Gay Brewer
Personal information
Full nameGay Robert Brewer Jr.
Born(1932-03-19)March 19, 1932[1]
Middletown, Ohio
DiedAugust 31, 2007(2007-08-31) (aged 75)[2]
Lexington, Kentucky
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Children2
Career
Turned professional1956
Former tour(s)
Professional wins17
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour10
PGA Tour Champions1
Other
  • 5 (regular)
  • 1 (senior)
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentWon: 1967
PGA ChampionshipT7: 1972
U.S. Open5th/T5: 1962, 1964
The Open ChampionshipT6: 1968

Gay Robert Brewer Jr. (March 19, 1932 – August 31, 2007) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and won the 1967 Masters Tournament.

Career

Brewer turned professional in 1956 and made his first cut, at the Agua Caliente Open, tying for 12th. His first top-10 as a pro came at the Philadelphia Daily News Open (tied for eighth), and his first top-five performance was at the Miller High Life Open in Milwaukee (tied for fifth). Playing on the PGA Tour in 1965, he won the Hawaiian Open. At the 1966 Masters Tournament, he bogeyed the final hole to finish in a three-way tie for the lead after regulation play but ended up finishing third to Jack Nicklaus following an 18-hole playoff. He came back to win the prestigious event the next year, scoring a one stroke victory over lifelong friend Bobby Nichols in the first live television broadcast of a golf tournament from the United States to Europe. Brewer called winning the 1967 Masters "the biggest thrill I've had in golf".[1]

Overall, Brewer was victorious in 10 tour events during his career. He was known for his jovial personality and his unusual golf swing. Brewer joined the Senior PGA Tour and won the 1984 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf tournament with Billy Casper and at age sixty-three he won the 1995 MasterCard Champions Championship. His final competitive round was at the 2001 Masters Tournament.[1]

Brewer died at his home in Lexington, Kentucky from lung cancer.[2] At the time of his death, he was engaged to Alma Jo McGuire.[3]

Amateur wins

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This list may be incomplete.

Professional wins (17)

PGA Tour wins (10)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (9)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Aug 20, 1961 Carling Open Invitational −3 (72-72-66-67=277) 1 stroke United States Billy Maxwell
2 Nov 26, 1961 Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational −13 (69-66-74-66=275) 1 stroke United States Johnny Pott
3 Dec 3, 1961 West Palm Beach Open Invitational −14 (69-64-70-71=274) 4 strokes United States Arnold Palmer
4 May 5, 1963 Waco Turner Open −12 (72-70-71-67=280) 1 stroke Australia Ted Ball
5 Sep 26, 1965 Greater Seattle Open Invitational −9 (69-72-66-72=279) Playoff United States Doug Sanders
6 Nov 7, 1965 Hawaiian Open −7 (74-72-67-68=281) Playoff United States Bob Goalby
7 Mar 7, 1966 Pensacola Open Invitational −16 (65-69-67-71=272) 3 strokes Australia Bruce Devlin
8 Mar 26, 1967 Pensacola Open Invitational (2) −26 (66-64-61-71=262) 6 strokes United States Bob Keller
9 Apr 9, 1967 Masters Tournament −8 (73-68-72-67=280) 1 stroke United States Bobby Nichols
10 Jul 9, 1972 Canadian Open −9 (67-70-68-70=275) 1 stroke United States Sam Adams, United States Dave Hill

PGA Tour playoff record (2–6)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1959 West Palm Beach Open Invitational United States Pete Cooper, United States Arnold Palmer Palmer won with par on fourth extra hole
2 1965 Greater Seattle Open Invitational United States Doug Sanders Won with par on first extra hole
3 1965 Hawaiian Open United States Bob Goalby Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 1966 Masters Tournament United States Tommy Jacobs, United States Jack Nicklaus Lost 18-hole playoff;
Nicklaus: −2 (70),
Jacobs: E (72),
Brewer: +6 (78)
5 1966 Tournament of Champions United States Arnold Palmer Lost 18-hole playoff;
Palmer: −3 (69),
Brewer: +1 (73)
6 1969 IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic United States Dave Hill, United States Tommy Jacobs,
United States R. H. Sikes 		Hill won with birdie on first extra hole
7 1974 American Golf Classic United States Jim Colbert, United States Forrest Fezler,
United States Raymond Floyd 		Colbert won with par on second extra hole
Brewer and Fezler eliminated by par on first hole
8 1976 Walt Disney World National Team Championship
(with United States Bobby Nichols) 		United States Woody Blackburn and United States Billy Kratzert Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Other wins (5)

This list is probably incomplete.

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 Sep 3, 1984 Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic −9 (68-69-67=204) 2 strokes United States Billy Casper, United States Rod Funseth

Other senior wins (1)

This list is probably incomplete.

Source:[4]

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1967 Masters Tournament 2 shot deficit −8 (73-68-72-67=280) 1 stroke United States Bobby Nichols

Results timeline

Tournament 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament T11 CUT T25 CUT 3 1 T35 CUT
U.S. Open CUT 5 CUT T5 16 T36 T38 T9 CUT
The Open Championship CUT T6 15
PGA Championship CUT T49 8 T28 27 T28 T20 T25
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T31 CUT T10 CUT CUT T23 CUT T29 CUT
U.S. Open 7 T9 T25 26
The Open Championship T32 T10 T37
PGA Championship CUT T7 T64 T17 T33
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament CUT T15 45 47 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT WD
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT WD
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament 2000 2001
Masters Tournament CUT WD
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 1 0 1 2 3 7 39 12
U.S. Open 0 0 0 2 5 7 17 10
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 2 3 6 5
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 2 5 13 11
Totals 1 0 1 4 12 22 75 38

Source:[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Gay Brewer: Masters Champ With Loopy Swing". GolfCompendium.com. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "1967 Masters champion Brewer dies at 75 from lung cancer". PGA Tour. August 31, 2007. Archived from the original on September 4, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "Gay Brewer, 1967 Masters champ, dead at 75". Golf.com. August 31, 2007. Archived from the original on April 12, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Gay Brewer". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 22, 2023.

External links

Masters Tournament champions
Gay Brewer in the Ryder Cup
Categories