- Orville Moody
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Orville Moody Personal information Full name Orville James Moody Nickname Sarge Born December 9, 1933
Chickasha, OklahomaDied August 8, 2008 (aged 74)
TexasHeight 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st) Nationality 
United StatesCareer College University of Oklahoma Turned professional 1967 Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Champions TourProfessional wins 25 Number of wins by tour PGA Tour 1 Champions Tour 11 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]
Moody was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma. 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 Korean Opens. He spent 14 years in the Army, heading up maintenance supervision and instruction at all Army golf courses.[3]
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.[3]
Moody's 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.[4]
The 1969 U.S. Open was played in June at the Cypress Creek Course of the Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. Before the tournament began, defending champion Lee Trevino picked Moody to win. Trevino saying "He's one helluva player."[5] Moody won by one stroke over Deane Beman, Al Geiberger and Bob Rosburg with a 72-hole score of 281.[6]
It was the only PGA Tour victory for Moody, who was also named PGA Player of the Year for 1969. He toured Japan, played in a few tournaments and eventually took a club pro job in Sulphur Springs, Texas.[3]
His luck 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 had triple bypass heart surgery prior to the 1995 season, but still managed to play in 29 events. He died in 2008 from complications of multiple myeloma.
Contents
Professional wins (25)
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 Deane Beman, Al Geiberger, Bob RosburgOther wins (5)
This list is incomplete
- 1958 Korea Open
- 1959 Korea Open
- 1960 Korea Open
- 1971 Hassan II Golf Trophy, Hong Kong Open
Senior PGA Tour wins (11)
- 1984 (2) Daytona Beach Seniors Golf Classic, MONY Senior Tournament of Champions
- 1987 (2) Rancho Murieta Senior Gold Rush, GTE Kaanapali Classic
- 1988 (3) Vintage Chrysler Invitational, Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am, Greater Grand Rapids Open
- 1989 (2) Mazda Senior Tournament Players Championship, U.S. Senior Open
- 1991 (1) PaineWebber Invitational
- 1992 (1) Franklin Showdown Classic
Senior major championships are shown in bold.
Other senior wins (8)
- 1984 Viceroy Panama Open
- 1987 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Bruce Crampton)
- 1988 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Bruce Crampton)
- 1995 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Jimmy Powell)
- 1996 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Jimmy Powell)
- 1999 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Jimmy Powell)
- 2005 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jimmy Powell)
- 2006 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jimmy Powell)
Major championships
Wins (1)
Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin Runners-up 1969 U.S. Open 3 shot deficit +1 (71-70-68-72=281) 1 stroke Deane Beman, Al Geiberger, Bob RosburgResults timeline
Tournament 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 The Masters 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 The Masters 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-10Champions Tour major championships
Wins (2)
Year Championship Winning Score Margin Runner(s)-up 1989 Mazda Senior Tournament Players Championship −17 (67−69−64−71=271) 2 strokes Charles Coody1989 U.S. Senior Open −9 (72−73−64−70=279) 2 strokes Frank BeardSee also
References
- ^ Sports Illustrated, August 18, 2008, p. 22
- ^ "U.S. Open Records - The Last Time It Happened". http://usga.usopen.com/history/usopen-records.html.
- ^ a b c "Orville Moody bio from Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame". http://www.jimthorpeassoc.org/Articles/Orville%20Moody.html.
- ^ Littler gets prize in golf playoff
- ^ Old Sarge cools it
- ^ "U.S. Open History". http://usga.usopen.com/2009/history/pastchamps/1969.html.
External links
- Orville Moody at the PGA Tour official site
Orville Moody in the senior major championships U.S. Senior Open champions 1980 Roberto De Vicenzo • 1981 Arnold Palmer† • 1982 Miller Barber • 1983 Billy Casper† • 1984 Miller Barber • 1985 Miller Barber • 1986 Dale Douglass • 1987 Gary Player • 1988 Gary Player† • 1989 Orville Moody • 1990 Lee Trevino • 1991 Jack Nicklaus† • 1992 Larry Laoretti • 1993 Jack Nicklaus • 1994 Simon Hobday • 1995 Tom Weiskopf • 1996 Dave Stockton • 1997 Graham Marsh • 1998 Hale Irwin • 1999 Dave Eichelberger • 2000 Hale Irwin • 2001 Bruce Fleisher • 2002 Don Pooley† • 2003 Bruce Lietzke • 2004 Peter Jacobsen • 2005 Allen Doyle • 2006 Allen Doyle • 2007 Brad Bryant • 2008 Eduardo Romero • 2009 Fred Funk • 2010 Bernhard Langer • 2011 Olin Browne
† indicates the event was won in a playoff Senior Players Championship champions 1983 Miller Barber • 1984 Arnold Palmer • 1985 Arnold Palmer • 1986 Chi-Chi Rodríguez • 1987 Gary Player • 1988 Billy Casper • 1989 Orville Moody • 1990 Jack Nicklaus • 1991 Jim Albus • 1992 Dave Stockton • 1993 Jim Colbert • 1994 Dave Stockton • 1995 J. C. Snead† • 1996 Raymond Floyd • 1997 Larry Gilbert • 1998 Gil Morgan • 1999 Hale Irwin • 2000 Raymond Floyd • 2001 Allen Doyle† • 2002 Stewart Ginn • 2003 Craig Stadler • 2004 Mark James • 2005 Peter Jacobsen • 2006 Bobby Wadkins • 2007 Loren Roberts • 2008 D. A. Weibring • 2009 Jay Haas • 2010 Mark O'Meara† • 2011 Fred Couples†
† indicates the event was won in a playoff PGA and PGA Tour Players of the Year PGA Players of the Year
1948 Ben Hogan‡ · 1949 Sam Snead‡ · 1950 Ben Hogan† · 1951 Ben Hogan‡ · 1952 Julius Boros · 1953 Ben Hogan#∞ · 1954 Ed Furgol† · 1955 Doug Ford† · 1956 Jack Burke, Jr.‡ · 1957 Dick Mayer† · 1958 Dow Finsterwald† · 1959 Art Wall, Jr.† · 1960 Arnold Palmer‡ · 1961 Jerry Barber† · 1962 Arnold Palmer‡ · 1963 Julius Boros† · 1964 Ken Venturi† · 1965 Dave Marr †· 1966 Billy Casper† · 1967 Jack Nicklaus† · 1968 No award · 1969 Orville Moody† · 1970 Billy Casper† · 1971 Lee Trevino ‡· 1972 Jack Nicklaus‡∞∞ · 1973 Jack Nicklaus† · 1974 Johnny Miller† · 1975 Jack Nicklaus‡ · 1976 Jack Nicklaus · 1977 Tom Watson‡ · 1978 Tom Watson · 1979 Tom Watson · 1980 Tom Watson† · 1981 Bill Rogers† · 1982 Tom Watson‡ · 1983 Hal Sutton† · 1984 Tom Watson · 1985 Lanny Wadkins · 1986 Bob Tway† · 1987 Paul Azinger · 1988 Curtis Strange† · 1989 Tom Kite · 1990 Nick Faldo‡ · 1991 Corey Pavin · 1992 Fred Couples† · 1993 Nick Price · 1994 Nick Price‡ · 1995 Greg Norman · 1996 Tom Lehman† · 1997 Tiger Woods† · 1998 Mark O'Meara‡ · 1999 Tiger Woods† · 2000 Tiger Woods#∞ · 2001 Tiger Woods† · 2002 Tiger Woods‡ · 2003 Tiger Woods · 2004 Vijay Singh† · 2005 Tiger Woods‡∞∞ · 2006 Tiger Woods‡ · 2007 Tiger Woods† · 2008 Pádraig Harrington‡ · 2009 Tiger Woods · 2010 Jim FurykPGA Tour Players of the Year
1990 Wayne Levi · 1991 Fred Couples · 1992 Fred Couples† · 1993 Nick Price · 1994 Nick Price‡ · 1995 Greg Norman · 1996 Tom Lehman† · 1997 Tiger Woods† · 1998 Mark O'Meara‡ · 1999 Tiger Woods† · 2000 Tiger Woods#∞ · 2001 Tiger Woods† · 2002 Tiger Woods‡ · 2003 Tiger Woods · 2004 Vijay Singh† · 2005 Tiger Woods‡∞∞ · 2006 Tiger Woods‡ · 2007 Tiger Woods† · 2008 Pádraig Harrington‡ · 2009 Tiger Woods · 2010 Jim Furyk† One major ‡ Two majors # Three majors ∞ One career grand slam ∞∞ Two career grand slams
All of these are in the year of the awardCategories:- American golfers
- PGA Tour golfers
- Champions Tour golfers
- Winners of men's major golf championships
- Winners of senior major golf championships
- United States Army soldiers
- People from Grady County, Oklahoma
- 1933 births
- 2008 deaths
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