and 1956). He played on six Walker Cup teams from 1949 to 1963, including playing captain on the 1959 team, and was non-playing captain on a seventh team in 1957.
Coe made 19 Masters Tournament appearances and owns almost every Masters amateur record, including most cuts made (15); top-24 finishes (9); top-10 finishes (3); eagles (6), rounds played (67) and most times low amateur (6).[5] Coe won low amateur honors at Augusta in four consecutive decades: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He also holds the amateur records for best finish (2nd in 1961), lowest third round score (67 in 1959), and lowest 72-hole score (281 in 1961).[6] In 1961, Coe rallied in the final round from six shots down to finish one stroke behind Gary Player.
In 1964, Coe received the Bob Jones Award, given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. Coe was posthumously named an honoree at the 2006 Memorial Tournament. When he died, the Rocky Mountain News quoted a Castle Pines golf club member saying, "Charlie Coe was an amateur at everything except life."
The Charlie Coe Golf Center at the University of Oklahoma is named in his honor. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1987. Coe died on May 16, 2001 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Amateur wins (7)
this list is probably incomplete
- 1947 Trans-Mississippi Amateur
- 1949 U.S. Amateur, Trans-Mississippi Amateur
- 1950 Western Amateur
- 1952 Trans-Mississippi Amateur
- 1956 Trans-Mississippi Amateur
- 1958 U.S. Amateur
Major championships
Amateur wins (2)
Year | Championship | Winning Score | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|
1949 | U.S. Amateur | 11 & 10 | Rufus King |
1958 | U.S. Amateur | 5 & 4 | Tommy Aaron |
Results timeline
Tournament | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | T16 LA |
U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP |
U.S. Amateur | R128 | SF | 1 |
British Amateur | DNP | DNP | DNP |
Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T32 | T12 LA | T46 | T16 | T20 | T32 | DNP | CUT | T23 | 6 LA |
U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T13 LA | T38 |
U.S. Amateur | R32 | QF | R16 | R64 | R256 | R256 | R16 | R32 | 1 | 2 |
British Amateur | DNP | 2 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | R64 |
Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T39 | T2 LA | T9 LA | T37 | CUT | CUT | T50 | DNP | DNP | DNP |
U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
U.S. Amateur | R64 | R64 | R256 | SF | DNP | – | – | – | – | – |
British Amateur | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Tournament | 1970 | 1971 |
---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T23 LA | CUT |
U.S. Open | DNP | DNP |
Note: Coe never played in The Open Championship nor the PGA Championship.
LA = Low amateur
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
Source for The Masters: www.masters.com
Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database
Source for 1959 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1959, pg. 9.
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
- Walker Cup: 1949 (winners), 1951 (winners), 1953 (winners), 1957 (non-playing captain) 1959 (winners, playing captain), 1961 (winners), 1963 (winners)
- Eisenhower Trophy: 1958
References
- 1 2 3 Elliott, Len; Kelly, Barbara (1976). Who's Who in Golf. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House. p. 38. ISBN 0-87000-225-2.
- ↑ "Amateur golfer Charlie Coe dies at 77". http://www.newsok.com. Retrieved 19 March 2015. External link in
|publisher=
(help) - ↑ Coe, Charles R. Obituary
- ↑ "Former U.S. Amateur champ Coe dies at 77". CNN.
- ↑ SoonerSports.com. Coe Golf Center Archived August 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.. University of Oklahoma. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
- ↑ "Masters Golf Tournament Records". Archived from the original on 2006-10-22.
External links
- Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame profile
- Article on Coe at the Masters
- Charlie Coe Golf Learning Center at the University of Oklahoma
- Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Coe, Charles Robert (1923-2001)
- 1951 British Amateur film clip