George Archer

Early life

Archer was born in San Francisco, California, and 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.

Professional career

In 1964, Archer turned professional 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 (10th in 1969, fifth in 1971) and the PGA Championship (fourth in 1968).

Archer was hampered by injuries throughout his career and had surgery on his left wrist (1975), back (1979) and left shoulder (1987). In 1996, he had his right hip replaced and two years later became the first man to win on the Senior PGA Tour (now the PGA Tour Champions) after having the surgery. 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, The record stood for nine years, until broken by Kenny Knox in 1989.

Archer was known as the "Golfing Cowboy," tracing to a summer job in his youth at his friend and sponsor, Lucky Lager Brewing Company founder 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. 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.

Personal life

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(c)(3) 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.

Death

Archer died of Burkitt's lymphoma – a lymphatic system malignancy – in Incline Village, Nevada in 2005, six 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, a month before his death.

Amateur wins

• 1963 Trans-Mississippi Amateur, San Francisco City Championship

Professional wins (43)

PGA Tour wins (13)

PGA Tour playoff record (4–3)

Other wins (7)

• 1963 Northern California Open, Northern California Medal Play
• 1964 Northern California Open
• 1967 Northern California Open
• 1969 Argentine Masters
• 1981 Colombian Open
• 1982 Philippines Invitational

Senior PGA Tour wins (19)

Senior PGA Tour Tour playoff record (4–2)

Other senior wins (4)

• 1990 Sports Shinko Cup, Princeville Classic
• 1991 Sports Shinko Cup
• 1994 Chrysler Cup (individual)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the half-way cut

WD = withdrew

"T" = tied

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1969 PGA – 1973 PGA)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1968 PGA – 1969 U.S. Open)

Notes

References

References

1. Herskowitz, Mickey. (April 13, 1964). ["Home on the range or the greens"](https://www.si.com/vault/1964/04/13/614482/home-on-the-range-or-the-greens ).
2. FitzGerald, Tom. (September 28, 2005). "George Archer: 1939-2005: Fellow golfers praise '69 Masters champ / 'He was a consummate pro,' Johnny Miller says". SF Gate.
3. Litsky, Frank. (September 27, 2005). "George Archer, 65, winner of golf's Masters in 1969, dies". New York Times.
4. (September 27, 2005). "Masters champ Archer dies at 65". St. Petersburg Times.
5. (April 14, 1969). "Archer wins Masters by 1; trio shares 2nd". Milwaukee Sentinel.
6. Green, Bob. (April 14, 1969). "Masters success won't spoil George Archer". Reading Eagle.
7. Litsky, Frank. (September 28, 2005). "1969 Masters golf champ Archer noted for putting prowess". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
8. Jenkins, Dan. (April 21, 1969). ["Sorry, Billy"](https://www.si.com/vault/1969/04/21/610380/sorry-billy).
9. "1969 Masters leaderboard". Augusta.com.
10. Husar, John. (April 14, 1969). "Archer's 281 wins Masters by 1 shot". Chicago Tribune.
11. (April 14, 1969). "George the Giant keeps his cool, wins with 281 in tense Masters". Spokesman-Review.
12. [http://www.augusta.com/masters/historic/leaderboards/1969leaderboard.shtml Historic Leaderboard: 1969 Masters]. Augusta.com. Retrieved on 2018-06-09.
13. "Golf Major Championships".
14. (April 2, 1980). "'I'm still in a state of shock,' Tewell says". Williamson Daily News.
15. (April 17, 1989). "Good start for Stewart means win". Eugene Register-Guard.
16. (April 25, 1969). "Golf: Archer Makes His Bow".
17. "1983 Masters leaderboard". Augusta.com.
18. Greenday, Joe. (April 11, 1983). "Elizabeth Archer enjoying a first in golf at Masters". Boca Raton News.
19. (August 17, 1980). "Pro Archer has daughter carry bag". News and Courier.
20. (February 14, 2006). "Former Masters Champion George Archer Battled Secret Life-long Illiteracy; Moving First-Person Account Written by Archer's Wife Appears in the March/April Issue of Golf For Women". Business Wire.
21. "The George Archer Memorial Foundation for Literacy".
22. (September 26, 2005). "Masters winner George Archer dies". USA Today.