John Chandler Harper (March 10, 1914 – November 8, 2004) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1950. He won seven times on the PGA Tour and played in the Ryder Cup in 1955.[2]

Chandler Harper
Personal information
Full nameJohn Chandler Harper
NicknameOld Bones[1]
Born(1914-03-10)March 10, 1914
Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
DiedNovember 8, 2004(2004-11-08) (aged 90)
Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Career
Turned professional1934
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins21
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour7
Other14
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentT8: 1947
PGA ChampionshipWon: 1950
U.S. OpenT15: 1946
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Harper was born, raised and lived his entire life in Portsmouth, Virginia. He was prominent in Virginia golf, winning the Virginia State Amateur three times (1930, 1932, 1934) and the Virginia State Open nine times (1932, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1952, 1960, 1967, 1968, 1970), a record which stands today. His golfing career was interrupted by service in the U.S. Navy during World War II.[1][2]

Harper's competitive career lasted from 1938 to 1955; and like most professional golfers of his generation, he spent most of his time as a club professional. Harper compensated for his lack of driving distance with a strong short game; Ben Hogan said that Harper was the best putter on Tour.[1][2]

After Curtis Strange's father died when he was 14, Harper became Strange's mentor. He was also a long-time friend of Bobby Jones. He was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1973 and to the PGA Hall of Fame in 1968. In 1956, Harper founded Bide-A-Wee Golf Course in his hometown of Portsmouth, and managed the course until he retired in 1992.[1] He died at the age of 90 of complications from pneumonia.[2]

Professional wins (21)

edit

PGA Tour wins (7)

edit

Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins (12)

edit

Senior wins (2)

edit

Major championships

edit

Wins (1)

edit
Year Championship Winning score Runner-up
1950 PGA Championship 4 & 3   Henry Williams, Jr.

Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958

Results timeline

edit
Tournament 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
Masters Tournament 13 NT NT NT 19 T8 T40
U.S. Open NT NT NT NT T15 WD WD CUT
PGA Championship NT R32 R32 R32 R16
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament WD T38 T10 WD WD CUT CUT T14
U.S. Open T41 WD CUT WD
PGA Championship 1 R64 R32 R64 R16 R128 CUT WD
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament CUT WD T48
U.S. Open
PGA Championship CUT DQ
Tournament 1970 1971
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
PGA Championship WD

Note: Harper never played in The Open Championship.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

edit
Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 2 5 15 7
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 2
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PGA Championship 1 0 0 1 3 7 14 10
Totals 1 0 0 1 5 13 40 19
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)

U.S. national team appearances

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d Ducibella, Jim (November 9, 2004). "Local golf legend, mentor and Hall of Famer, dies". The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on November 21, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d Litsky, Frank (November 12, 2004). "Chandler Harper, Winner of 7 Professional Golf Tournaments, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2008.