Dave Hill (golfer)

Dave Hill
Personal information
Full name	James David Hill
Born	(1937-05-20)May 20, 1937 Jackson, Michigan
Died	September 27, 2011(2011-09-27) (aged 74) Jackson, Michigan
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st)
Nationality	United States
Career
College	University of Detroit
Turned professional	1958
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	25
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	13
PGA Tour Champions	6
Other	6
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	T5: 1970
U.S. Open	2nd: 1970
The Open Championship	T18: 1973
PGA Championship	T3: 1974
Achievements and awards
Vardon Trophy	1969

James David Hill (May 20, 1937 – September 27, 2011) was an American professional golfer. He was the brother of Mike Hill who was also a professional golfer.

Hill was born in Jackson, Michigan. He attended the University of Detroit, where he played on the golf team. Hill won 13 times on the PGA Tour, three of which came during his career year of 1969, when he also won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average. He was a member of the United States Ryder Cup team in 1969, 1973, and 1977.

Hill was known for his quick wit and biting sarcasm, and was sometimes referred to as "the Don Rickles of the golf tour".^[1] He frequently led the tour in fines and was once suspended for two months after he deliberately broke his putter on national television.^[2] At the 1966 PGA Championship, Hill signed his second round scorecard that included a score of 108 on the 18th hole.^[3] Hill played in the acrimonious 1969 Ryder Cup that ended in a 16-16 tie when Jack Nicklaus made his famous "concession" of a short but missable putt to Tony Jacklin on the 18th green in the final match.

In 1970, Hill had his best finish in a major championship, placing second at the U.S. Open played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.^[4] What gained him the most notoriety, though, was not his excellent play but his criticisms of the golf course. In the middle of the championship, before the third round, Hill was fined $150 by Joe Dey Jr., commissioner of the Tournament Players Division of the PGA of America, for "criticism that tends to ridicule and demean the club".^[5]

When first asked what he thought of the golf course, he said "I'm still looking for it". When asked what Hazeltine needed, he retorted, "Hazeltine really did lack only 80 acres of corn and a few cows. They ruined a good farm when they built this course".^[1] Hill was far from alone among the pros in his criticism of Hazeltine, which had to be extensively redesigned before getting a chance to host another men's major, again the U.S. Open, in 1991. Afterward, Hill claimed to have paid a farmer cash to borrow his tractor.^[6] If he had won the 1970 U.S. Open, Hill planned to ride the tractor out onto the golf course as he hoisted the trophy.

Another controversy involving Hill started in 1971. At the 1971 Colonial National Invitation, Hill shot rounds of 77-85 to miss the cut. On his last hole, Hill threw a ball out of a sand trap.^[7] Hill was disqualified but it was for his signing a scorecard with an incorrect score on it.^[8] When Hill went to play in his next tournament, the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic, Hill was told he was being fined $500 for conduct unbecoming a professional golfer.^[9] Hill was required to pay the fine before teeing it up in the tournament. He did so but less than a week later, Hill filed a one-million dollar anti-trust suit against the PGA Tour.^[10] In response, the tour put Hill on probation for one year.^[11] Hill then increased the amount of damages he was seeking to three-million dollars.^[12] The litigation was resolved out of court in less than a year and Hill was taken off probation.^[13]

At the 1991 Transamerica Senior Golf Championship, Hill got into a fight on the driving range with J. C. Snead.^[14] Snead was hitting shots across the range, the balls rolling near a spot where Hill was practicing. Hill yelled at Snead, then grabbed a club and came after his much bigger adversary. After punching and wrestling their way to the ground, they were separated by other players and caddies.^[5]

In 1987, Hill joined the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour). He won six tournaments on that tour. Hill had a cameo appearance in the movie, Now You See Him, Now You Don't.

Hill died on September 27, 2011 in Jackson, Michigan after spending the last few years of his life battling emphysema.^[15]^[16]

Professional wins (24)

PGA Tour wins (13)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Feb 19, 1961	Home of the Sun Open	−11 (69-66-69-65=269)	Playoff	Tommy Bolt, Bud Sullivan
2	Sep 10, 1961	Denver Open Invitational	−21 (63-64-67-69=263)	6 strokes	Bob Goalby, Art Wall, Jr.
3	Jul 14, 1963	Hot Springs Open Invitational	−11 (69-70-70-68=277)	Playoff	Mike Souchak
4	Jun 4, 1967	Memphis Open Invitational	−8 (65-66-68-73=272)	2 strokes	Johnny Pott
5	Jun 1, 1969	Memphis Open Invitational	−15 (67-67-66-65=265)	2 strokes	Lee Elder
6	Jul 6, 1969	Buick Open Invitational	−11 (68-68-71-70=277)	2 strokes	Frank Beard
7	Jul 20, 1969	IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic	−9 (71-71-68-69=279)	Playoff	Gay Brewer, Tommy Jacobs, R. H. Sikes
8	May 31, 1970	Danny Thomas Memphis Classic	−13 (63-69-67-68=267)	3 strokes	Frank Beard, Homero Blancas, Bob Charles
9	Apr 16, 1972	Monsanto Open	−13 (64-68-68-71=271)	1 stroke	Jerry Heard
10	May 20, 1973	Danny Thomas Memphis Classic	−5 (68-69-74-72=283)	1 stroke	Allen Miller, Lee Trevino
11	May 12, 1974	Houston Open	−12 (70-67-74-65=276)	1 stroke	Rod Curl, Steve Melnyk, Andy North
12	Sep 28, 1975	Sahara Invitational	−14 (68-66-67-69=270)	Playoff	Rik Massengale
13	Jul 4, 1976	Greater Milwaukee Open	−18 (66-67-68-69=270)	3 strokes	John Jacobs

PGA Tour playoff record (4–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1961	Home of the Sun Open	Tommy Bolt, Bud Sullivan	Won with birdie on third extra hole
2	1963	Hot Springs Open Invitational	Mike Souchak	Won with par on second extra hole
3	1969	IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic	Gay Brewer, Tommy Jacobs, R. H. Sikes	Won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1969	Greater Hartford Open	Bob Lunn	Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
5	1972	Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open	George Archer, Tommy Aaron	Lost 18-hole playoff (Archer:66, Aaron:68, Hill:68)
6	1975	Sahara Invitational	Rik Massengale	Won with par on first extra hole

Other wins (5)

this list may be incomplete

Senior PGA Tour wins (6)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Nov 22, 1987	Fairfield Barnett Senior Classic	−14 (68-66-68=202)	5 strokes	Lee Elder, Al Geiberger
2	Jan 17, 1988	MONY Senior Tournament of Champions	−5 (68-72-71=211)	1 stroke	Miller Barber, Al Geiberger
3	Aug 14, 1988	MONY Syracuse Senior Classic	−16 (68-64-68=206)	5 strokes	Butch Baird, Bobby Nichols
4	Sep 25, 1988	PaineWebber Invitational	−10 (68-68-70=206)	1 stroke	Bruce Crampton
5	May 14, 1989	Bell Atlantic/St. Christopher's Classic	−4 (72-68-66=206)	Playoff	Chi-Chi Rodríguez
6	Aug 13, 1989	Rancho Murieta Senior Gold Rush	−11 (69-70-68=207)	1 stroke	Orville Moody

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1989	GTE Suncoast Classic	Bob Charles, Jim Ferree, Harold Henning	Charles won with birdie on third extra hole Hill and Ferree eliminated with birdie on first hole
2	1989	Bell Atlantic/St. Christopher's Classic	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	Won with par on third extra hole

Other senior wins (1)

1988 Mazda Champions (with Colleen Walker)

Results in major championships

Tournament	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T50	T24
U.S. Open	T51	WD	DNP	CUT	DNP	T22	T18	T16	T13
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	CUT	T17	CUT	DNP	DNP	T11	T17	T15

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	T5	T27	CUT	T37	T11	7	T15	T39	T45	CUT
U.S. Open	2	CUT	T29	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	T18	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T68	T6	WD	CUT	T3	T7	T22	T48	T50	DNP

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	1	2	5	12	10
U.S. Open	1	0	1	1	5	12	7
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
PGA Championship	0	1	1	3	8	15	11
Totals	1	1	3	6	19	40	29

Most consecutive cuts made – 1 (1966 U.S. Open – 1971 Masters)
Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1974 PGA – 1975 PGA)

References

1 2 Mulvoy, Mark (August 10, 1970). "Plain Words At Westchester". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
↑ Cope, Myron (May 10, 1971). "Often Bloody, But Uncowed". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
↑ "Hill's card reads 108 shots for 18th". St. Joseph News-Press. St. Joseph, Missouri. AP. August 13, 1966. p. 1B.
↑ "Golf Major Championships".
1 2 Achenbach, James (October 24, 2011). "Dave Hill was unrestrained, true". Golfweek. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
↑ Hill, Dave; Seitz, Nick (1977). Teed Off. Prentice-Hall. p. 108. ISBN 978-0139022470.
↑ "Dave Hill Carries Squabble To Court". Florence Times–Tri-Cities Daily. Florence, Alabama. AP. May 29, 1971. p. 3.
↑ "Hill disqualified". Wilmington Morning Star. Wilmington, North Carolina. UPI. May 22, 1971. p. 19.
↑ "Hill pays fine, in Memphis field". Wilmington Morning Star. Wilmington, North Carolina. UPI. May 27, 1971. p. 3D.
↑ "Dave Hill files $1 million damage suit". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Daytona Beach, Florida. AP. May 29, 1971. p. 17.
↑ Green, Bob (June 3, 1971). "Hill Draws Year Probation". The Portsmouth Times. Portsmouth, Ohio. AP. p. 19.
↑ "Courts, Etc.". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. June 29, 1971. p. 3C.
↑ "Hill: Tour Too Much So He's Making Few Tourneys". The Ledger. Lakeland, Florida. AP. January 16, 1972. p. 6B.
↑ "Fists 'n' Fairways". Sports Illustrated. November 13, 2000.
↑ "PGA Tour winner Dave Hill dies at 74". ESPN. AP. September 28, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
↑ Kalahar, Gary (September 28, 2011). "Jackson's PGA Tour star Dave Hill dies at age 74". Jackson Citizen Patriot. Jackson, Michigan. Retrieved September 29, 2011.

External links

Dave Hill at the PGA Tour official site

Dave Hill in the Ryder Cup

United States Ryder Cup team – 1969
Tommy Aaron Miller Barber Frank Beard Billy Casper Dale Douglass Raymond Floyd Dave Hill Gene Littler Jack Nicklaus Dan Sikes Ken Still Lee Trevino Sam Snead (non-playing captain)
Tied: 16 – 16

United States Ryder Cup team – 1973
Tommy Aaron Homero Blancas Gay Brewer Billy Casper Dave Hill Lou Graham Jack Nicklaus Arnold Palmer Chi-Chi Rodríguez J. C. Snead Lee Trevino Tom Weiskopf Jack Burke Jr. (non-playing captain)
Won: 19 – 13

United States Ryder Cup team – 1977
Raymond Floyd Lou Graham Hubert Green Dave Hill Hale Irwin Don January Jerry McGee Jack Nicklaus Ed Sneed Dave Stockton Lanny Wadkins Tom Watson Dow Finsterwald (non-playing captain)
Won: 12.5 – 7.5

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