The 'Cowboy Golfer" Lassos a Masters Invite ⛳
Archer Holds Off Palmer to Win in Greensboro
This week the PGA Tour is headed to Greensboro for the Wyndham Championship, a tournament we know as the Greater Greensboro Open. Sam Snead won the GGO a record eight times, with the last coming in 1965 when he was 52 years old. Both of those facts are still a record today. We're going to focus in on George Archer and his win in 1967. PLEASE read the Bonus Story this week -- it's a fantastic story and an opportunity for Tour Backspin readers to get involved.
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Archer Holds Off Palmer to Win in Greensboro
George Archer shot a record matching 64 in the second round of the Greater Greensboro Open at the 7,000 yard Sedgefield Country Club and took a 2-stroke lead with a tournament record setting 131.
Archer was playing for more than just the title in Greensboro; he was playing for a spot in the Masters the next week in Augusta. The Masters had reserved two spots in the tournament for the best two performances on the winter tour by uninvited players and Archer led all other contenders. A good showing in Greensboro would secure him the invite.
His second round included an eagle at the final hole where he hit his 4-wood approach to three feet and made the putt. He also strung together four successive birdies earlier in his round. He matched his front nine score of 32 on the back nine to tie the course record. He overtook the first round leader, Johnny Pott was was now 2-strokes back in the second spot on the leader board.
"I feel I got the maximum out of the round," Archer summed up for reporters after his round.
Archer was joined by his good friend, Dave Stockton, a fellow Californian in the third round. It was Stockton's turn to have the hot hand and the two battled head-to-head. Stockton recorded 10 threes in his round and shot a 65 while Archer recorded a 68 and the two sat atop the leader board.
A Greensboro record crowd swarmed the grounds at Sedgefield as Archer and Stockton built their leads over the more well known players such as Arnold Palmer, Doug Sanders and Johnny Pott who sat 6-strokes back.
Both Palmer and Sanders challenged Archer in the final round, but "Cowboy" George Archer was able to handle the pressure and secure the victory with a round of 68. He won his biggest check of his career to that point -- $25,000. He also secured his spot in the Masters. Ken Still secured the other available spot by shooting a 70 and overtook Dan Sikes for the coveted invitation to Augusta.
Archer was called the "Golfing Cowboy" because he spent one summer working on the Lucky Hereford Ranch in Gilroy, CA. The ranch was owned by his friend and sponsor Eugene Selvage, who also owned the Lucky Lager Brewing Company and was the founder of the Lucky International stop on the PGA Tour.
Golf World, April 7, 1967 cover. Note the name on the mailing label.
Check out the amazing bonus story about George Archer below.
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Bonus Story
George Archer had a secret. None of the other PGA Tour pros knew either during his days on the regular tour or while he competed on the Senior Tour (Officially the PGA Tour Champions). He was too ashamed to publicly acknowledge his secret and it fell to his wife, Donna, to reveal George's struggle shortly after his death in 2005.
George couldn't read.
He was an extrovert who could spin a good yarn and could keep a small group of people entertained. But, his problem made him more restrained in larger groups and he was careful to avoid situations where his problem could be exposed. He wanted to avoid any potential embarrassment.
His reading problem was the result of a difficult childhood with a hard-driving father that eventually left his mother to care for four children. George tried to help the family make ends meet by caddying at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club in San Mateo, CA. He once admitted to his wife that he contemplated suicide at age 18 and worried about becoming homeless in San Francisco.
Donna tried to help him learn how to read utilizing Hooked on Phonics even while George played the Senior Tour. Donna suspects that he would be diagnosed with learning disabilities today.
"It was very difficult in many ways," Donna told Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronical in 2009 describing how life changed for her and George after he won the Masters in 1969. "He wasn't going to promote himself, because deep down inside, he was kind of terrified."
George learned how to write his name and would give autographs, but if the recipient wanted a personal note, he asked that they mail him a request. Then, Donna would help him with the personal note. He never played a Ryder Cup because the PGA required a Class-A PGA card to be a member of the team and that meant passing a written test.
Donna has undertaken the noble cause of helping others who have reading disabilities. She has founded the George Archer Memorial Foundation for Literacy and you can donate online. Better yet, they are putting on a fundraising pro-am on October 11th at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club. Anybody up for entering a Tour Backspin team? Email me at larry@9acespublishing.com if you are interested.
An autograph from George Archer including a personal note most likely added by his wife, Donna.
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