Claude Harmon - WikiHQ

Eugene Claude Harmon Sr. (July 14, 1916 – July 23, 1989) was an American professional golfer and golf instructor.

Early life and amateur career

Harmon was born in Savannah, Georgia. He spent much of his boyhood in Florida, in the Orlando area. A youthful prodigy, he qualified for the U.S. Amateur at age 15 in 1931.

Professional career

Harmon was a club professional when he won the 1948 Masters Tournament by five shots to earn $2,500. He was a semi-finalist three times in the PGA Championship competing as a club pro against full-time tour players. Claude Harmon also finished in third place at the 1959 U.S. Open, which was held at his home course at Winged Foot.

From 1945 to 1978, Harmon was the head professional at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, and also served as the winter professional for many years at the Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida. In 1959, Harmon played in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot and placed third. In 1959, he was hired as the head professional at Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, where he served for over a decade. Lastly, he took a club job in Texas in the Houston area.

Personal life

Harmon had four sons and two daughters. All of his sons became golf professionals and instructors. His son, Butch Harmon, has served as the golf coach for Greg Norman and Tiger Woods, among others. In addition, his sons Craig and Bill have been noted in Golf Digests "top 50 teachers" list. His third eldest son, Dick (1947–2006), was also a golf instructor, as is grandson Claude Harmon III.

Harmon died of heart failure following surgery in Houston, aged 73.

Awards and honors

Harmon is a member of the World Golf Teachers' Hall of Fame
Harmon is a member of the PGA of America Hall of Fame.

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (1)

1948 Masters Tournament

Source:

Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins (14)

this list may be incomplete

1946 Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA Championship
1947 Westchester Open
1948 Westchester PGA Championship
1949 Westchester PGA Championship, Havana Invitational
1950 Miami International Four-Ball (with Pete Cooper), Westchester Open
1951 Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA Championship, Metropolitan Open
1953 Westchester Open
1958 Westchester PGA Championship
1960 Westchester Open

Major championships

Wins (1)

{|class="wikitable"

!Year!!Championship!!54 holes!!Winning score!!Margin!!Runner-up

|-style="background:#D0F0C0;"

| 1948 ||Masters Tournament ||2 shot lead ||−9 (70-70-69-70=279) ||5 strokes|| Cary Middlecoff

Results timeline

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1940

!1941

!1942

!1943

!1944

!1945

!1946

!1947

!1948

!1949

|align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|18

|T26

|style="background:lime;"|1

|T11

|align=left|U.S. Open

|DQ

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|T15

|T19

|CUT

|style="background:yellow;"|T8

|align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|27

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|SF

|R64

|style="background:yellow;"|R16

|style="background:yellow;"|SF

|R32

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1950

!1951

!1952

!1953

!1954

!1955

!1956

!1957

!1958

!1959

|align=left|Masters Tournament

|T32

|T35

|T14

|T34

|T53

|T28

|T46

|T38

|style="background:yellow;"|T9

|CUT

|align=left|U.S. Open

|T38

|T54

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|T15

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:yellow;"|T3

|align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:yellow;"|R16

|R64

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|SF

|R32

|style="background:yellow;"|R16

|R32

|style="background:yellow;"|6

|T56

|T38

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1960

!1961

!1962

!1963

!1964

!1965

!1966

!1967

!1968

!1969

|align=left|Masters Tournament

|T16

|CUT

|WD

|CUT

|WD

|align=left|U.S. Open

|T27

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|T44

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1970

!1971

|align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|WD

|align=left|U.S. Open

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

NT = no tournament

WD = withdrew

DQ = disqualified

CUT = missed the half-way cut

R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center

!Tournament !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top-5 !! Top-10 !! Top-25 !! Events !! Cuts made

|align=left|Masters Tournament || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 6 || 25 || 14

|align=left|U.S. Open || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 5 || 15 || 9

|align=left|The Open Championship || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1

|align=left|PGA Championship || 0 || 0 || 3 || 3 || 7 || 10 || 16 || 15

!Totals !! 1 !! 0 !! 4 !! 5 !! 11 !! 21 !! 57 !! 39

Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1948 Open Championship – 1953 Masters)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

References

"Claude Harmon", Almanac of Famous People, 8th ed. Gale Group, 2003.

External links

PGA of America Hall of Fame