# George Archer

George William Archer (October 1, 1939 – September 25, 2005) was an American professional golfer who won 13 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the Masters in 1969.

## Early life

Archer was born in San Francisco, California, and raised just south in San Mateo. He grew to 6 ft 5+1⁄2 in (1.97 m) 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, and at one time held the PGA Tour record for fewest putts over four rounds with 94 putts at the Sea Pines Heritage in 1980 (1.3 per hole). 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. He finished tied for 12th, 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)

* Legend
* Major championships (1)
* Other PGA Tour (12)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Jan 31, 1965 | Lucky International Open | 68-73-69-68=278 | −6 | Playoff | Bob Charles |
| 2 | Apr 2, 1967 | Greater Greensboro Open | 67-64-68-68=267 | −17 | 2 strokes | Doug Sanders |
| 3 | Mar 25, 1968 | Pensacola Open Invitational | 66-68-69-65=268 | −20 | 1 stroke | Tony Jacklin, Dave Marr |
| 4 | May 12, 1968 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | 69-65-70-67=271 | −17 | 2 strokes | Bert Yancey |
| 5 | Sep 22, 1968 | PGA National Team Championship (with Bobby Nichols) | 65-66-69-65=265 | −22 | 2 strokes | Monty Kaser and Rives McBee |
| 6 | Jan 27, 1969 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | 72-68-72-71=283 | −5 | 1 stroke | Bob Dickson, Dale Douglass, Howie Johnson |
| 7 | Apr 13, 1969 | Masters Tournament | 67-73-69-72=281 | −7 | 1 stroke | Billy Casper, George Knudson, Tom Weiskopf |
| 8 | Jan 31, 1971 | Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational | 67-72-68-65=272 | −16 | 3 strokes | Dave Eichelberger |
| 9 | Sep 6, 1971 | Greater Hartford Open Invitational | 68-66-68-66=268 | −16 | Playoff | Lou Graham, J. C. Snead |
| 10 | Jan 9, 1972 | Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open | 66-69-69-66=270 | −14 | Playoff | Tommy Aaron, Dave Hill |
| 11 | Apr 2, 1972 | Greater Greensboro Open (2) | 70-68-66-68=272 | −12 | Playoff | Tommy Aaron |
| 12 | Oct 3, 1976 | Sahara Invitational | 67-66-69-69=271 | −13 | 2 strokes | Dave Hill, Don January |
| 13 | Sep 9, 1984 | Bank of Boston Classic | 69-66-70-65=270 | −14 | 6 strokes | Frank Conner, Joey Sindelar |
PGA Tour playoff record (4–3)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1965 | Lucky International Open | Bob Charles | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1969 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | Billy Casper, Don January, Jack Nicklaus | Nicklaus won with birdie on second extra hole January eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 3 | 1970 | Robinson Open Golf Classic | George Knudson | Lost to par on fourth extra hole |
| 4 | 1971 | Greater Hartford Open Invitational | Lou Graham, J. C. Snead | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 5 | 1972 | Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open | Tommy Aaron, Dave Hill | Won 18-hole playoff; Archer: −5 (66), Aaron: −3 (68), Hill: −3 (68) |
| 6 | 1972 | Dean Martin Tucson Open | Miller Barber | Lost to birdie on third extra hole after 18-hole playoff; Archer: E (72), Barber: E (72) |
| 7 | 1972 | Greater Greensboro Open | Tommy Aaron | Won with par on second extra hole |

### 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)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Oct 15, 1989 | Gatlin Brothers Southwest Senior Classic | 69-72-68=209 | −7 | Playoff | Orville Moody, Jimmy Powell |
| 2 | Jan 7, 1990 | MONY Senior Tournament of Champions | 73-69-67-74=283 | −5 | 7 strokes | Bruce Crampton |
| 3 | Jul 8, 1990 | Northville Long Island Classic | 69-67-72=208 | −16 | 1 stroke | Frank Beard, Charles Coody |
| 4 | Aug 26, 1990 | GTE Northwest Classic | 69-66-70=205 | −15 | 2 strokes | Bruce Crampton |
| 5 | Oct 28, 1990 | Rancho Murieta Senior Gold Rush | 70-68-66=204 | −12 | 1 stroke | Dale Douglass |
| 6 | Aug 4, 1991 | Northville Long Island Classic (2) | 68-67-69=204 | −12 | 2 strokes | Jim Colbert, Larry Laoretti |
| 7 | Sep 1, 1991 | GTE North Classic | 66-66-67=199 | −17 | 1 stroke | Dale Douglass |
| 8 | Oct 13, 1991 | Raley's Senior Gold Rush (2) | 67-71-68=206 | −10 | 1 stroke | Simon Hobday |
| 9 | May 10, 1992 | Murata Reunion Pro-Am | 66-72-73=211 | −5 | Playoff | Tommy Aaron |
| 10 | Aug 2, 1992 | Northville Long Island Classic (3) | 70-67-68=205 | −9 | 2 strokes | Jim Albus |
| 11 | Aug 16, 1992 | Bruno's Memorial Classic | 66-68-74=208 | −8 | 1 stroke | Jack Kiefer, Rocky Thompson |
| 12 | Jul 18, 1993 | Ameritech Senior Open | 67-66=133* | −11 | 1 stroke | Jim Colbert, Simon Hobday, Dick Rhyan |
| 13 | Jul 25, 1993 | First of America Classic | 67-69-63=199 | −14 | Playoff | Jim Colbert, Chi-Chi Rodríguez |
| 14 | Oct 17, 1993 | Raley's Senior Gold Rush (3) | 68-66-68=202 | −14 | 1 stroke | Bob Charles, Chi-Chi Rodríguez |
| 15 | Oct 31, 1993 | Ping Kaanapali Classic | 67-69-63=199 | −14 | Playoff | Dave Stockton, Lee Trevino |
| 16 | Feb 20, 1995 | Toshiba Senior Classic | 67-68-64=199 | −11 | 1 stroke | Dave Stockton, Tom Wargo |
| 17 | May 14, 1995 | Cadillac NFL Golf Classic | 69-66-70=205 | −11 | 1 stroke | Raymond Floyd, Bob Murphy |
| 18 | Aug 16, 1998 | First of America Classic (2) | 68-67-64=199 | −17 | 5 strokes | Jim Dent |
| 19 | Jan 23, 2000 | MasterCard Championship (2) | 67-71-69=207 | −9 | 2 strokes | Hale Irwin, Graham Marsh, Dana Quigley, Lee Trevino |
*Note: The 1993 Ameritech Senior Open was shortened to 36 holes due to lightning.
Senior PGA Tour Tour playoff record (4–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1989 | Gatlin Brothers Southwest Senior Classic | Orville Moody, Jimmy Powell | Won with par on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1991 | Security Pacific Senior Classic | John Brodie, Chi-Chi Rodríguez | Brodie won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1992 | GTE Suncoast Classic | Jim Colbert | Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole |
| 4 | 1992 | Murata Reunion Pro-Am | Tommy Aaron | Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 5 | 1993 | First of America Classic | Jim Colbert, Chi-Chi Rodríguez | Won with par on third extra hole Rodríguez eliminated by par on first hole |
| 6 | 1993 | Ping Kaanapali Classic | Dave Stockton, Lee Trevino | Won with birdie on first extra hole |

### Other senior wins (4)

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

## Major championships
### Wins (1)

| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | To par | Margin | Runners-up |
| 1969 | Masters Tournament | 1 shot deficit | 67-73-69-72=281 | −7 | 1 stroke | Billy Casper, George Knudson, Tom Weiskopf |

### Results timeline

| Tournament | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
| Masters Tournament | | | | T16 | T22 | 1 |
| U.S. Open | T39 | | T17 | WD | T16 | T10 |
| The Open Championship | | | | | | WD |
| PGA Championship | | T61 | | T55 | T4 | T69 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 |
| Masters Tournament | T31 | 35 | T12 | T43 | WD | CUT | CUT | T19 | WD |
| U.S. Open | T30 | T5 | T65 | T34 | | | | T27 | CUT |
| The Open Championship | | | | | | | | | |
| PGA Championship | T61 | T34 | T36 | T51 | | | | T19 | 61 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1988 | 1989 |
| Masters Tournament | CUT | T11 | T30 | T12 | T25 | T53 | CUT | CUT | T43 |
| U.S. Open | | T58 | | | | | | | |
| The Open Championship | | | | | | | | | |
| PGA Championship | T17 | CUT | T34 | T67 | | T47 | | | |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 |
| Masters Tournament | 49 | WD | 51 |
| U.S. Open | | | |
| The Open Championship | | | |
| PGA Championship | | | |
CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = withdrew "T" = tied

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 24 | 16 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 10 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 14 |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 52 | 40 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1969 PGA – 1973 PGA)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1968 PGA – 1969 U.S. Open)