# Bruce Crampton

Bruce Crampton (born 28 September 1935) is an Australian professional golfer.

## Early life and amateur career

Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953 he reached final of the New South Wales Amateur Championship, losing 5&4 to Harry Berwick. In October, he led the Lakes Open after two rounds. According to Norman Von Nida, he was "probably" the first amateur in roughly 15 years, since Jim Ferrier, "to lead a big tournament after two rounds." Von Nida also stated that, "Crampton proves my prediction that he would become one of the greatest players Australia has produced."

## Professional career

Crampton turned professional in late 1953, becoming an assistant to Billy McWilliam at Beverley Park in Sydney. His decision to turn professional came soon after he had been left out of the Australian amateur team to tour Britain in 1954 and play in the Commonwealth Tournament at St Andrews.
Crampton won the Vardon Trophy for the player with the lowest stroke average on the PGA Tour in 1973 and 1975. He had 14 career wins on the PGA Tour between 1961 and 1975 and was runner up in four major championships – one Masters, one U.S. Open, and two PGA Championships – all to Jack Nicklaus. He was ranked among the top five golfers in the world in both 1972 and 1973, according to Mark McCormack's world golf rankings. His other regular career victories included the Australian Open, New Zealand PGA Championship, Far East Open and the Philippine Open. As a senior, he won 20 times on the Champions Tour, and topped the money list in 1986.

## Awards and honors

Crampton was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2001.

## Professional wins (45)
### PGA Tour wins (14)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 23 Jul 1961 | Milwaukee Open Invitational | −8 (70-64-67-71=272) | 1 stroke | Gay Brewer, Bob Goalby |
| 2 | 15 Jul 1962 | Motor City Open | −17 (66-65-70-66=267) | 3 strokes | Dave Hill, Don Massengale |
| 3 | 26 Apr 1964 | Texas Open Invitational | −7 (71-69-68-65=273) | 1 stroke | Bob Charles, Chi-Chi Rodríguez |
| 4 | 24 Jan 1965 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | −3 (75-67-73-69=284) | 3 strokes | Tony Lema |
| 5 | 11 May 1965 | Colonial National Invitation | −4 (71-68-71-66=276) | 3 strokes | George Knudson |
| 6 | 30 May 1965 | 500 Festival Open Invitation | −5 (71-70-67-71=279) | 1 stroke | Jacky Cupit, Lionel Hebert |
| 7 | 9 Nov 1969 | Hawaiian Open | −14 (71-71-65-67=274) | 4 strokes | Jack Nicklaus |
| 8 | 2 Aug 1970 | Westchester Classic | −15 (67-71-68-67=273) | 1 stroke | Larry Hinson, Jack Nicklaus |
| 9 | 18 Jul 1971 | Western Open | −5 (66-73-69-71=279) | 2 strokes | Bobby Nichols |
| 10 | 14 Jan 1973 | Phoenix Open | −12 (68-67-68-65=268) | 1 stroke | Steve Melnyk, Lanny Wadkins |
| 11 | 21 Jan 1973 | Dean Martin Tucson Open | −11 (70-70-66-71=277) | 5 strokes | George Archer, Gay Brewer, Labron Harris Jr. |
| 12 | 6 May 1973 | Houston Open | −11 (72-66-67-72=277) | 1 stroke | Dave Stockton |
| 13 | 24 Jun 1973 | American Golf Classic | −7 (70-67-68-68=273) | 3 strokes | Gay Brewer, Bob Murphy, Lanny Wadkins |
| 14 | 4 May 1975 | Houston Open (2) | −15 (68-70-66-69=273) | 2 strokes | Gil Morgan |
PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 1970 | Houston Champions International | Gibby Gilbert | Lost to par on third extra hole |
| 2 | 1974 | B.C. Open | Richie Karl | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |

### PGA Tour satellite wins (1)

* 1968 West End Classic

### Other wins (8)

this list may be incomplete
* 1954 New Zealand PGA Championship
* 1956 Australian Open, Speedo Tournament
* 1957 Pelaco Tournament
* 1958 North Coast Open
* 1959 Far East Open, Philippine Open
* 1971 Wills Masters

### Senior PGA Tour wins (20)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 11 May 1986 | Benson & Hedges Invitational | −14 (67-67-68=202) | 2 strokes | Bob Charles |
| 2 | 27 Jul 1986 | MONY Syracuse Senior's Pro Golf Classic | −11 (70-65-71=206) | 1 stroke | Roberto De Vicenzo, Orville Moody, Chi-Chi Rodríguez |
| 3 | 17 Jul 1986 | GTE Northwest Classic | −6 (77-71-72=210) | 2 strokes | Don January, George Lanning |
| 4 | 21 Sep 1986 | PaineWebber World Seniors Invitational | −9 (68-69-72=70=279) | 1 stroke | Lee Elder, Chi-Chi Rodríguez |
| 5 | 26 Oct 1986 | Pepsi Senior Challenge | −8 (65-71=136)* | 1 stroke | Gary Player |
| 6 | 9 Nov 1986 | Las Vegas Senior Classic | −10 (71-67-68=206) | 2 strokes | Dale Douglass |
| 7 | 23 Nov 1986 | Shearson-Lehman Brothers Senior Classic | −16 (65-67-68=200) | 4 strokes | Butch Baird |
| 8 | 31 May 1987 | Denver Champions of Golf | −12 (73-64-67=204) | 1 stroke | Walt Zembriski |
| 9 | 6 Jul 1987 | The Greenbrier American Express Championship | −16 (63-70-67=200) | 6 strokes | Orville Moody |
| 10 | 19 Jul 1987 | MONY Syracuse Senior Classic (2) | −7 (65-67-65=197) | 6 strokes | Chi-Chi Rodríguez |
| 11 | 6 Sep 1987 | Bank One Senior Golf Classic | −13 (63-64-70=197) | 6 strokes | Miller Barber, Bob Charles, Joe Jimenez |
| 12 | 15 May 1988 | United Hospitals Classic | −5 (71-65-69=205) | Playoff | Billy Casper |
| 13 | 10 Jul 1988 | GTE Northwest Classic (2) | −9 (69-68-70=207) | 1 stroke | Don Bies, Bruce Devlin |
| 14 | 12 Mar 1989 | MONY Arizona Classic | −16 (67-64-69=200) | 1 stroke | Bobby Nichols |
| 15 | 23 Jul 1989 | Ameritech Senior Open | −11 (70-67-68=205) | 1 stroke | Jim Ferree, Orville Moody |
| 16 | 5 Aug 1990 | PaineWebber Invitational (2) | −11 (68-69-68=205) | 3 strokes | Tom Shaw |
| 17 | 14 Oct 1990 | Gatlin Brothers Southwest Senior Classic | −12 (67-68-69=204) | 4 strokes | Lee Trevino |
| 18 | 6 Jan 1991 | Infiniti Senior Tournament of Champions | −9 (70-69-69-71=279) | 4 strokes | Frank Beard |
| 19 | 8 Mar 1992 | GTE West Classic | −15 (66-63-66=195) | 3 strokes | Chi-Chi Rodríguez |
| 20 | 18 May 1997 | Cadillac NFL Golf Classic | −6 (76-67-67=210) | Playoff | Hugh Baiocchi |
*Note: The 1986 Pepsi Senior Challenge was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.
Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 1988 | United Hospitals Classic | Billy Casper | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1990 | GTE North Classic | Mike Hill | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1993 | PGA Seniors' Championship | Tom Wargo | Lost to par on second extra hole |
| 4 | 1997 | Cadillac NFL Golf Classic | Hugh Baiocchi | Won with birdie on third extra hole |

### Other senior wins (2)

* 1987 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Orville Moody)
* 1988 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Orville Moody)

## Results in major championships

| Tournament | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
| Masters Tournament | | T21 | T26 | CUT |
| U.S. Open | | | T19 | CUT |
| The Open Championship | T13 | T39 | T34 | |
| PGA Championship | | | | |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
| Masters Tournament | T16 | CUT | T29 | T11 | T21 | T11 | T17 | T49 | | T13 |
| U.S. Open | T38 | T22 | T45 | T5 | T14 | T32 | T57 | | T46 | T6 |
| The Open Championship | | | | | | | | | | |
| PGA Championship | | | T17 | T3 | T56 | T20 | T43 | T26 | T23 | T15 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 |
| Masters Tournament | T38 | T18 | T2 | T43 | T11 | CUT | 27 |
| U.S. Open | T30 | T49 | 2 | CUT | T23 | | CUT |
| The Open Championship | | | | T18 | CUT | | |
| PGA Championship | T6 | T57 | T24 | 2 | T48 | 2 | T38 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 19 | 16 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 14 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 15 |
| Totals | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 28 | 56 | 49 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 33 (1961 U.S. Open – 1973 Masters)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

## Team appearances

Amateur
* Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing New South Wales): 1953
Professional
* World Cup (representing Australia): 1957, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1972
* Slazenger Trophy (representing British Commonwealth and Empire): 1956
* Vicars Shield (representing New South Wales): 1956 (winners)