# George Burns (golfer)

George Francis Burns III (born July 29, 1949) is an American professional golfer. Turning pro in 1975, Burns had four PGA Tour wins, 80 top-10 finishes and won several other tournaments at both the amateur and professional levels.
Burns was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was the eldest child of George Burns Jr, President of Smith Corona Typewriters and Durkee Foods, and Kathleen Marie Scott. He attended the University of Tennessee before transferring his freshman year to the University of Maryland where he played defensive end for one season before quitting football to focus solely on golf. He turned pro in 1975.
Burns won four PGA Tour events during that phase of his career. His first win came with Ben Crenshaw at the 1979 Walt Disney World National Team Championship in Orlando. The biggest win of his career came a year later at the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am. Burns had more than 70 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. His best finish in a major was at the 1981 U.S. Open where Burns held a three-shot lead going into the final round before finishing T2. Burns also had a T-5 at the 1977 British Open.
After reaching the age of 50 in 1999, Burns began play on the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the PGA Tour Champions). His best finish at that level is a T-9 at the 2000 Brickyard Classic. He lives and plays at Quail Ridge Country Club in Boynton Beach, Florida.

## Amateur wins

* 1972 Metropolitan Amateur, Monroe Invitational, Long Island Amateur
* 1973 Canadian Amateur Championship
* 1974 Azalea Invitational, Porter Cup, North and South Amateur, New York State Amateur

## Professional wins (9)
### PGA Tour wins (4)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Oct 28, 1979 | Walt Disney World National Team Championship (with Ben Crenshaw) | −33 (62-66-62-65=255) | 3 strokes | Peter Jacobsen and D. A. Weibring, Jeff Hewes and Sammy Rachels, Scott Bess and Dan Halldorson |
| 2 | Feb 3, 1980 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | −8 (71-69-71-69=280) | 1 stroke | Dan Pohl |
| 3 | Sep 8, 1985 | Bank of Boston Classic | −17 (67-66-68-66=267) | 6 strokes | John Mahaffey, Jodie Mudd, Greg Norman, Leonard Thompson |
| 4 | Feb 25, 1987 | Shearson Lehman Brothers Andy Williams Open | −22 (63-68-70-65=266) | 4 strokes | J. C. Snead, Bobby Wadkins |
PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1984 | Bay Hill Classic | Gary Koch | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1985 | Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic | Raymond Floyd, Roger Maltbie | Maltbie won with birdie on fourth extra hole |

### European Tour wins (2)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | Jul 27, 1975 | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | −5 (70-70-70-69=279) | Playoff | Graham Marsh |
| 2 | Sep 14, 1975 | Kerrygold International Classic | +6 (78-72-70-74=294) | Playoff | John Fowler |
European Tour playoff record (2–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 1975 | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | Graham Marsh | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1975 | Kerrygold International Classic | John Fowler | Won with par on second extra hole |

### Other wins (3)

* 1982 New York State Open, Panama Open
* 1988 Chrysler Team Championship (with Wayne Levi)

## Results in major championships

| Tournament | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
| Masters Tournament | T30LA | | | | |
| U.S. Open | | | T49 | T46 | T48 |
| The Open Championship | T10 | T10 | T5 | CUT | |
| PGA Championship | | CUT | T19 | T19 | T28 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1990 |
| Masters Tournament | CUT | | T33 | CUT | | | CUT | CUT | | |
| U.S. Open | T28 | T2 | T30 | | T34 | | CUT | | CUT | CUT |
| The Open Championship | CUT | | | | | | | | | |
| PGA Championship | CUT | T70 | T42 | T55 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | | |
LA = Low amateur CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1978 Open Championship) "T" indicates a tie for a place

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 6 |
| Totals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 33 | 18 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (1981 U.S. Open – 1982 PGA)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1975 Open Championship – 1976 Open Championship)

## U.S. national team appearances

Amateur
* Eisenhower Trophy: 1974 (winners)
* Walker Cup: 1975 (winners)