Bob Rosburg

Robert Reginald "Rossie" Rosburg (born October 21, 1926) is an American professional golfer who later became a sports commentator for ABC television.

Rosburg was born in San Francisco, California. He played golf as a junior at the Olympic Club, and at the age of 12, he faced the then-retired baseball hall of famer, Ty Cobb, in the first flight of the club championship, and beat Cobb 7 and 6. (Rosburg says Cobb was gracious in defeat and shook the young Rosburg's hand, but Cobb took so much kidding from the other Olympic Club members that for many years, Rosburg hardly ever saw Cobb back at the club.) He was an outstanding baseball player at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California during the 1940s, and almost chose baseball as a career over golf. He graduated from Stanford in 1949, and turned pro in 1953. He is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.

During his career, Rosburg was one of the most consistent top 10 finishers on the PGA Tour. Rosburg won the Vardon Trophy in 1958 for the lowest average score (70.11) on the PGA Tour that year. Rosburg's career year was 1959, when he finished seventh on the money list and was named to the Ryder Cup team after winning the PGA Championship and finishing second in the U.S. Open. In 1969, he won the PGA Club Professional Championship. He won six tour events during the course of his career before moving into semi-retirement after the 1972 season, his most successful financially. That year, he won the Bob Hope Desert Classic by one stroke over Lanny Wadkins. [ [http://www.abcmedianet.com/shows05/sports/commentators/rosburg.shtml Profile on ABC Medianet] ]

The 1959 PGA Championship was played at the Minneapolis Golf Club in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Rosburg won with a 72-hole score of 277 by one stroke over Jerry Barber. Rosburg claimed that he won the 1959 PGA Championship without ever hitting a practice shot during that week, except for a few chips and puts. He came close to winning a second major that year finishing 2nd at the U.S. Open to Billy Casper. He also finished in a three way tie for 2nd at the 1969 U.S. Open, one stroke behind Orville Moody.

After his playing days on the PGA Tour finished in the mid-1970s, Rosburg became a commentator for ABC sports television. He perfected the art of being a roving announcer, and is the longest serving active golf announcer on television with more than 30 years behind the microphone. Rosburg will be remembered for being one of the greatest storytellers around. He worked nearly three decades as a commentator with Dave Marr, who like Rosburg won a single PGA Championship. Rossie's television career may well eclipse his PGA career in terms of what he will be best remembered for doing professionally. [ [http://www.golfobserver.com/features/rossie_bobhope.html GolfObserver.com: Back to Rossie] ]

Rosburg lives with his wife, Eleanor in La Quinta, California.

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (6)

*1954 Miami Open
*1956 Motor City Open, Convair-San Diego Open
*1959 PGA Championship
*1961 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am
*1972 Bob Hope Desert Classic

Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins (3)

*1957 Mexican Open
*1959 Utah Open
*1969 PGA Club Professional Championship

Other senior wins (1)

*1981 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Gene Littler)

Major Championships

Wins (1)

DNP = Did not play
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

ee also

*Golfers with most PGA Tour wins

References

External links

* [http://www.pgatour.com/players/00/20/22/ Results and stats on PGA Tour's official site]