George Archer


George William Archer was an American professional golfer who won 13 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the Masters in 1969.

Early years

Born in San Francisco, California, Archer was raised just south in San Mateo. He grew to tall, and as a boy he dreamed of a basketball career, but took up golf at San Mateo High School after working as a caddy at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club near his home. He was kicked off the high school basketball team because he missed too many practices due to golf.

Tour career

Archer turned professional in 1964 and claimed the first of 13 victories on the PGA Tour at the Lucky International Open the following year.
The leading achievement of his career was his win at the Masters in 1969. In the first round, he fired a 67, good for second place behind Billy Casper. His subsequent rounds of 73-69-72 earned him a one-stroke victory over runners-up Casper, Tom Weiskopf, and George Knudson.
Archer's other top-10 finishes in the majors came at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.
Archer was hampered by injuries throughout his career and had surgery on his left wrist, back and left shoulder. In 1996, he had his right hip replaced and two years later became the first man to win on the Senior PGA Tour after having a hip replacement. He won 19 times on the Senior Tour between 1989 and 2000, although he did not win a senior major. Archer is also the only player in PGA Tour Champions history to win a tournament in each of the first three decades of its existence.
Archer is considered one of the game's all-time great putters, and at one time held the PGA Tour record for fewest putts over four rounds with 94 putts at the Sea Pines Heritage in 1980. The record stood for nine years, until broken by Kenny Knox in 1989.
Archer was known as the "Golfing Cowboy," due to a summer job in his youth at his friend and sponsor, Eugene Selvage's Lucky Hereford Ranch in Gilroy.
Archer made Masters history in 1983 when he employed its first female caddy, his 19-year-old daughter Elizabeth, in the first year that outside caddies were allowed at Augusta National. He finished tied for 12th, his third-best at Augusta and final top-20 finish in a major. At the time Liz was a sophomore at Stanford University and had caddied for her father at twenty previous events; a member of the Cardinal track team, she threw the javelin and discus. She started caddying for him on tour in the summer of 1980, prior to her senior year at Gilroy High School.

Death

Archer died of Burkitt's lymphoma – a lymphatic system malignancy – in Incline Village, Nevada in 2005, several days before his 66th birthday. He was survived by his wife, Donna, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Marilyn. He played his final round of golf with his wife in nearby Truckee on August 25, just a month before his death.

Illiteracy

Six months after his death, Archer's widow, Donna, revealed in the March/April 2006 issue of Golf For Women magazine that he had suffered his entire life from a severe form of learning impairment. Despite years of effort and the consultation of many experts, he was never able to read more than the simplest sentences and could only write his own name. She reported that they never revealed this truth beyond their family and that Archer lived in constant fear that the secret of his illiteracy would be revealed.
In 2008, Donna created the George Archer Memorial Foundation for Literacy, a 501 organization located in Incline Village, Nevada. The Foundation's mission is to raise funds to identify reading deficiencies, diagnose causes and effective treatments for learning disabilities, improve systems for training teachers, tutors and other educators in literacy issues, provide grants, stipends and scholarships for deserving students, and assist in the development of tools and techniques for the effective teaching of reading and writing skills. The Foundation's primary fundraiser is the George Archer Memorial Stroke of Genius Pro-Am golf tournament held every October since 2008 at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club, in San Mateo, California – the club at which Archer began his golf career.

Quotations

PGA Tour wins (13)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Jan 31, 1965Lucky International Open68-73-69-68=278−6Playoff Bob Charles
2Apr 2, 1967Greater Greensboro Open67-64-68-68=267−172 strokes Doug Sanders
3Mar 25, 1968Pensacola Open Invitational66-68-69-65=268−201 stroke Tony Jacklin, Dave Marr
4May 12, 1968Greater New Orleans Open Invitational69-65-70-67=271−172 strokes Bert Yancey
5Sep 22, 1968PGA National Team Championship
65-66-69-65=265−222 strokes Monty Kaser and Rives McBee
6Jan 27, 1969Bing Crosby National Pro-Am72-68-72-71=283−51 stroke Bob Dickson, Dale Douglass,
Howie Johnson
7Apr 13, 1969Masters Tournament67-73-69-72=281−71 stroke Billy Casper, George Knudson,
Tom Weiskopf
8Jan 31, 1971Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational67-72-68-65=272−163 strokes Dave Eichelberger
9Sep 6, 1971Greater Hartford Open Invitational68-66-68-66=268−16Playoff Lou Graham, J. C. Snead,
10Jan 9, 1972Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open66-69-69-66=270−14Playoff Tommy Aaron, Dave Hill
11Apr 2, 1972Greater Greensboro Open70-68-66-68=272−12Playoff Tommy Aaron
12Oct 3, 1976Sahara Invitational67-66-69-69=271−132 strokes Dave Hill, Don January
13Sep 9, 1984Bank of Boston Classic69-66-70-65=270−146 strokes Frank Conner, Joey Sindelar

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11965Lucky International Open Bob CharlesWon with birdie on second extra hole
21969Kaiser International Open Invitational Billy Casper, Don January,
Jack Nicklaus		Nicklaus won with birdie on second extra hole
January eliminated with birdie on first hole
31970Robinson Open Golf Classic George KnudsonLost to par on fourth extra hole
41971Greater Hartford Open Invitational Lou Graham, J. C. SneadWon with birdie on first extra hole
51972Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open Tommy Aaron, Dave HillWon 18-hole playoff;
Archer: −5,
Aaron: −3,
Hill: −3
61972Dean Martin Tucson Open Miller BarberLost to birdie on third extra hole after 18-hole playoff;
Archer: E,
Barber: E
71972Greater Greensboro Open Tommy AaronWon with par on second extra hole

Other wins (7)

Senior PGA Tour Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11989Gatlin Brothers Southwest Senior Classic Orville Moody, Jimmy PowellWon with par on second extra hole
21991Security Pacific Senior Classic John Brodie, Chi-Chi RodríguezBrodie won with birdie on first extra hole
31992GTE Suncoast Classic Jim ColbertLost to birdie on fourth extra hole
41992Murata Reunion Pro-Am Tommy AaronWon with birdie on third extra hole
51993First of America Classic Jim Colbert, Chi-Chi RodríguezWon with par on third extra hole
Rodríguez eliminated with par on first hole
61993PING Kaanapali Classic Dave Stockton, Lee TrevinoWon with birdie on first extra hole

Other senior wins (4)

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied

Summary