Pete Cooper (golfer)
| Pete Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Richard Bernice Cooper |
| Born | December 31, 1914 |
| Died | October 8, 1993 (aged 78) |
| Sporting nationality | United States |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1938 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions Tour |
| Professional wins | 23 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 4 |
| Other | 18 (regular) 1 (senior) |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | T12: 1956 |
| PGA Championship | T9: 1953 |
| U.S. Open | T4: 1953 |
| The Open Championship | CUT: 1976 |
Richard Bernice "Pete" Cooper (December 31, 1914 – October 8, 1993) was an American professional golfer. Cooper played on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s; he was best known for winning the 1976 PGA Seniors' Championship.
Professional career
In 1938, Cooper turned professional. In the ten-year span between 1949 and 1958, he won five official PGA Tour events and had runner-up finishes in the 1950 Houston Open and the 1955 Tournament of Champions. His best finish in a major was T4 at the 1953 U.S. Open.[1] He helped a young Chi-Chi Rodríguez improve enough to secure a spot on the PGA Tour.
Cooper won the 1976 PGA Seniors' Championship at the age of 61 with a four-day total of 283 over runner-up Fred Wampler. The tournament was held at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
He was also active in golf course design.
Personal life
Cooper lived in Lakeland, Florida, where he owned the Par 3 and Lone Palm Golf Club.
Professional wins (23)
PGA Tour wins (4)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 6, 1949 | St. Petersburg Open | −9 (68-67-69-71=275) | 1 stroke | Cary Middlecoff |
| 3 | Jun 13, 1954 | Virginia Beach Open | −13 (67-64-64-68=263) | 1 stroke | Tommy Bolt |
| 4 | Mar 17, 1957 | St. Petersburg Open | −15 (68-68-68-65=269) | 4 strokes | Jack Burke Jr. |
| 5 | Nov 23, 1958 | West Palm Beach Open Invitational | −19 (68-63-68-70=269) | Playoff | Wes Ellis |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1958 | West Palm Beach Open Invitational | Wes Ellis | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1959 | West Palm Beach Open Invitational | Gay Brewer, Arnold Palmer | Palmer won with par on fourth extra hole |
Latin American and Caribbean wins (6)
- 1959 Panama Open, Puerto Rico Open, Colombian Open
- 1960 Jamaica Open, Maracaibo Open
- 1961 Panama Open
Other regular wins (12)
this list is probably incomplete
- 1944 Florida Open
- 1946 Florida Open
- 1948 Florida Open
- 1949 Florida Open
- 1950 Florida Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Claude Harmon)[7]
- 1953 Metropolitan Open
- 1954 Orlando Two-ball (with Patty Berg)
- 1956 Michigan Open
- 1957 Florida Open
- 1958 Florida Open
- 1966 Florida Open
Senior wins (1)
Team appearances
- Canada Cup (representing Puerto Rico): 1961[8]
References
- ^ "Golf Major Championships". Retrieved January 15, 2008.
- ^ MacFeely, F. T. (March 7, 1949). "Pete Cooper Wins With Eagle Three". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. p. 6.
- ^ "Pete Cooper Wins At Virginia Beach, Heads for Open". The Day. Associated Press. June 14, 1954. p. 17.
- ^ Bailey, Mercer (March 18, 1957). "Cooper Captures St. Pete Open". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. p. 8.
- ^ "Cooper Wins At WPB In Playoff". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Daytona Beach, Florida. AP. November 24, 1958. p. 10.
- ^ "Pete Cooper". PGA Tour. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ "Dream Comes True For Cooper". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. December 11, 1950. p. 8.
- ^ "Canada Cup Golf Event Starts Today". Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press. June 1, 1961. p. 35.
External links
- Pete Cooper at the PGA Tour official site
- Notice of Pete Cooper's death