Orville Moody

Orville Moody
 Golfer 
Personal information
Full name Orville James Moody
Nickname Sarge
Born (1933-12-09)December 9, 1933
Chickasha, Oklahoma
Died August 8, 2008(2008-08-08) (aged 74)
Allen, Texas
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st)
Nationality  United States
Career
College University of Oklahoma
Turned professional 1967
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins 26
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 1
PGA Tour Champions 11
Other 14
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters Tournament T18: 1970
U.S. Open Won: 1969
The Open Championship T11: 1978
PGA Championship T7: 1969
Achievements and awards
PGA Player of the Year 1969

Orville James Moody (December 9, 1933 – August 8, 2008) was an American professional golfer who won numerous tournaments in his career. He won the 1969 U.S. Open, the last champion in the 20th century to win through local and sectional qualifying.[1][2]

Early life

Moody was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, the youngest of 10 children.[3] The son of a golf course superintendent, he began his career at Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City, winning the 1952 state high school golf championship. After attempting college for a few weeks at the University of Oklahoma, Moody joined the U.S. Army. He was able to continue playing golf while in uniform, winning the All-Service championship and three Korea Opens. He spent 14 years in the Army, heading up maintenance supervision and instruction at all Army golf courses.[4]

Professional golf career

Moody gave up his military career in favor of a trial run at the PGA Tour in 1967. His nickname on the Tour was "Sarge" because he rose to the rank of sergeant in the Army.[4]

Moody had limited success on the PGA Tour prior to 1969. In April 1969, he took part in a four-way playoff at the Greater Greensboro Open won by Gene Littler.[5]

The 1969 U.S. Open was played in June at the Cypress Creek Course of the Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. Defending champion Lee Trevino picked Moody to win, saying, "He's one helluva player."[6] Moody won by one stroke over Deane Beman, Al Geiberger and Bob Rosburg with a 72-hole score of 281. He was named PGA Player of the Year for 1969.[7]

The U.S. Open win was the only PGA Tour victory for Moody in 266 career events, although he earned five second-place finishes.[8] He toured Japan, played in a few tournaments and eventually took a club pro job in Sulphur Springs, Texas.[4] Moody was troubled by poor putting during his early pro years.

His career on the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour) was dramatically different. After turning 50, he won three of his first five tournaments and finished fifth on the money list on his way to a total of 11 Senior PGA Tour victories. In 1989, he became only the fourth man to win both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Senior Open. Moody went to a long putter after becoming a senior golfer, and this method improved his putting significantly.

Moody had triple bypass heart surgery prior to the 1995 season, but still managed to play in 29 events.

Later life

Moody continued to play in charity and other golf events up until 2007. He died in 2008 in Allen, Texas from complications of a stroke he had earlier suffered[8] and/or complications from multiple myeloma. He was survived by his wife, Beverly, their son and three daughters, and eight grandchildren.[3]

Professional wins (26)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runners-up
1 Jun 15, 1969 U.S. Open +1 (71-70-68-72=281) 1 stroke United States Deane Beman, United States Al Geiberger, United States Bob Rosburg

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 1969 Greater Greensboro Open United States Julius Boros, United States Gene Littler, United States Tom Weiskopf Littler won with birdie on fifth extra hole
Weiskopf eliminated with par on first hole
2 1973 Bing Crosby Pro-Am United States Raymond Floyd, United States Jack Nicklaus Nicklaus won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (6)

This list is incomplete

Senior PGA Tour wins (11)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Apr 8, 1984 Daytona Beach Seniors Golf Classic –3 (70-74-69=213) Playoff United States Arnold Palmer, United States Dan Sikes
2 May 6, 1984 MONY Senior Tournament of Champions Even (71-75-70=72=288) 7 strokes United States Dan Sikes
3 Aug 16, 1987 Rancho Murieta Senior Gold Rush –11 (69-67-69=205) 2 strokes United States Butch Baird
4 Dec 13, 1987 GTE Kaanapali Classic –12 (65-67=132) 3 strokes United States John Brodie
5 Mar 6, 1988 Vintage Chrysler Invitational –25 (66-64-70-63=263) 11 strokes United States Al Geiberger, South Africa Harold Henning
6 Jun 5 1988 Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am –10 (70-70-66=206) Playoff New Zealand Bob Charles, United States Don Massengale, United States Bobby Nichols
7 Aug 21, 1988 Greater Grand Rapids Open –7 (68-65-70=203) 1 stroke United States Chick Evans, South Africa Gary Player, United States Chi-Chi Rodriguez
8 Jun 11, 1989 Mazda Senior Tournament Players Championship –17 (67−69−64−71=271) 2 strokes United States Charles Coody
9 Jul 2, 1989 U.S. Senior Open –9 (72-73-64-70-279) 2 strokes United States Frank Beard
10 Jun 23, 1991 PaineWebber Invitational –9 (69-68-70=207) 1 stroke United States Dick Hendrickson
11 Aug 30, 1992 Franklin Showdown Classic –7 (70-67=137) Playoff United States Bob Betley

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (3–4)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1984 Daytona Beach Seniors Golf Classic United States Arnold Palmer, United States Dan Sikes Won with birdie on second extra hole
2 1985 Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic United States Lee Elder, United States Dan Sikes, United States Walt Zembriski Elder won with birdie on third extra hole
Moody eliminated with birdie on second hole
3 1988 Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am New Zealand Bob Charles, United States Don Massengale, United States Bobby Nichols Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 1989 Southwestern Bell Classic United States Bobby Nichols Lost to birdie on third extra hole
5 1989 Northville Long Island Classic United States Butch Baird, United States Frank Beard, United States Don Bies Baird won with birdie on first extra hole
6 1989 Gatlin Brothers Southwest Senior Classic United States George Archer, United States Jimmy Powell Archer won with par on second extra hole
7 1992 Franklin Showdown Classic United States Bob Betley Won with birdie on eighth extra hole

Senior major championship is shown in bold.

Other senior wins (8)

Major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
1969 U.S. Open 3 shot deficit +1 (71-70-68-72=281) 1 stroke United States Deane Beman, United States Al Geiberger, United States Bob Rosburg

Results timeline

Tournament 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 1
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T16
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T7
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980
Masters Tournament T18 T20 CUT CUT 44 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT T27 T15 CUT DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T11 T19 CUT
PGA Championship T41 CUT WD T30 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 3
U.S. Open 1 0 0 1 1 2 7 3
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 3
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 3
Totals 1 0 0 1 2 8 23 12

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (2)

YearChampionshipWinning ScoreMarginRunner-up
1989 Mazda Senior Tournament Players Championship −17 (67−69−64−71=271) 2 strokes United States Charles Coody
1989 U.S. Senior Open −9 (72−73−64−70=279) 2 strokes United States Frank Beard

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

See also

References

  1. "For the Record". Sports Illustrated. August 18, 2008. p. 22.
  2. "U.S. Open Records - The Last Time It Happened". USGA. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Goldstein, Richard (August 11, 2008). "Orville Moody, 74, Winner of the U.S. Open, Dies". The New York Times.
  4. 1 2 3 "Orville Moody bio". Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  5. "Littler gets prize in golf playoff". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Lewiston, Idaho. Associated Press. April 6, 1969. p. 11.
  6. Jenkins, Dan (June 23, 1969). "Old Sarge cools it". Sports Illustrated.
  7. "U.S. Open History – Past Champions – 1969". USGA. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "1969 U.S. Open champion Orville Moody dies". Golf.com. August 8, 2008.
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