George Alfred Christian Knudson, CM (June 28, 1937 – January 24, 1989) was a Canadianprofessional golfer, who along with Mike Weir holds the record for the Canadian with the most wins on the PGA Tour, with eight career victories.
Early life and career
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Knudson learned to play golf at the St. Charles Country Club. He won the 1954 and 1955 Manitoba Junior Championships,[1] and the 1955 Canadian Junior Championship.[2] He moved to Toronto in 1958, and worked at the Oakdale Golf & Country Club, where he received instruction and encouragement from the Club, to improve his game; the club has named one of its three nines after him.[3] He was then able to secure some financial backing to try the PGA Tour. He won the Manitoba Open in 1958, 1959, and 1960, and the Ontario Open in 1960, 1961, 1971, 1976 and 1978.[4]
Knudson's last official PGA TOUR victory was the Kaiser Invitational in October 1972. However, Knudson nearly won again the next week at the Sahara Invitational. He carried the lead going into the final round at 15-under par after shooting 65-70-66, but a final round 76 dropped him into a T-7th at 11-under.
In seven Masters appearances, Knudson posted three top-10s, including 10th in his 1965 debut and sixth a year later.
Knudson left tournament golf in the late 1970s, and started teaching golf, with success, at a facility in the Toronto area. His teaching methods have since been adopted by the Canadian PGA.
Knudson had long been a heavy smoker and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1987. He recovered well enough to compete at the 1988 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf Senior tournament. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered the cancer had spread to his brain. George Knudson died in January 1989 at age 51 and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.
Amateur wins
1954 Manitoba Junior Championship
1955 Manitoba Junior Championship, Canadian Junior Championship
