Mason Rudolph
Encyclopedia
Edgar Mason Rudolph was an American
golf
er who won five times on the PGA Tour
.
. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1950. In 1956, he won the Western Amateur
and the Tennessee State Open (as an amateur). He played on the 1957 Walker Cup
team.
team.
In December 1960, Rudolph took part in a controversial match against Sam Snead
. Snead decided to deliberately lose the televised match during its final holes after he discovered he had too many golf clubs in his bag on the 12th hole of the match. The too many clubs in his bag would have caused him to be immediately disqualified After the match was over, Snead said he did not disqualify himself in order to not spoil the show.
PGA Tour playoff record (0-1)
Note: Rudolph never played in The Open Championship
.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.
Professional
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er who won five times 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...
.
Early years and amateur career
Rudolph was born in Clarksville, TennesseeClarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...
. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1950. In 1956, he won the Western Amateur
Western Amateur
The Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association....
and the Tennessee State Open (as an amateur). He played on the 1957 Walker Cup
Walker Cup
The 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...
team.
Professional career
Rudolph turned professional in 1958; he joined the PGA Tour in 1959 and was Rookie of the Year. He won five official PGA Tour events during his career. Rudolph also won the Tennessee State Open five times as a pro (1959, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1972). He played on the 1971 Ryder CupRyder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
team.
In December 1960, Rudolph took part in a controversial match against Sam Snead
Sam Snead
Samuel Jackson Snead was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events including seven majors. He failed to win a U.S...
. Snead decided to deliberately lose the televised match during its final holes after he discovered he had too many golf clubs in his bag on the 12th hole of the match. The too many clubs in his bag would have caused him to be immediately disqualified After the match was over, Snead said he did not disqualify himself in order to not spoil the show.
Honors and awards
Rudolph was inducted as a charter member of the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame in 1990. A 9-hole, regulation-length golf course in his hometown is named for him. A men's and a women's collegiate golf tournament also bears his name.PGA Tour wins (5)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 27, 1959 | Golden Gate Championship Golden Gate Championship The Golden Gate Championship was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was played in September 1959 at San Francisco's storied Harding Park Golf Club.... |
2 strokes |  Dow FinsterwaldDow Finsterwald Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. is an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the 1958 PGA Championship. He won 11 Tour titles between 1955 and 1963, played on four Ryder Cup teams, and served as non-playing captain for the 1977 U.S. Ryder Cup team.Finsterwald was born and raised in... , Bob GoalbyBob Goalby Robert George Goalby is a former American professional golfer on the PGA Tour, who won the 1968 Masters Tournament, his lone major championship among 11 Tour wins achieved between 1958 and 1971.... |
|
| 2 | Oct 27, 1963 | Fig Garden Village Open Invitational Fig Garden Village Open Invitational The Fig Garden Village Open Invitational was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was played at the San Joaquin Country Club in Fresno, California. It was first held in October 1963, and was won by Mason Rudolph, a 29 year-old native of Tennessee by three strokes over Tommy Aaron and Al Geiberger... |
3 strokes | Tommy Aaron Tommy Aaron Thomas Dean Aaron is a former American professional golfer who was a member of the PGA Tour during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Aaron is best known for winning the 1973 Masters Tournament.- Early years :... , Al GeibergerAl Geiberger Allen Lee Geiberger, Sr. is an American professional golfer who has won numerous golf tournaments.Geiberger was born in Red Bluff, California... |
|
| 3 | Mar 2, 1964 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | 1 stroke | Jack Nicklaus Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a... , Chi-Chi Rodríguez, Glenn Stuart |
|
| 4 | Aug 15, 1966 | Thunderbird Classic Thunderbird Classic The Thunderbird Classic was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1962 to 1968. It was played at two locations, the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey in 1962 and 1966-1968 and the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York in 1963-1965.... |
1 stroke | Jack Nicklaus Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a... |
|
| 5 | Sep 27, 1970 1970 PGA Tour The 1970 PGA Tour season was played from January 8 to December 13. The season consisted of 45 official money events. Billy Casper won the most tournaments, four, and there were six first-time winners. The tournament results and award winners are listed below.... |
Green Island Open Invitational | 2 strokes | Chris Blocker |
PGA Tour playoff record (0-1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1963 | Portland Open Invitational Portland Open Invitational The Portland Open Invitational was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was played in the Portland, Oregon area from 1944 to 1948and again from 1959 to 1966. The event was hosted at the Portland Golf Club and the Columbia Edgewater Country Club. It first played as the Portland Open... |
 George KnudsonGeorge Knudson George Alfred Christian Knudson, CM was a Canadian professional golfer, who along with Mike Weir holds the record for the Canadian with the most wins on the PGA Tour, with eight career victories.... |
Lost to eagle on first extra hole |
Other wins (7)
- 1956 Tennessee OpenTennessee OpenThe Tennessee Open is the Tennessee state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Tennessee Golf Association...
(as an amateur) - 1959 Tennessee OpenTennessee OpenThe Tennessee Open is the Tennessee state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Tennessee Golf Association...
- 1962 Haig & Haig Scotch Foursome (with Kathy WhitworthKathy WhitworthKathy Whitworth is an American professional golfer. Throughout her playing career she won 88 LPGA Tour tournaments, more than anyone else has won on either the LPGA Tour or the PGA Tour. In 1981 she became the first woman to reach career earnings of $1 million on the LPGA Tour...
) - 1963 Tennessee OpenTennessee OpenThe Tennessee Open is the Tennessee state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Tennessee Golf Association...
- 1964 Tennessee OpenTennessee OpenThe Tennessee Open is the Tennessee state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Tennessee Golf Association...
- 1966 Tennessee OpenTennessee OpenThe Tennessee Open is the Tennessee state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Tennessee Golf Association...
- 1972 Tennessee OpenTennessee OpenThe Tennessee Open is the Tennessee state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Tennessee Golf Association...
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | 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... |
CUT | CUT | 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 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | CUT | T28 | DNP | T15 | T18 | 4 | CUT | T10 | T14 | 11 |
| 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 | T45 | T28 | T27 | T34 | T11 | T8 | T38 | CUT | CUT |
| 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... |
T22 | T37 | DNP | T23 | 4 | T20 | T22 | T28 | T17 | CUT |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | CUT | DNP | CUT | T14 | 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... |
T27 | T42 | T40 | CUT | CUT |
| 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... |
T10 | T57 | T36 | T3 | T51 |
Note: Rudolph never played in 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 = 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...
: 1957 (winners)
Professional
- Ryder CupRyder CupThe Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
: 19711971 Ryder CupThe 19th Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri.The United States team won the competition by a score of 18½ to 13½ points.-Format:The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point...
(winners)