Gary Koch
Encyclopedia
Gary D. Koch is an American professional golfer
, sportscaster
and golf course designer, who formerly played on the PGA Tour
, Nationwide Tour
and Champions Tour
.
in 1952, and raised in Florida
. He won the Florida Open
in 1969 as an amateur at the age of 16. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1970. He attended C. Leon King High School
in Tampa, Florida
. The 1969 King High golf team consisting of Koch, Eddie Pearce
, Brian Hawke and Phil Reid won the Florida high school title setting a scoring record that stood for thirty years.
to attend the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
, where he became a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Fraternity
(Florida Upsilon Chapter). While he was an undergraduate, Koch played for coach Buster Bishop
's Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) competition from 1971 to 1974. As a Gator golfer, he was a was a four-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference
(SEC) selection, and a three-time All-American. He was also a member of the Gators teams that won SEC championships in 1973 and 1974 and an NCAA Championship
in 1973. Individually, he was a two-time medalist in the SEC tournament (1973, 1974), and the runner-up behind Ben Crenshaw
at the 1973 NCAA championship tournament. His Gators teammates included fellow future PGA Tour
professionals Woody Blackburn
, Andy Bean
, Phil Hancock
and Andy North
. Koch graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree
in journalism
in 1976, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1978.
during the 1970s and 1980s. His career year in professional golf came in 1984 when he finished seventeenth on the money list and captured two titles: the Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open and the Bay Hill Classic.
In preparation for play on the Champions Tour, Koch played some on the Nationwide Tour in his late 40s. After turning 50 in November 2002, he began play on the Champions Tour. His best finish in this venue was a tie for second at both the ACE Group Classic and Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
in 2004.
working Champions Tour telecasts. Before the end of the decade, he joined NBC Sports
. He also maintains an interest in golf course design. He helped design the front nine of "The Forest" course at The Eagles Golf Course in Odessa, Florida
. Koch currently resides in Tampa, Florida
.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10
Professional golfer
In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...
, sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
and golf course designer, who formerly played on the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
, Nationwide Tour
Nationwide Tour
The Nationwide Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either failed to score well enough at that level's Qualifying School to earn their PGA Tour card, or who have done so but then failed to win enough money to stay at that level...
and Champions Tour
Champions Tour
The Champions Tour, a golf tour run by the PGA Tour, hosts a series of events annually in the United States and the United Kingdom for golfers 50 years of age and older. Many of the PGA Tour's most successful golfers have gone on to play on the Champions Tour.The Senior PGA Championship, founded in...
.
Early years
Koch was born in Baton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
in 1952, and raised in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. He won the Florida Open
Florida Open
The Florida Open is the Florida state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is now organized by the Florida State Golf Association . It has been played annually since 1942 at a variety of courses around the state...
in 1969 as an amateur at the age of 16. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1970. He attended C. Leon King High School
C. Leon King High School
C. Leon King High School, named in honor of C. Leon King a distinguished and respected member of the Hillsborough County Board of Public Instruction for 18 years opened in 1960 with 58 faculty members and 960 students. It is located at 6815 North 56th Street, Tampa, FL 33610.King High School is a...
in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. The 1969 King High golf team consisting of Koch, Eddie Pearce
Eddie Pearce
Eddie Pearce is an American professional golfer.Pearce was born in Fort Myers, Florida and grew up in Temple Terrace, Florida, where, as an infant, his first golf club was placed in his hands by the legendary Babe Didrikson Zaharias. By the time he was 12, he was shooting in the 60s and was...
, Brian Hawke and Phil Reid won the Florida high school title setting a scoring record that stood for thirty years.
College career
Koch received an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he became a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
Fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
(Florida Upsilon Chapter). While he was an undergraduate, Koch played for coach Buster Bishop
Buster Bishop
Bernays Emery "Buster" Bishop was an American college golf coach. Bishop was best known for leading the Florida Gators men's golf team of the University of Florida to National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I championships in 1968 and 1973.- Early life and education :Bishop was born in...
's Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) competition from 1971 to 1974. As a Gator golfer, he was a was a four-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) selection, and a three-time All-American. He was also a member of the Gators teams that won SEC championships in 1973 and 1974 and an NCAA Championship
NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships
The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, played in late May or early June, is the top annual competition in U.S. men's collegiate golf. It is a stroke play team competition, starting in 2009 the competition changed to a stroke play/match play competition with the top 8 teams after 54 holes of...
in 1973. Individually, he was a two-time medalist in the SEC tournament (1973, 1974), and the runner-up behind Ben Crenshaw
Ben Crenshaw
Ben Daniel Crenshaw is an American professional golfer.Crenshaw was born in Austin, Texas. He attended and played golf at Austin High School and the University of Texas, where he won three NCAA Championships from 1971 to 1973...
at the 1973 NCAA championship tournament. His Gators teammates included fellow future PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
professionals Woody Blackburn
Woody Blackburn
Woody T. Blackburn is a former American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1970s and 1980s.Blackburn was born in Pikeville, Kentucky. He attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Buster Bishop's Florida Gators men's golf team from...
, Andy Bean
Andy Bean
Thomas Andrew Bean is an American professional golfer who previously played on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour...
, Phil Hancock
Phil Hancock
Phillip Ranson Hancock is an American professional golfer who formerly played on the PGA Tour.- Early life :Hancock and his older brother "Bunky" learned the game of golf growing up in Greenville, Alabama from their father, a local dentist. Hancock and his friends would often play 45 or 54 holes...
and Andy North
Andy North
Andrew Stewart North is an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the U.S. Open twice.- Early years :North was born in Thorp, Wisconsin, and raised in Monona, Wisconsin...
. Koch graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
in 1976, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1978.
Professional career
Koch turned professional in 1975, and won six events as a professional on the PGA TourPGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
during the 1970s and 1980s. His career year in professional golf came in 1984 when he finished seventeenth on the money list and captured two titles: the Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open and the Bay Hill Classic.
In preparation for play on the Champions Tour, Koch played some on the Nationwide Tour in his late 40s. After turning 50 in November 2002, he began play on the Champions Tour. His best finish in this venue was a tie for second at both the ACE Group Classic and Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
The Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is a golf tournament on the Champions Tour. It is played annually in April currently in Savannah, Georgia at The Westin Savannah Harbor Resort. Liberty Mutual is the main sponsor of the tournament...
in 2004.
Post-professional career
Koch's career as a sportscaster began in 1990 with ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
working Champions Tour telecasts. Before the end of the decade, he joined NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
. He also maintains an interest in golf course design. He helped design the front nine of "The Forest" course at The Eagles Golf Course in Odessa, Florida
Odessa, Florida
Odessa is a census-designated place in both Hillsborough County, Florida, and Pasco County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,173 at the 2000 census.- History :...
. Koch currently resides in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
.
Amateur wins
this list may be incomplete- 1970 U.S. Junior Amateur
- 1973 Trans-Mississippi AmateurTrans-Mississippi AmateurThe Trans-Mississippi Amateur or Trans-Miss Amateur is an annual golf tournament. It is organized by the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association and was first played in 1901. It is played at a different course each year that are located near or west of the Mississippi River. From 1987 to 2009, the field...
PGA Tour wins (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 18, 1976 1976 PGA Tour The 1976 PGA Tour season was played from January 8 to November 7. The season consisted of 45 official money events. Ben Crenshaw and Hubert Green won the most tournaments, three, and there were eight first-time winners. Hubert Green's wins were in three consecutive weeks in March. Johnny Miller won... |
Tallahassee Open | 1 stroke |  John MahaffeyJohn Mahaffey John Drayton Mahaffey, Jr. is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including 10 PGA Tour events.... |
|
| 2 | Mar 7, 1977 1977 PGA Tour The 1977 PGA Tour season was played from January 6 to November 6. The season consisted of 45 official money events. Tom Watson won the most tournaments, five, and there were 10 first-time winners. The tournament results and award winners are listed below.... |
Florida Citrus Open | 2 strokes |  Dale HayesDale Hayes Dale Hayes is a South African professional golfer.-Career outline:Hayes won the 15–17 Boys category at the Junior World Golf Championships in 1969. He turned professional the following year and quickly became a successful pro. He won more than a dozen events in South Africa, and was runner up on... , Joe InmanJoe Inman Joseph Cooper Inman, Jr. is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.Inman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and is the eldest of six children... |
|
| 3 | Feb 27, 1983 1983 PGA Tour The 1983 PGA Tour season was played from January 6 to October 30. The season consisted of 43 official money golf tournaments. Seve Ballesteros, Jim Colbert, Mark McCumber, Gil Morgan, Calvin Peete, Hal Sutton, Lanny Wadkins, and Fuzzy Zoeller won the most tournaments, two, and there were 10... |
Doral-Eastern Open | 5 strokes | Ed Fiori Ed Fiori Edward Ray Fiori is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.Fiori was born in Lynwood, California. As a youth, Fiori would sneak through a barbed wire fence to a nine-hole course near his Downey, California home to practice his game. He attended the... |
|
| 4 | Jan 29, 1984 1984 PGA Tour The 1984 PGA Tour season was played from January 5 to October 30. The season consisted of 43 official money events. Denis Watson and Tom Watson won the most tournaments, three, and there were seven first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.-Tournament... |
Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open | Playoff | Gary Hallberg Gary Hallberg Gary George Hallberg is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and Champions Tour.... |
|
| 5 | Mar 18, 1984 1984 PGA Tour The 1984 PGA Tour season was played from January 5 to October 30. The season consisted of 43 official money events. Denis Watson and Tom Watson won the most tournaments, three, and there were seven first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.-Tournament... |
Bay Hill Classic | Playoff | George Burns George Burns (golfer) George Francis Burns III is an American professional golfer who has won several tournaments at both the amateur and professional levels.... |
|
| 6 | May 8, 1988 1988 PGA Tour The 1988 PGA Tour season was played from January 14 to November 13. The season consisted of 47 official money events. Curtis Strange won the most tournaments, four, and there were 11 first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.-Tournament results:The... |
Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational | 1 stroke | Peter Jacobsen Peter Jacobsen Peter Erling Jacobsen is an American professional golfer, who has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He has won seven events on the PGA Tour and two events on the Champions Tour, both majors.-Early years:... , Mark O'MearaMark O'Meara Mark Francis O'Meara is an American professional golfer who was a prolific tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s... |
Senior wins (3)
- 2003 Liberty Mutual Legends of GolfLiberty Mutual Legends of GolfThe Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is a golf tournament on the Champions Tour. It is played annually in April currently in Savannah, Georgia at The Westin Savannah Harbor Resort. Liberty Mutual is the main sponsor of the tournament...
- Raphael Division (with Roger MaltbieRoger MaltbieRoger Lin Maltbie is an American professional golfer and on-course analyst for NBC Sports and ESPN.Maltbie was born in Modesto, California and grew up in San Jose. He attended James Lick High School where he was a teammate of former PGA Tour player Forrest Fezler...
) - 2008 Liberty Mutual Legends of GolfLiberty Mutual Legends of GolfThe Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is a golf tournament on the Champions Tour. It is played annually in April currently in Savannah, Georgia at The Westin Savannah Harbor Resort. Liberty Mutual is the main sponsor of the tournament...
- Raphael Division (with Roger MaltbieRoger MaltbieRoger Lin Maltbie is an American professional golfer and on-course analyst for NBC Sports and ESPN.Maltbie was born in Modesto, California and grew up in San Jose. He attended James Lick High School where he was a teammate of former PGA Tour player Forrest Fezler...
) - 2009 Liberty Mutual Legends of GolfLiberty Mutual Legends of GolfThe Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is a golf tournament on the Champions Tour. It is played annually in April currently in Savannah, Georgia at The Westin Savannah Harbor Resort. Liberty Mutual is the main sponsor of the tournament...
- Raphael Division (with Roger MaltbieRoger MaltbieRoger Lin Maltbie is an American professional golfer and on-course analyst for NBC Sports and ESPN.Maltbie was born in Modesto, California and grew up in San Jose. He attended James Lick High School where he was a teammate of former PGA Tour player Forrest Fezler...
)
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | CUT | CUT | DNP | T42 | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
57 | CUT | DNP | DNP | CUT | CUT | DNP |
| The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico... |
DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | CUT | T64 | T10 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | T35 | T16 | T16 | T22 | T25 | CUT |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
CUT | CUT | T6 | T24 | T34 | CUT | T15 | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | T14 | T60 | T11 | T6 | DNP | T4 | T30 |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
T46 | DNP | DNP | CUT | T54 | CUT | 66 | DNP | T31 | T61 |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT |
| The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur- Walker CupWalker CupThe Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in odd numbered years between teams comprising the leading amateur golfers of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland...
: 1973 (winners), 1975 (winners) - Eisenhower TrophyEisenhower TrophyThe Eisenhower Trophy is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. It is named for Dwight D. Eisenhower, the President of the United States when the tournament was first played, who was a keen amateur golfer. Recent tournaments have...
: 1974 (winners)
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Golfers with most PGA Tour winsGolfers with most PGA Tour winsThis is a list of golfers who have won five or more official money events on the PGA Tour.Players under 50 years of age are shown in bold. On his 50th birthday a golfer becomes eligible to compete on the Champions Tour, and he is unlikely to add to his tally of PGA Tour wins after that date This is...
- List of Florida Gators golfers
- List of Sigma Alpha Epsilon members
- List of University of Florida alumni