George Knudson – Wikipedia
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George Alfred Christian Knudson, CM (June 28, 1937 – January 24, 1989) 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.
Early life and career[edit]
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Knudson learned to play golf at the St. Charles Country Club. He won the 1954 and 1955 Manitoba Junior Championships,[1] and the 1955 Canadian Junior Championship.[2] He moved to Toronto in 1958, and worked at the Oakdale Golf Club, where he received instruction and encouragement from the Club, to improve his game. He was then able to secure some financial backing to try the PGA Tour. He won the Manitoba Open in 1958, 1959, and 1960, and the Ontario Open in 1960, 1961, 1971, 1976 and 1978.[3]
Between 1961 and 1972, he won eight tournaments on the PGA Tour. He won the Canadian PGA Championship five times, and won the World Cup with Al Balding in 1968. He wrote a book, The Natural Golf Swing (ISBN 0-7710-4534-4) with Lorne Rubenstein.
Knudson’s last official PGA TOUR victory was the Kaiser Invitational in October 1972. However, Knudson nearly won again the next week at the Sahara Invitational. He carried the lead going into the final round at 15-under par after shooting 65-70-66, but a final round 76 dropped him into a T-7th at 11-under.
Knudson’s best finish in a major championship was a tie for second in the 1969 Masters Tournament, one shot behind champion George Archer.[4] Knudson’s birdie putt on the 72nd hole to tie Archer came up 3 inches short.
In seven Masters appearances, Knudson posted three top-10s, including 10th in his 1965 debut and sixth a year later.
Knudson left tournament golf in the late 1970s, and started teaching golf, with success, at a facility in the Toronto area. His teaching methods have since been adopted by the Canadian PGA.
In 1988, he was inducted into both Royal Canadian Golf Association Hall of Fame, the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and was made a member of the Order of Canada.
He was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1969, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.[5]
Personal life[edit]
Knudson had long been a heavy smoker and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1987. He recovered well enough to compete at the 1988 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf Senior tournament. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered the cancer had spread to his brain. George Knudson died in January 1989 at age 51 and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.
Amateur wins[edit]
- 1954 Manitoba Junior Championship
- 1955 Manitoba Junior Championship, Canadian Junior Championship
Professional wins (30)[edit]
PGA Tour wins (8)[edit]
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dec 10, 1961 | Coral Gables Open Invitational | 65-71-71-66=273 | −11 | 1 stroke | Gay Brewer |
2 | Sep 22, 1963 | Portland Open Invitational | 69-67-68-67=271 | −17 | Playoff | Mason Rudolph |
3 | Oct 4, 1964 | Fresno Open Invitational | 73-69-71-67=280 | −8 | Playoff | Al Balding |
4 | May 14, 1967 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | 71-66-70-70=277 | −11 | 1 stroke | Jack Nicklaus |
5 | Feb 18, 1968 | Phoenix Open Invitational | 67-64-70-71=272 | −12 | 3 strokes | Julius Boros, Sam Carmichael, Jack Montgomery |
6 | Feb 25, 1968 | Tucson Open Invitational | 70-67-71-65=273 | −15 | 1 stroke | Frank Beard, Frank Boynton |
7 | Sep 20, 1970 | Robinson Open Golf Classic | 67-69-69-63=268 | −16 | Playoff | George Archer |
8 | Oct 22, 1972 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | 66-69-66-70=271 | −17 | 3 strokes | Hale Irwin, Bobby Nichols |
PGA Tour playoff record (3–0)
Other wins (22)[edit]
This list may be incomplete
Results in major championships[edit]
Note: Knudson never played in The Open Championship.
Top 10
Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
“T” indicates a tie for a place
Summary[edit]
- Most consecutive cuts made – 16 (1962 PGA – 1970 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)
Team appearances[edit]
Amateur
Professional
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ History of Golf in Canada, by Lawrence Vincent Kavanagh, Toronto, Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1973, p. 185
- ^ Barclay, James A. (1992). Golf in Canada: A History. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-1080-4.
- ^ “Ontario Golf Hall of Fame – George Knudson”. Golf Association of Ontario. Archived from the original on April 12, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
- ^ “Archer wins Masters; Knudson second”. Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. April 14, 1969. p. 22.
- ^ “George Knudson”. oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ “Knudsons sharp finish brings Millar Trophy”. The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. CP. July 30, 1966. p. 12. Retrieved March 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ “Rain halts tourney”. The Leader-Post. Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. July 16, 1977. p. 18. Retrieved April 2, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ “In a nutshell”. The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario, Canada. July 7, 1978. p. 29. Retrieved April 2, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
External links[edit]
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