Billy Casper

Billy Casper
Casper in 2008
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Earl Casper Jr.
NicknameBuffalo Bill
Born(1931-06-24)June 24, 1931
San Diego, California
DiedFebruary 7, 2015(2015-02-07) (aged 83)
Springville, Utah
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Spouse
Shirley Franklin
(m. 1952)
Children11
Career
CollegeUniversity of Notre Dame
Turned professional1954
Former tour(s)
Professional wins72
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour51 (7th all time)
European Tour1
PGA Tour Champions9
Other
  • 10 (regular)
  • 1 (senior)
Best results in major championships
(wins: 3)
Masters TournamentWon: 1970
PGA Championship2nd/T2: 1958, 1965, 1971
U.S. OpenWon: 1959, 1966
The Open Championship4th: 1968
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame1978 (member page)
Vardon Trophy1960, 1963, 1965,
1966, 1968
PGA Tour
money list winner
1966, 1968
PGA Player of the Year1966, 1970

William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.

In his youth, Casper started as a caddie and emerged from the junior golf hotbed of San Diego, where golf could be played year-round, to rank seventh all-time in career Tour wins with 51, across a 20-year period between 1956 and 1975. Fellow San Diegan great Gene Littler was a friend and rival from teenager to senior. Casper won three major championships, represented the United States on a then-record eight Ryder Cup teams, and holds the U.S. record for career Ryder Cup points won. After reaching age 50, Casper regularly played the Senior PGA Tour and was a winner there until 1989. In his later years, Casper successfully developed businesses in golf course design and management of golf facilities.

Casper served as Ryder Cup captain in 1979, was twice PGA Player of the Year (1966 and 1970), was twice leading money winner, and won five Vardon Trophy awards for the lowest seasonal scoring average on the Tour.

Respected for his extraordinary putting and short-game skills, Casper was a superior strategist who overcame his distance disadvantages against longer-hitting competitors such as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus with moxie, creative shot-making, and clever golf-course management abilities. Never a flashy gallery favorite, Casper developed his own self-contained style, relying on solid technique, determination, concentration, and perseverance.[1]

He converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1966. Casper was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978.

  1. ^ Diaz, Jaime (June 2012). "Out Of The Darkness". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015.

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