From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Orville Moody

American professional golfer (1933–2008)

Summary

American professional golfer (1933–2008)

Field	Value
name	Orville Moody
imagesize
fullname	Orville James Moody
nickname	Sarge
birth_date
birth_place	Chickasha, Oklahoma, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Allen, Texas, U.S.
height
weight	200 lb
nationality
spouse	Beverly Moody
children	4
college	Oklahoma (briefly)
yearpro	1967
retired
extour	PGA Tour
Champions Tour
prowins	31
pgawins	1
champwins	11
otherwins	19
majorwins	1
masters	T18: 1970
usopen	Won: 1969
open	T11: 1978
pga	T7: 1969
wghofid
wghofyear
award1	PGA Player of the Year
year1	1969
awardssection
module	{{Infobox person	embed=yes
signature	Orville_Moody_signature.jpg

Champions Tour Orville James Moody (December 9, 1933 – August 8, 2008) was an American professional golfer who won numerous tournaments in his career. He won the U.S. Open in 1969, the last champion in the 20th century to win through local and sectional qualifying.

Early life

In 1933, Moody was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma. He was the youngest of ten children. The son of a golf course superintendent, he began his career at Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City, winning the 1952 state high school golf championship.

After attempting college for a few weeks at the University of Oklahoma he joined the U.S. Army. He was able to continue playing golf while in uniform, winning the All-Service championship and the Korea Open three times. He spent fourteen years in the Army heading up maintenance supervision and instruction at all Army golf courses.

Professional career

In 1967, Moody gave up his military career in favor of a trial run at the PGA Tour. His nickname on tour was "Sarge" because he rose to the rank of sergeant in the Army. Moody had limited success on the PGA Tour prior to 1969. In April of that year, he took part in a four-way playoff at the Greater Greensboro Open won by Gene Littler.

The 1969 U.S. Open was played in June at the Cypress Creek Course of the Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. Defending champion Lee Trevino picked Moody to win, saying, "He's one helluva player." Moody won by one stroke over Deane Beman, Al Geiberger, and Bob Rosburg with a 72-hole score of 281. He tied for sixteenth at the British Open, tied for seventh at the PGA Championship, and was named PGA Player of the Year for 1969.

The U.S. Open win was Moody's sole tour victory in 266 career events, although he was runner-up five times. He toured Japan, played in a few tournaments and eventually took a club pro job in Sulphur Springs, Texas. Moody was troubled by poor putting during his early pro years.

His career on the Senior PGA Tour was dramatically different. After turning fifty in late 1983, he won two of his first five tournaments in 1984 and finished fifth on the money list. In 1989, he became only the fourth man to win both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Senior Open. Moody went to a long putter after becoming a senior golfer, and this method improved his putting significantly. He had eleven wins on the senior tour, with the last in 1992.

Moody had triple bypass heart surgery prior to the 1995 season but still managed to play in 29 events.

Moody continued to play in charity and other golf events up until 2007.

Personal life

In 2008, he died at the age of 74 in Allen, Texas, from complications of a stroke he had earlier suffered and/or complications from multiple myeloma. He was survived by his wife, Beverly, their son and three daughters, and eight grandchildren.

Awards and honors

In 1969, Moody earned PGA Player of the Year honors

Professional wins (31)

PGA Tour wins (1)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (0)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of
victory	Runners-up
1	Jun 15, 1969	U.S. Open	71-70-68-72=281	+1	1 stroke	USA Deane Beman, USA Al Geiberger,
USA Bob Rosburg

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	1969	Greater Greensboro Open	USA Julius Boros, USA Gene Littler,
USA Tom Weiskopf	Littler won with birdie on fifth extra hole
Weiskopf eliminated by par on first hole
2	1973	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	USA Raymond Floyd, USA Jack Nicklaus	Nicklaus won with birdie on first extra hole

Source:

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of
victory	Runner-up
1	Apr 4, 1971	Hong Kong Open	66-66-66-68=266	−14	2 strokes	JPN Haruo Yasuda

Korean wins (5)

1958 Korea Open
1959 KPGA Championship, Korea Open
1960 Korea Open
1966 KPGA Championship

Other wins (3)

This list is incomplete

1969 World Series of Golf, World Cup (team with Lee Trevino)
1971 Hassan II Golf Trophy

Senior PGA Tour wins (11)

Legend
Senior PGA Tour major championships (2)
Other Senior PGA Tour (9)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of
victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Apr 8, 1984	Daytona Beach Seniors Golf Classic	70-74-69=213	−3	Playoff	USA Arnold Palmer, USA Dan Sikes
2	May 6, 1984	MONY Senior Tournament of Champions	71-75-70-72=288	E	7 strokes	USA Dan Sikes
3	Aug 16, 1987	Rancho Murieta Senior Gold Rush	69-67-69=205	−11	2 strokes	USA Butch Baird
4	Dec 13, 1987	GTE Kaanapali Classic	65-67=132*	−12	3 strokes	USA John Brodie
5	Mar 6, 1988	Vintage Chrysler Invitational	66-64-70-63=263	−25	11 strokes	USA Al Geiberger, ZAF Harold Henning
6	Jun 5 1988	Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am	70-70-66=206	−10	Playoff	NZL Bob Charles, USA Don Massengale,
USA Bobby Nichols
7	Aug 21, 1988	Greater Grand Rapids Open	68-65-70=203	−7	1 stroke	USA Chick Evans, ZAF Gary Player,
USA Chi-Chi Rodríguez
8	Jun 11, 1989	Mazda Senior Tournament Players Championship	67-69-64-71=271	−17	2 strokes	USA Charles Coody
9	Jul 2, 1989	U.S. Senior Open	72-73-64-70=279	−9	2 strokes	USA Frank Beard
10	Jun 23, 1991	PaineWebber Invitational	69-68-70=207	−9	1 stroke	USA Dick Hendrickson
11	Aug 30, 1992	Franklin Showdown Classic	70-67=137*	−7	Playoff	USA Bob Betley

*Note: Tournament shortened to 36 holes due to weather.

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (3–4)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1984	Daytona Beach Seniors Golf Classic	USA Arnold Palmer, USA Dan Sikes	Won with birdie on second extra hole
2	1985	Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic	USA Lee Elder, USA Dan Sikes,
USA Walt Zembriski	Elder won with birdie on third extra hole
Moody eliminated by birdie on second hole
3	1988	Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am	NZL Bob Charles, USA Don Massengale,
USA Bobby Nichols	Won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1989	Southwestern Bell Classic	USA Bobby Nichols	Lost to birdie on third extra hole
5	1989	Northville Long Island Classic	USA Butch Baird, USA Frank Beard,
USA Don Bies	Baird won with birdie on first extra hole
6	1989	Gatlin Brothers Southwest Senior Classic	USA George Archer, USA Jimmy Powell	Archer won with par on second extra hole
7	1992	Franklin Showdown Classic	USA Bob Betley	Won with birdie on eighth extra hole

Other senior wins (10)

1984 Viceroy Panama Open
1986 Australian PGA Seniors Championship
1987 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Bruce Crampton)
1987 Australian PGA Seniors Championship
1988 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Bruce Crampton)
1995 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Jimmy Powell)
1996 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Jimmy Powell)
1999 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Jimmy Powell)
2005 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jimmy Powell)
2006 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jimmy Powell)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
1969	U.S. Open	3 shot deficit	+1 (71-70-68-72=281)	1 stroke	USA Deane Beman, USA Al Geiberger,
USA Bob Rosburg

Results timeline

Tournament	1962	1969
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT	1
The Open Championship		T16
PGA Championship		T7

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1978	1979	1980
Masters Tournament	T18	T20	CUT	CUT	44
U.S. Open	CUT	T27	T15	CUT		CUT
The Open Championship	CUT						T11	T19	CUT
PGA Championship	T41	CUT	WD	T30				CUT

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1970 and 1980 Open Championships)

WD = withdrew

"T" = tied

Summary

Tournament	Wins	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	2	5	3
U.S. Open	1	1	1	2	7	3
The Open Championship	0	0	0	3	5	3
PGA Championship	0	0	1	1	6	3

Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (1969 U.S. Open – 1970 Masters)
Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1989	Mazda Senior Tournament Players Championship	−17 (67−69−64−71=271)	2 strokes	USA Charles Coody
1989	U.S. Senior Open	−9 (72−73−64−70=279)	2 strokes	USA Frank Beard

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

World Cup: 1969 (winners)

References

(August 18, 2008). "For the Record".
"U.S. Open Records - The Last Time It Happened". USGA.
Goldstein, Richard. (August 11, 2008). "Orville Moody, 74, Winner of the U.S. Open, Dies". The New York Times.
(June 16, 1970). "Open champ likes patriotic colors". Eugene Register-Guard.
(April 7, 1969). "Littler gets prize in golf playoff". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
Jenkins, Dan. (June 23, 1969). "Old Sarge cools it".
"U.S. Open History – Past Champions – 1969". USGA.
(August 8, 2008). "1969 U.S. Open champion Orville Moody dies". Golf.com.
"Orville Moody bio". Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
"Orville Moody". PGA Tour.
"Australian PGA Seniors Championship Winners List".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

american-male-golfers pga-tour-golfers pga-tour-champions-golfers winners-of-men's-major-golf-championships winners-of-senior-major-golf-championships golfers-from-oklahoma golfers-from-texas united-states-army-soldiers deaths-from-multiple-myeloma-in-the-united-states sportspeople-from-chickasha,-oklahoma 1933-births 2008-deaths 20th-century-american-sportsmen

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Orville Moody — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report