American professional golfer
Allen Lee Geiberger Sr. (born September 1, 1937) is an American former professional golfer .
Professional career
Geiberger turned pro in 1959 and joined the PGA Tour in 1960. Geiberger won 11 tournaments on the PGA Tour , the first being the 1962 Ontario Open and the biggest being the 1966 PGA Championship , a major title.[ 1] He won the Tournament Players Championship in 1975 , and played on the Ryder Cup teams in 1967 and 1975 . Geiberger also won 10 times on the Senior PGA Tour , now called the Champions Tour .
Mr. 59
During the second round of the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic in 1977 , Geiberger became the first player in history to post a score of 59 (−13) in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.[ 2] [ 3] Starting on the tenth tee of the Colonial Country Club in Cordova, Tennessee , he shot a bogey-free round of six pars, 11 birdies, and an eagle on the 7,193-yard (6,577 m) layout.[ 4] He sank a forty-foot (12 m) putt for birdie on his opening hole, and ended the round with a birdie from eight feet (2.4 m); the lone eagle was a holed-out wedge shot.[ 3]
Geiberger won the tournament, though not handily. He shot even-par 72 in the first and third rounds,[ 5] and was two strokes down to Gary Player on Sunday after a 38 (+2) on the front nine put him at 241 (−11) for 63 holes. He regained the lead with a 32 (−4) on the back nine to finish at 273 (−15), two strokes ahead of Player and Jerry McGee .[ 6]
Scorecard: Friday, June 10, 1977
Hole
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Par
4
4
3
4
4
3
5
4
5
5
4
3
4
3
4
5
4
4
Score
3
4
2
4
4
2
4
3
4
3
3
2
4
3
3
4
4
3
To par
−1
−1
−2
−2
−2
−3
−4
−5
−6
−8
−9
−10
−10
−10
−11
−12
−12
−13
Source:[ 4]
Personal life
Geiberger was born in Red Bluff, California , the son of Ray and Mabel Geiberger. His first big tournament win was the 1954 National Jaycee Championship . He graduated from Santa Barbara High School , attended Menlo College and graduated from the University of Southern California in 1959.[ 7] [ 8]
Geiberger has six children. His son Brent Geiberger is also a professional golfer who won two PGA Tour events. Another son, John, was the coach of the Pepperdine University golf team from 1996 to 2012, and won the NCAA Championship in 1997.[ 7] Geiberger's father was one of the victims of the Tenerife airport disaster in 1977.[ 9] [ 10] [ 11]
Geiberger had surgery in 1980 to remove his colon due to inflammatory bowel disease and has an ileostomy .
Professional wins (30)
PGA Tour wins (11)
Legend
Major championships (1)
Players Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (9)
No.
Date
Tournament
Winning score
To par
Margin of victory
Runner(s)-up
1
Oct 21, 1962
Ontario Open Invitational
69-67-70-70=276
−8
1 stroke
Gardner Dickinson , Bob Goalby , Tommy Jacobs , Chuck Rotar , John Ruedi
2
Nov 3, 1963
Almaden Open Invitational
69-67-67-74=277
−11
1 stroke
Dutch Harrison , Dick Lotz
3
Aug 29, 1965
American Golf Classic
70-69-69-72=280
E
4 strokes
Arnold Palmer
4
Jul 24, 1966
PGA Championship
68-72-68-72=280
E
4 strokes
Dudley Wysong
5
Oct 6, 1974
Sahara Invitational
70-68-66-69=273
−11
3 strokes
Wally Armstrong , Jerry Heard , Dave Hill , Mike Hill
6
Apr 27, 1975
MONY Tournament of Champions
67-67-70-73=277
−11
Playoff
Gary Player
7
Aug 24, 1975
Tournament Players Championship
66-68-67-69=270
−10
3 strokes
Dave Stockton
8
Apr 4, 1976
Greater Greensboro Open
70-65-65-68=268
−16
2 strokes
Lee Trevino
9
Jun 27, 1976
Western Open
71-71-73-73=288
+4
1 stroke
Joe Porter
10
Jun 12, 1977
Danny Thomas Memphis Classic
72-59-72-70=273
−15
2 strokes
Jerry McGee , Gary Player
11
May 20, 1979
Colonial National Invitation
68-69-64-73=274
−6
1 stroke
Don January , Gene Littler
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)
Other wins (6)
Senior PGA Tour wins (10)
No.
Date
Tournament
Winning score
To par
Margin of victory
Runner(s)-up
1
Oct 4, 1987
Vantage Championship
72-67-67=206
−4
2 strokes
Dave Hill
2
Oct 18, 1987
Seniors International Golf Championship
70-68-71=209
−4
Playoff
Jim Ferree
3
Oct 25, 1987
Las Vegas Senior Classic
68-73-62=203
−13
4 strokes
Chi-Chi Rodríguez
4
Mar 20, 1988
Pointe/Del E. Webb Arizona Classic
63-69-67=199
−17
1 stroke
Orville Moody
5
Aug 20, 1989
GTE Northwest Classic
68-68-68=204
−12
3 strokes
Frank Beard
6
Jul 7, 1991
Kroger Senior Classic
66-69-68=203
−10
1 stroke
Larry Laoretti
7
Jan 12, 1992
Infiniti Senior Tournament of Champions
71-67-71-73=282
−6
3 strokes
Bruce Crampton , Chi-Chi Rodríguez
8
Jan 10, 1993
Infiniti Senior Tournament of Champions (2)
70-70-69-71=280
−8
2 strokes
Jim Dent
9
Mar 7, 1993
GTE West Classic
67-65-66=198
−12
2 strokes
Isao Aoki , George Archer
10
Feb 11, 1996
Greater Naples IntelliNet Challenge
68-63-71=202
−14
1 stroke
Isao Aoki
Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1-1)
Other senior wins (2)
Major championships
Wins (1)
Results timeline
Win
Top 10
Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Summary
Most consecutive cuts made – 20 (1963 PGA – 1970 Masters)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)
The Players Championship
Wins (1)
Results timeline
Win
Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
See also
References
^ Jenkins, Dan (August 1, 1966). "A Happy Stroll For Golf's Smiling Gei" . Sports Illustrated . p. 16. Retrieved January 13, 2015 .
^ "Al Geiberger's achievement 'phenomenal' " . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 12, 1977. p. D11.
^ a b "Geiberger near perfect (59)" . Pittsburgh Press . UPI. June 11, 1977. p. A7.
^ a b "Geiberger fires PGA mark 59, 11 birds, eagle" . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press. June 11, 1977. p. 11. Retrieved June 10, 2013 .
^ "Al slips 13 shots but leads by three" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 12, 1977. p. D5.
^ "Geiberger turns off Player, McGee bids" . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press. June 13, 1977. p. 18. Retrieved June 10, 2013 .
^ a b Kelley, Brent. "Al Geiberger profile" . About.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2013 .
^ Ballard, Sarah (May 15, 1989). "Building A New Life: Thanks to his family and to senior golf, Al Geiberger has another chance at happiness" . Sports Illustrated . Retrieved January 13, 2015 .
^ "Crewlist and the Passenger list of the PanAm, that crashed on Tenerife, on 27th March 1977" (PDF) . project-tenerife.com .
^ "Champ plays despite grief" . Chillicothe Gazette . Ohio. Associated Press. March 31, 1977. p. 16.
^ "Geiberger's Perspective is Changed by Tragedy" . Chicago Tribune . April 9, 1989. Retrieved June 30, 2020 .
External links