3-time major winner Billy Casper passed away late Saturday night at his home in Utah following complications after a bout of pneumonia in December.
“He went downhill quick,” Casper’s son, Bob, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It was quick. But he didn’t have any pain. It was peaceful.”
– Golfchannel.com
Though not often mentioned among the likes of the greatest to play the game, Casper will go down in golf history as one of the best of all-time. On top of the 3 majors (1 Masters and 2 US Open wins), his list of honors makes a compelling case:
51 PGA Tour wins (7th on the all-time list)
9 Senior PGA Tour wins, including 2 Senior majors
Part of 8 Ryder Cup-winning US teams
All-time US team leader in Ryder Cup points
Non-playing captain of victorious 1979 Ryder Cup team
Vardon Trophy winner (Tour’s lowest scoring average) 5 times
2-time PGA Player of the Year
2-time PGA money list season’s leader
Casper’s most famous victory has to be the 1966 US Open, where he overcame a seven-stroke deficit on the back 9 of the 4th round to tie Arnold Palmer, before going on to victory in a playoff the next day.
Between 1964 and 1970, Casper’s 27 Tour victories surpassed the likes of Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player, and his 16-year streak of at least one Tour win between 1956 and 1971 ranks only one year behind the record jointly held by Palmer and Nicklaus.
A devout Mormon, Casper is survived by Shirley, his wife of more than 60 years, 11 children and 71 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
(Feature image: CBS News/yahoo.com)
