Raymond Floyd


Raymond Loran Floyd is an American retired golfer who has won numerous tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour, including four majors and three senior majors. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989.

Early years

Born at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Floyd was raised in Fayetteville. His father L.B. had a 21-year career in the U.S. Army, much of it at Fort Bragg as the golf pro at its enlisted men's course. He also owned a nearby driving range where Raymond and younger sister Marlene, a future LPGA tour pro, honed their games. From an early age, Floyd could play equally well left-handed, and used his skills to enhance his allowance, winning money from soldiers on the course, as well as civilians in nearby towns.
Floyd graduated from Fayetteville High School in 1960. Skilled in golf and baseball, he had an offer to pitch in the Cleveland Indians organization, but chose to attend the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, but only stayed for a semester.

Professional career

After leaving college, Floyd turned professional in 1961, and quickly established himself on the PGA Tour. His first victory came two years later at age 20 in March 1963 in Florida, winning $3,500 at the St. Petersburg Open Invitational, the first of his 22 wins on the PGA Tour, including four major championships.
Floyd won his first major title six years later at the PGA Championship in 1969, and the second came in 1976 at The Masters, by an eight-stroke margin and was won wire-to-wire. He won his second PGA Championship in 1982, after shooting a brilliant opening round of 63 in sweltering hot conditions at Southern Hills Country Club. Floyd's round of 63 was the lowest round in a major championship until 2017. Floyd finished 1982 ranked second in Mark McCormack's world golf rankings, behind only Tom Watson who had won two majors that season; had those rankings been calculated over just two seasons, on a par with the system in place at the end of 2012, Floyd would have been ranked world number one in 1982, as he had earned more points from all events in total than Watson in both 1981 and 1982.
Floyd's fourth and final major title came at the U.S. Open in 1986 at Shinnecock Hills. After three rounds, he was tied for fifth place, three shots behind leader Greg Norman, who held the 54-hole lead at all four majors in 1986. Norman faltered on Sunday with a 75, but Floyd shot 66 to win by two strokes and became the then-oldest U.S. Open champion by a few months at 43 years and nine months.
The one major title that eluded Floyd, which prevented him from completing the career grand slam, was The Open Championship. His best result was in 1978 at St Andrews; he tied for second place, behind three-time winner Jack Nicklaus.
Floyd came very close to winning a second Green Jacket at the 1990 Masters, where he lost in a playoff to Nick Faldo. On the second playoff hole, Floyd pulled a 7-iron shot into the pond left of the 11th green. Afterward, he said, "This is the most devastating thing that's ever happened to me in my career. I've had a lot of losses, but nothing like this."
In 1992, Floyd again finished runner-up at The Masters, two strokes behind the winner Fred Couples. Floyd's final win on the PGA Tour came at the Doral-Ryder Open in 1992 at age 49, making him one of the oldest players to win a PGA Tour event. The Doral-Ryder Open victory also gave him the distinction of winning PGA Tour events in four decades, joining Sam Snead as the second player to achieve that feat. Floyd also won on the Senior PGA Tour later that season, making him the first player to win on both tours in the same year.
At the end of 1992, Floyd was ranked 14th on the Official World Golf Ranking at the age of 50, one of the highest positions ever attained by a player of that age. Floyd's successful run continued on the Senior Tour, with 14 wins between 1992 and 2000, including four senior majors and two Senior Tour Championships.
In addition to Floyd's victories on the PGA and Champions Tours, he won at least 24 additional tournaments around the world, taking his total victory tally to at least 60 events. While active, Floyd was considered by most golf experts to be the best at chipping the golf ball. He holed many shots from just off the green, the most famous may have been at the Doral-Eastern Open in 1980, where his successful birdie chip on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff defeated Jack Nicklaus.
On his decision to continue playing professional golf on the Senior Tour, Floyd spoke with Golf Digest and mused aloud: "Why do I enjoy golf after 31 years, going out there and doing things that are necessary to be competitive—having practice, having to work, having to dedicate yourself? I guess it comes down to the competition. My personality...I'm not going to play if I'm not competitive."
Floyd won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour in 1983 and played for the U.S. on eight Ryder Cup teams.
Floyd was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989. He captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team at The Belfry in England in 1989. At a gala dinner held before the start of the matches, Floyd famously introduced his American side as "The 12 greatest players in the world." This irritated European player Nick Faldo of England, who later said that he felt Floyd's comment was inappropriate.
Floyd was an assistant Ryder Cup captain in 2008. On the eve of the Masters in 2010, Floyd announced his retirement from competitive golf. He was the honoree at Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament in 2013.

Professional wins (65)

PGA Tour wins (22)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Mar 17, 1963St. Petersburg Open Invitational67-71-67-69=274−141 stroke Dave Marr
2Jun 27, 1965St. Paul Open Invitational66-70-65-69=270−144 strokes Tommy Aaron, Gene Littler
3Mar 23, 1969Greater Jacksonville Open68-71-68-71=278−10Playoff Gardner Dickinson
4Jul 27, 1969American Golf Classic67-68-68-65=268−124 strokes Bobby Nichols
5Aug 17, 1969PGA Championship69-66-67-74=276−81 stroke Gary Player
6Jun 8, 1975Kemper Open65-71-73-69=278−103 strokes John Mahaffey, Gary Player
7Apr 11, 1976Masters Tournament65-66-70-70=271−178 strokes Ben Crenshaw
8Sep 12, 1976World Open Golf Championship69-67-67-71=274−10Playoff Jerry McGee
9May 8, 1977Byron Nelson Golf Classic69-70-68-69=276−82 strokes Ben Crenshaw
10Jul 17, 1977Pleasant Valley Classic67-68-67-69=271−121 stroke Jack Nicklaus
11Apr 8, 1979Greater Greensboro Open73-71-71-67=282−61 stroke George Burns, Gary Player
12Mar 16, 1980Doral-Eastern Open74-69-70-66=279−9Playoff Jack Nicklaus
13Mar 15, 1981Doral-Eastern Open 66-68-71-68=273−151 stroke Keith Fergus, David Graham
14Mar 23, 1981Tournament Players Championship72-74-71-68=285−3Playoff Barry Jaeckel, Curtis Strange
15Jun 14, 1981Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic70-68-68-69=275−92 strokes Bobby Clampett, Gibby Gilbert,
Craig Stadler
16May 30, 1982Memorial Tournament74-69-67-71=281−72 strokes Peter Jacobsen, Wayne Levi,
Roger Maltbie, Gil Morgan
17Jun 13, 1982Danny Thomas Memphis Classic67-68-67-69=271−176 strokes Mike Holland
18Aug 8, 1982PGA Championship 63-69-68-72=272−83 strokes Lanny Wadkins
19Apr 28, 1985Houston Open69-70-69-69=277−111 stroke David Frost, Bob Lohr
20Jun 15, 1986U.S. Open75-68-70-66=279−12 strokes Chip Beck, Lanny Wadkins
21Oct 19, 1986Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic68-66-70-71=275−13Playoff Lon Hinkle, Mike Sullivan
22Mar 8, 1992Doral-Ryder Open 67-67-67-70=271−172 strokes Keith Clearwater, Fred Couples

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11969Greater Jacksonville Open Gardner DickinsonWon with birdie on first extra hole
21971Bob Hope Desert Classic Arnold PalmerLost to birdie on second extra hole
31973Bing Crosby Pro-Am Orville Moody, Jack NicklausNicklaus won with birdie on first extra hole
41974American Golf Classic Gay Brewer, Jim Colbert
Forrest Fezler		Colbert won with par on second extra hole
Brewer, Fezler eliminated with par on first hole
51975Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational Bobby Nichols, J. C. SneadSnead won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Nichols eliminated with par on first hole
61976World Open Golf Championship Jerry McGeeWon with birdie on first extra hole
71980Doral-Eastern Open Jack NicklausWon with birdie on second extra hole
81981Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open Tom Jenkins, Bruce LietzkeLietzke won with birdie on second extra hole
Jenkins eliminated with par on first hole
91981Tournament Players Championship Barry Jaeckel, Curtis StrangeWon with par on first extra hole
101982Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic Keith FergusLost to birdie on first extra hole
111982World Series of Golf Craig StadlerLost to par on fourth extra hole
121985Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic George Burns, Roger MaltbieMaltbie won with birdie on fourth extra hole
131986Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic Lon Hinkle, Mike SullivanWon with par on first extra hole
141990Masters Tournament Nick FaldoLost to par on second extra hole
151992GTE Byron Nelson Classic Billy Ray Brown, Ben Crenshaw
Bruce Lietzke		Brown won with birdie on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Other wins (11)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Sep 20, 1992GTE North Classic66-67-66=199−172 strokes Mike Hill
2Oct 25, 1992Ralphs Senior Classic68-65-62=195−213 strokes Isao Aoki
3Dec 13, 1992Senior Tour Championship65-67-65=197−195 strokes George Archer, Dale Douglass
4Mar 21, 1993Gulfstream Aerospace Invitational65-65-64=194−225 strokes George Archer
5Aug 1, 1993Northville Long Island Classic73-70-65=208−82 strokes Bob Betley, Bob Charles,
Harold Henning, Bruce Lehnhard,
Walt Zembriski
6Apr 3, 1994The Tradition65-70-68-68=271−17Playoff Dale Douglass
7May 1, 1994Las Vegas Senior Classic68-70-65=203−133 strokes Tom Wargo
8May 22, 1994NFL Golf Classic68-66-64=198−101 stroke Bob Murphy, Gary Player
9Nov 13, 1994Golf Magazine Senior Tour Championship 67-73-67-66=273−15Playoff Jim Albus
10Apr 16, 1995PGA Seniors' Championship70-70-67-70=277−115 strokes John Paul Cain, Larry Gilbert,
Lee Trevino
11Aug 13, 1995Burnet Senior Classic68-65-68=201−151 stroke Graham Marsh
12Nov 5, 1995Emerald Coast Classic69-66=135−7Playoff Tom Wargo
13Jul 14, 1996Ford Senior Players Championship71-66-65-73=275−142 strokes Hale Irwin
14Jul 16, 2000Ford Senior Players Championship 71-67-69-66=273−151 stroke Larry Nelson, Dana Quigley

Senior PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11994The Tradition Dale DouglassWon with birdie on first extra hole
21994Golf Magazine Senior Tour Championship Jim AlbusWon with birdie on fifth extra hole
31995Royal Caribbean Classic J. C. SneadLost to par on first extra hole
41995Emerald Coast Classic Tom WargoWon with birdie on third extra hole

Other senior wins (17)

Wins (4)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut

WD = withdrew

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Wins (1)

1 Defeated Barry Jaeckel and Curtis Strange in a sudden-death playoff: Floyd, Jaeckel and Strange.

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut

DQ = disqualified

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (4)

1Floyd birdied the first extra hole.

U.S. national team appearances

Professional