Pete Cooper (golfer)
{{Short description|American golfer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox golfer
| name = Pete Cooper
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| fullname = Richard Bernice Cooper
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|12|31}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|10|8|1914|12|31}}
| death_place =
| height =
| weight =
| nationality = {{USA}}
| spouse =
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| children =
| college =
| yearpro = 1938
| retired =
| extour = PGA Tour
Champions Tour
| prowins = 23
| pgawins = 5
| otherwins = 17 (regular)
1 (senior)
| majorwins =
| masters = T12: 1956
| usopen = T4: 1953
| open = CUT: 1976
| pga = T9: 1953
| wghofid =
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}}
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.{{cite web |title=Golf Major Championships |url=http://golfmajorchampionships.com/players?player=551 |accessdate=January 15, 2008}} 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 (5)=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.!!Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!Margin of |
| align=center|1
|align=right|Mar 6, 1949 |−9 (68-67-69-71=275) |1 stroke |{{flagicon|USA}} Cary Middlecoff |
| align=center|2
|align=right|Dec 10, 1950 |Miami International Four-Ball |colspan=2 align=center|1 up |{{flagicon|USA}} Dave Douglas and {{flagicon|USA}} Jim Turnesa |
| align=center|3
|align=right|Jun 13, 1954 |−13 (67-64-64-68=263) |1 stroke |{{flagicon|USA}} Tommy Bolt |
| align=center|4
|align=right|Mar 17, 1957 |−15 (68-68-68-65=269) |4 strokes |{{flagicon|USA}} Jack Burke Jr. |
| align=center|5
|align=right|Nov 23, 1958 |West Palm Beach Open Invitational |−19 (68-63-68-70=269) |Playoff |{{flagicon|USA}} Wes Ellis |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent(s)!!Result |
| style="background:#D0F0C0;"
|align=center|1 |1958 |West Palm Beach Open Invitational |{{flagicon|USA}} Wes Ellis |Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| style="background:#F2C1D1;"
|align=center|2 |1959 |West Palm Beach Open Invitational |{{flagicon|USA}} Gay Brewer, {{flagicon|USA}} Arnold Palmer |Palmer won with par on fourth extra hole |
Sources:{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HWcpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=v8cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2345%2C1794296 |newspaper=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |title=Pete Cooper Wins With Eagle Three |first=F. T. |last=MacFeely |date=March 7, 1949 |page=6}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=unYjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E8gEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1615%2C6640342 |newspaper=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |title=Dream Comes True For Cooper |date=December 11, 1950 |page=8}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&dat=19540614&id=S_UgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=33MFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4321,2505961 |title=Pete Cooper Wins At Virginia Beach, Heads for Open |newspaper=The Day |agency=Associated Press |date=June 14, 1954 |page=17}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GnkjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=m8wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1227%2C2920215 |newspaper=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |title=Cooper Captures St. Pete Open |first=Mercer |last=Bailey |date=March 18, 1957 |page=8}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=h_knAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9ckEAAAAIBAJ&pg=805%2C4148626 |work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |location=Daytona Beach, Florida |agency=AP |title=Cooper Wins At WPB In Playoff |date=November 24, 1958 |page=10}}
= 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=
this list is probably incomplete
- 1944 Florida Open
- 1946 Florida Open
- 1948 Florida Open
- 1949 Florida Open
- 1950 Florida Open
- 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
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{PGATour player|05137|Pete Cooper}}
- [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PBPB&p_theme=pbpb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF8645E12D118C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Notice of Pete Cooper's death]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Pete}}
Category:American male golfers
Category:PGA Tour Champions golfers
Category:American golf course architects
Category:Sportspeople from Lakeland, Florida
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
{{US-golf-bio-stub}}