- Larry Gilbert
Lawrence Allen Gilbert, Sr. (
November 19 ,1942 –January 21 ,1998 ) was an Americanprofessional golfer best known for winning the 1997Senior Players Championship , one of the major championships on theSenior PGA Tour .Gilbert was born in
Fort Knox, Kentucky . He attendedMiddle Tennessee State University inMurfreesboro, Tennessee and was a distinguished member of thegolf team. Gilbert led Middle Tennessee State to victory in the 1965NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships for which Gilbert won the individual medal.Gilbert spent most of his regular career years as a club pro in
Kentucky andTennessee . He won thePGA Club Professional Championship in 1981, 1982 and 1991. He also won ten Kentucky PGA Championships, threeKentucky Open s, oneTennessee Open and one Tennessee PGA Championship. Gilbert was inducted into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame in 1992; he is also a member of the Middle Tennessee State University Athletics Hall of Fame. He joined theSenior PGA Tour (later known as theChampions Tour ) upon turning 50 in 1992.Gilbert died in
Lexington, Kentucky oflung cancer at the age of 55. He had started smoking cigarettes at an early age, and was often seen smoking a cigar while playing. He won the Senior Players Championship only 192 days before he died. [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/1998/weekly/980202/gp0202/a.html Sports Illustrated Golf Plus "A Lesson from Gilbert's Death"] ] Gilbert was survived by his wife, Brenda, and sons, Larry Jr. and Christopher.Regular career wins
*1968
Kentucky Open
*1970Tennessee Open
*1975Kentucky Open
*1976Kentucky Open
*1981PGA Club Professional Championship
*1982PGA Club Professional Championship
*1991PGA Club Professional Championship *ten Kentucky PGA Championships
*one Tennessee PGA Championshipenior PGA Tour wins
*1994 (2)
Dallas Reunion Pro-Am , Vantage Championship
*1997 (1)Ford Senior Players Championship *Senior major championship is shown in bold.
References
External links
* [http://www.pgatour.com/players/00/14/13/ Profile on PGA Tour's official site]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.