Cary Middlecoff

Winner of two U.S. Open Championships and the Masters Tournament, Cary Middlecoff collected 37 titles during a career that begun only after he gave up practicing dentistry in favor of playing professional tournament golf.  

Born in Halls, Tennessee, Middlecoff won his state amateur championship four straight years (1940-43), a collegiate tournament by 29 strokes while at the University of Mississippi, and was the first amateur to win the North and South Open while playing the tournament in 1945 with star professionals Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen. After serving in the military practicing dentistry, he decided in 1947 to give the pro circuit a try. After turning professional in 1947, he shot a final round 62 at the Charlotte Open in only his third tournament, and won. At that point, he decided to forego dentistry for good to pursue a full-time competitive career.

Two years later, Middlecoff won his first major championship, the 1949 U.S. Open at Medinah in Chicago, and then in 1955 achieved the Masters largest winning margin of seven strokes earning a green jacket. At the 1956 U.S. Open at Oak Hill in Rochester, Middlecoff held off Ben Hogan and Julius Boros to capture his second national championship. In 1958, he earned the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average on the tour, following which he became the leading money-winner of the 1950s and the seventh on the all-time tour money list. He also captured at least one tournament every year until his retirement in 1961, when he began a successful career as a television commentator. He was inducted into the PGA World Golf Hall of Fame in 1986.

Ms. Middlecoff died in 1998 of heart failure at the age of 77.