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Al Geiberger

American professional golfer


American professional golfer

FieldValue
nameAl Geiberger
imagesize
fullnameAllen Lee Geiberger Sr.
nicknameMr. 59, Skippy
birth_date
birth_placeRed Bluff, California, U.S.
death_date
height
weight180 lb
nationality
collegeUniversity of Southern California
yearpro1959
extourPGA Tour
Champions Tour
prowins30
pgawins11
japwins1
champwins10
otherwins8
majorwins1
mastersT12: 1972
usopenT2: 1969, 1976
openT13: 1974
pgaWon: 1966
wghofid
wghofyear
award1Senior PGA Tour
Comeback Player of the Year
year11996

Champions Tour Comeback Player of the Year](senior-pga-tour-comeback-player-of-the-year) Allen Lee Geiberger Sr. (born September 1, 1937) is an American former professional golfer.

Early life

In 1937, Geiberger was born in Red Bluff, California, the son of Ray and Mabel Geiberger. His first big tournament win was the 1954 National Jaycee Championship. In 1955, Geiberger graduated from Santa Barbara High School and then attended Menlo College. In 1959, he graduated from the University of Southern California.

Professional career

In 1959, Geiberger turned professional. The following year, he joined the PGA Tour. Geiberger won 11 tournaments on the PGA Tour, the first being the 1962 Ontario Open and the biggest being the 1966 PGA Championship, a major title. He won the Tournament Players Championship in 1975, and played on the Ryder Cup teams in 1967 and 1975. Geiberger also won 10 times on the Senior PGA Tour.

During the second round of the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic in 1977, Geiberger became the first player in history to post a score of 59 (−13) in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. Starting on the tenth tee of the Colonial Country Club in Cordova, Tennessee, he shot a bogey-free round of six pars, 11 birdies, and an eagle on the 7193 yd layout. He sank a 40 ft putt for birdie on his opening hole, and ended the round with a birdie from 8 ft; the lone eagle was a holed-out wedge shot.

Geiberger won the tournament, though not handily. He shot even-par 72 in the first and third rounds, and was two strokes down to Gary Player on Sunday after a 38 (+2) on the front nine put him at 241 (−11) for 63 holes. He regained the lead with a 32 (−4) on the back nine to finish at 273 (−15), two strokes ahead of Player and Jerry McGee.

Scorecard: Friday, June 10, 1977

Hole101112131415161718123456789
Par443443545543434544
Score342442434332433443
To par−1−1−2−2−2−3−4−5−6−8−9−10−10−10−11−12−12−13

:Source:

Personal life

Geiberger has six children. His son Brent Geiberger is also a professional golfer who won two PGA Tour events. Another son, John, was the coach of the Pepperdine University golf team from 1996 to 2012, and won the NCAA Championship in 1997.

Geiberger's father was one of the victims of the Tenerife airport disaster in 1977.

Geiberger had surgery in 1980 to remove his colon due to inflammatory bowel disease and has an ileostomy.

Professional wins (30)

PGA Tour wins (11)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Players Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (9)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victoryRunner(s)-up
1Oct 21, 1962Ontario Open Invitational69-67-70-70=276−81 strokeUSA Gardner Dickinson, USA Bob Goalby,
USA Tommy Jacobs, USA Chuck Rotar,
USA John Ruedi
2Nov 3, 1963Almaden Open Invitational69-67-67-74=277−111 strokeUSA Dutch Harrison, USA Dick Lotz
3Aug 29, 1965American Golf Classic70-69-69-72=280E4 strokesUSA Arnold Palmer
4Jul 24, 1966PGA Championship68-72-68-72=280E4 strokesUSA Dudley Wysong
5Oct 6, 1974Sahara Invitational70-68-66-69=273−113 strokesUSA Wally Armstrong, USA Jerry Heard,
USA Dave Hill, USA Mike Hill
6Apr 27, 1975MONY Tournament of Champions67-67-70-73=277−11PlayoffRSA Gary Player
7Aug 24, 1975Tournament Players Championship66-68-67-69=270−103 strokesUSA Dave Stockton
8Apr 4, 1976Greater Greensboro Open70-65-65-68=268−162 strokesUSA Lee Trevino
9Jun 27, 1976Western Open71-71-73-73=288+41 strokeUSA Joe Porter
10Jun 12, 1977Danny Thomas Memphis Classic72-59-72-70=273−152 strokesUSA Jerry McGee, RSA Gary Player
11May 20, 1979Colonial National Invitation68-69-64-73=274−61 strokeUSA Don January, USA Gene Littler

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11967Carling World OpenUSA Billy CasperLost to par on first extra hole
21975MONY Tournament of ChampionsRSA Gary PlayerWon with birdie on first extra hole

Source:

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victoryRunner-up
1Nov 25, 1973ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches72-70-76=218+22 strokesJPN Takashi Murakami

Other wins (6)

  • 1961 Utah Open
  • 1962 Caracas Open, Almaden Open Invitational
  • 1979 Spalding Invitational
  • 1982 Frontier Airlines Open
  • 1985 Colorado Open

Senior PGA Tour wins (10)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victoryRunner(s)-up
1Oct 4, 1987Vantage Championship72-67-67=206−42 strokesUSA Dave Hill
2Oct 18, 1987Seniors International Golf Championship70-68-71=209−4PlayoffUSA Jim Ferree
3Oct 25, 1987Las Vegas Senior Classic68-73-62=203−134 strokesUSA Chi-Chi Rodríguez
4Mar 20, 1988Pointe/Del E. Webb Arizona Classic63-69-67=199−171 strokeUSA Orville Moody
5Aug 20, 1989GTE Northwest Classic68-68-68=204−123 strokesUSA Frank Beard
6Jul 7, 1991Kroger Senior Classic66-69-68=203−101 strokeUSA Larry Laoretti
7Jan 12, 1992Infiniti Senior Tournament of Champions71-67-71-73=282−63 strokesAUS Bruce Crampton, USA Chi-Chi Rodríguez
8Jan 10, 1993Infiniti Senior Tournament of Champions (2)70-70-69-71=280−82 strokesUSA Jim Dent
9Mar 7, 1993GTE West Classic67-65-66=198−122 strokesJPN Isao Aoki, USA George Archer
10Feb 11, 1996Greater Naples IntelliNet Challenge68-63-71=202−141 strokeJPN Isao Aoki

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1-1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
11987Seniors International Golf ChampionshipUSA Jim FerreeWon with birdie on second extra hole
21999Toshiba Senior ClassicUSA Allen Doyle, USA John Jacobs,
USA Gary McCordMcCord won with birdie on fifth extra hole
Doyle and Geiberger eliminated by eagle on first hole

Source:

Other senior wins (2)

  • 1989 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Harold Henning)
  • 2008 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jimmy Powell)

Major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
1966PGA Championship4 shot leadE (68-72-68-72=280)4 strokesUSA Dudley Wysong

Results timeline

Tournament196119621963196419651966196719681969
Masters TournamentCUTT13T24T44T36T30T13
U.S. OpenT12CUTCUTT14T4T30T28T9T2
The Open Championship
PGA ChampionshipT5T19191T5T8T35
Tournament1970197119721973197419751976197719781979
Masters TournamentT45T24T12T37T31CUTT15CUTT42
U.S. OpenCUTT55T21T13T18T38T2T10T53T19
The Open ChampionshipT13CUT
PGA ChampionshipT16T30CUTT188T33CUTT6CUTT65
Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
Masters TournamentCUT
U.S. OpenCUT
The Open Championship
PGA ChampionshipT67CUTCUTCUTT74
Tournament199019911992199319941995199619971998
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA ChampionshipCUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts madeTotals120611286246
Masters Tournament0000061713
U.S. Open02035112016
The Open Championship00000121
PGA Championship10036102316
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 20 (1963 PGA – 1970 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
1975Tournament Players Championship3 shot lead−10 (66-68-67-69=270)3 strokesUSA Dave Stockton

Results timeline

Tournament19741975197619771978197919801981198219831984
The Players ChampionshipT241T24CUTT67T56CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

References

References

  1. Kelley, Brent. "Al Geiberger profile". About.com.
  2. Ballard, Sarah. (May 15, 1989). "Building A New Life: Thanks to his family and to senior golf, Al Geiberger has another chance at happiness".
  3. Jenkins, Dan. (August 1, 1966). "A Happy Stroll For Golf's Smiling Gei".
  4. (June 12, 1977). "Al Geiberger's achievement 'phenomenal'". Spokesman-Review.
  5. (June 11, 1977). "Geiberger near perfect (59)". Pittsburgh Press.
  6. (June 11, 1977). "Geiberger fires PGA mark 59, 11 birds, eagle". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  7. (June 12, 1977). "Al slips 13 shots but leads by three". Spokesman-Review.
  8. (June 13, 1977). "Geiberger turns off Player, McGee bids". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  9. "Crewlist and the Passenger list of the PanAm, that crashed on Tenerife, on 27th March 1977".
  10. (March 31, 1977). "Champ plays despite grief". Chillicothe Gazette.
  11. (April 9, 1989). "Geiberger's Perspective is Changed by Tragedy". Chicago Tribune.
  12. "Al Geiberger PGA TOUR Player Profile, Stats, Bio, Career".
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