Charles Coe

Charles Coe
Personal information
Full name Charles Robert Coe
Nickname Bucket
Born (1923-10-26)October 26, 1923
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Died May 16, 2001(2001-05-16) (aged 77)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
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

Major championships

Amateur wins (2)

YearChampionshipWinning ScoreRunner-up
1949 U.S. Amateur 11 & 10 United States Rufus King
1958 U.S. Amateur 5 & 4 United States 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

References

  1. 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.
  2. "Amateur golfer Charlie Coe dies at 77". http://www.newsok.com. Retrieved 19 March 2015. External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. Coe, Charles R. Obituary
  4. "Former U.S. Amateur champ Coe dies at 77". CNN.
  5. SoonerSports.com. Coe Golf Center Archived August 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.. University of Oklahoma. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  6. "Masters Golf Tournament Records". Archived from the original on 2006-10-22.
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