them all in forging a Hall-of-Fame career. He won the U.S. Junior Ama- teur in 1964 and the California State Amateur in ’68, preludes to his wild success as a pro. His biggest moments were those
two majors: a transcendent fi nal- round 63 to win the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1973, and a similarly sparkling fi nal-round 66 to chase down young Seve Ballesteros in the 1976 British Open at Royal Birkdale. But maybe the most impressive el- ement of Miller’s career was his domi- nance in 1974, when he won eight times and earned PGA Tour Player of the Year honors. That’s no easy feat in the thick of the Jack Nicklaus/Tom Watson era. Miller, in his prime, was just as
good.
RESUME: • 1998 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee • 25 PGA Tour wins • U.S. Open (1973), British Open (1976) • PGA Tour Player of the Year (1974) • 1 California State Amateur (1968) • 1 NCGA Stroke Play Championship (1969) • 1 U.S. Junior Amateur (1964)
2
Ken Venturi Like Miller after him, Venturi
attended San Francisco’s Lincoln
High, won a memorable U.S. Open and enjoyed a long, distinguished career as a TV analyst. Venturi’s defi ning moment was the 1964 Open at Congressional, where he conquered suffocating heat and humidity to pump life into his sput- tering career. Venturi ultimately won 14 times on the PGA Tour and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in May 2013, the week before he died at age 82. He also was an acclaimed ama-
teur, winning the San Francisco City Championship three times and the state amateur twice.
RESUME: • 2013 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee • 14 PGA Tour wins • U.S. Open (1964) • 2 California State Amateurs (1951, 1956) • 2 NCGA Stroke Play Championships (1951, ’52) • 1 NCGA Junior Amateur (1949)
3
Lawson Little Talk about the match-play
king. Little won 32 consecutive matches in taking both the British Amateur and U.S. Amateur (then considered majors) in 1934 and again in ’35.
Little, born in Rhode Island but raised in Northern California, won
eight times on tour, including one major—he beat Gene Sarazen in a playoff to win the 1940 U.S. Open. Lawson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980.
RESUME: • 1980 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee • 8 PGA Tour wins • U.S. Open (1940) • 2 U.S. Amateurs (1934, ’35) • 2 British Amateurs (1934, ’35) • 2 NCGA Amateurs (1928, ’31)
4
Tony Lema History sometimes overlooks
Lema, in part because of his tragic death in a 1966 plane crash at age 32. Lema, who grew up in Oakland, already had collected 12 tour wins, including the ’64 British Open at St. Andrews—where he coasted past Nicklaus by fi ve shots. That victory punctuated a domi-
nant stretch for Lema, who won the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am in January 1964 and four more times in six weeks in June and July. “Cham- pagne Tony” also was a terrifi c Ryder Cup player, posting an 8-1-2 record.
RESUME: • 12 PGA Tour wins • British Open (1964)
Ken Venturi
Lawson Little
Tony Lema WINTER 2015 /
NCGA.ORG / 35
PHOTO: USGA
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