Craig Stadler


Craig Robert Stadler is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level, including one major championship, the 1982 Masters Tournament.

Early life

Stadler was born in San Diego His father started him in golf at age four, and he displayed a talent for golf early in life. Stadler attended La Jolla High School He won the 1973 U.S. Amateur, while attending the University of Southern California, where he was a teammate of future PGA Tour winners Mark Pfeil and Scott Simpson. Stadler was an All-American all four years – first-team his sophomore and junior years; second-team his freshman and senior years. Stadler finished college in 1975 and turned professional in 1976.

Professional career

Stadler won his first two PGA Tour events in 1980, at the Bob Hope Desert Classic and the Greater Greensboro Open. His career year was 1982 when he won four PGA Tour events including the Masters Tournament after a playoff with Dan Pohl and the World Series of Golf at the end of the year. Stadler won the money list for the only time. His next win was at the 1984 Byron Nelson Classic.
Despite playing relatively well, Stadler did not win a PGA Tour event for over 7 years during the heart of his career. During this period he recorded six runner-up performances and dozens of top-10s on the PGA Tour. He had more success at winning international tournaments. He won the 1985 Swiss Open on the European Tour and the 1987 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. He had great success at the Scandinavian Enterprise Open too, an official event on the European Tour, finishing runner-up at the 1983 and 1986 events until finally winning in 1990. His winless steak in America was broken at the final event of the 1991 season, defeating Russ Cochran in a playoff at the Tour Championship.
Stadler won the B.C. Open in 2003, becoming the first player over age 50 to win a PGA Tour event in 28 years and the first player ever to win on the PGA Tour after he had won on the Champions Tour. He won 13 PGA Tour events in all, and played on the 1983 and 1985 Ryder Cup teams.
He appeared as himself, with a speaking role in the 1996 film Tin Cup.
Stadler began playing on the Champions Tour upon becoming eligible in June 2003. His greatest successes came during his first two years of eligibility; he was the leading money winner in his first full year on that tour in 2004. Stadler underwent total left-hip-replacement surgery in Los Angeles on September 15, 2010, which limits his playing time.
Very popular with the galleries, Stadler is affectionately called "The Walrus" for his portly build and ample mustache. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado. His son Kevin is also a PGA Tour champion. His brother Gary Stadler is a Billboard-charting recording artist.
Stadler announced that the 2014 Masters Tournament, his 38th and in which he played with Kevin, was his last.

Amateur wins

PGA Tour wins (13)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Jan 13, 1980Bob Hope Desert Classic−17 2 strokes Tom Purtzer, Mike Sullivan
2Apr 6, 1980Greater Greensboro Open−13 6 strokes George Burns, Billy Kratzert,
Jack Newton, Jerry Pate
3May 31, 1981Kemper Open−18 6 strokes Tom Watson, Tom Weiskopf
4Jan 10, 1982Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open−14 3 strokes Vance Heafner, John Mahaffey
5Apr 11, 1982Masters Tournament−4 Playoff Dan Pohl
6Jun 6, 1982Kemper Open −13 7 strokes Seve Ballesteros
7Aug 29, 1982World Series of Golf−2 Playoff Raymond Floyd
8May 13, 1984Byron Nelson Golf Classic−8 1 stroke David Edwards
9Nov 3, 1991The Tour Championship−5 Playoff Russ Cochran
10Aug 30, 1992NEC World Series of Golf −7 1 stroke Corey Pavin
11Feb 27, 1994Buick Invitational of California−20 1 stroke Steve Lowery
12Feb 25, 1996Nissan Open−6 1 stroke Mark Brooks, Fred Couples,
Scott Simpson, Mark Wiebe
13Jul 20, 2003B.C. Open−21 1 stroke Alex Čejka, Steve Lowery

.
PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11982Masters Tournament Dan PohlWon with par on first extra hole
21982World Series of Golf Raymond FloydWon with par on fourth extra hole
31985Bob Hope Classic Lanny WadkinsLost to birdie on fifth extra hole
41987Hawaiian Open Corey PavinLost to birdie on second extra hole
51991The Tour Championship Russ CochranWon with birdie on second extra hole
62000Shell Houston Open Robert AllenbyLost to par on fourth extra hole

European Tour wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Apr 11, 1982Masters Tournament−4 Playoff Dan Pohl
2Sep 8, 1985Ebel European Masters Swiss Open−21 2 strokes David Feherty, Ove Sellberg
3Jun 10, 1990Scandinavian Enterprise Open−20 4 strokes Craig Parry

European Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11982Masters Tournament Dan PohlWon with par on first extra hole
21986Scandinavian Enterprise Open Greg TurnerLost to birdie on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Other wins (6)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Jul 13, 2003Ford Senior Players Championship−17 3 strokes Tom Kite, Jim Thorpe,
Tom Watson
2Sep 28, 2003Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn−15 2 strokes Larry Nelson
3Oct 19, 2003SBC Championship−15 4 strokes Bob Gilder
4Feb 15, 2004The ACE Group Classic−10 Playoff Gary Koch, Tom Watson
5Jun 27, 2004Bank of America Championship−15 4 strokes Tom Kite, Tom Purtzer,
D. A. Weibring
6Aug 29, 2004JELD-WEN Tradition−13 1 stroke Allen Doyle, Jerry Pate
7Sep 5, 2004The First Tee Open at Pebble Beach−15 3 strokes Jay Haas
8Sep 26, 2004SAS Championship−17 6 strokes Tom Jenkins
9Jun 23, 2013Encompass Championship−13 1 stroke Fred Couples

Champions Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
12004The ACE Group Classic Gary Koch, Tom WatsonWon with birdie on first extra hole
22007Boeing Classic R. W. Eaks, David Eger,
Gil Morgan, Naomichi Ozaki,
Dana Quigley, Denis Watson		Watson won with eagle on second extra hole
Eger, Morgan, Ozaki and Quigley eliminated with birdie on first hole
32009Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
 Tom Lehman and Bernhard LangerLost to par on second extra hole

Major championships

Wins (1)

1Defeated Pohl with par on first extra hole.

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

Wins (2)

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur
Professional