Gary George Hallberg (born May 31, 1958) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and Champions Tour.
Amateur career Hallberg was born in Berwyn, Illinois. He attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and was a member of the golf team. He was a member of the 1977 Walker Cup team. In addition, Hallberg was the individual medalist at the 1979 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships. There were expectations that he would turn pro at this time. However, Hallberg asserted that he intended to return to Wake Forest for his senior year. Hallberg was the first four-time, first-team All-American in the history of intercollegiate golf. As of May 1979, Hallberg intended to try to qualify for the PGA Tour at Fall 1980 PGA Tour Qualifying School.
Professional career Hallberg was able to circumvent the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, however. He was the first player to obtain his PGA Tour card by winning a set level of money (in this case $8,000 in 1980) rather than by going to q-school.
Hallberg won three PGA Tour events during his career. He was PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 1980. His best finish in major championships was a T-6 at both the 1984 PGA Championship and The Masters in 1985. At the 1991 Open Championship, Hallberg was tied for the lead after 36 holes before finishing T32. During his late forties, he played mostly on the Nationwide Tour, winning once.
Hallberg began playing on the Champions Tour in 2008 after turning 50. He won his first title in 2010 at the Ensure Classic at Rock Barn. He shot a final round of 11-under par 61 in the final round to come from behind and win by one over Fred Couples and by two over Bernhard Langer. The win made him the fourth player to win on all the PGA Tour sponsored tours (PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and Champions Tour).
Hallberg has also done some analyst work for CNBC and NBC Sports. He lives in Castle Rock, Colorado. Gary's son Eric is also a professional golfer who qualified for the PGA Tour's 2015 Frys.com Open, and has also qualified to play on the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Latinoamérica and PGA Tour Canada.
Amateur wins 1976 Western Junior 1978 North and South Amateur 1979 North and South Amateur, NCAA Division I Championship
Professional wins (12) PGA Tour wins (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Feb 20, 1983 Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open−17 (67-67-69-68=271)1 stroke Tom Kite2Sep 20, 1987 Greater Milwaukee Open−19 (70-66-67-66=269)2 strokes Wayne Levi, Robert Wrenn3Oct 4, 1992 Buick Southern Open−10 (68-69-69=206)1 stroke Jim Gallagher Jr.
PGA Tour playoff record (0–2) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11984Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open Gary KochLost to birdie on second extra hole 21991H.E.B. Texas Open Blaine McCallisterLost to birdie on second extra hole
PGA of Japan Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1May 2, 1982Chunichi Crowns−8 (69-67-66-70=272)3 strokes Shigeru Uchida
Buy.com Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Jun 2, 2002Northeast Pennsylvania Classic−9 (69-68-74-64=275)3 strokes Roger Tambellini
South American Golf Circuit wins (1) 1980 Argentine Open
Other wins (5) 1977 Illinois Open Championship (as an amateur) 1981 Lille Open (France) 1982 Illinois Open Championship 1986 Chrysler Team Championship (with Scott Hoch) 1988 Jerry Ford Invitational
Champions Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Oct 3, 2010 Ensure Classic at Rock Barn−18 (67-70-61=198)1 stroke Fred Couples
Results in major championships Tournament1976197719781979Masters TournamentT47U.S. OpenCUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTPGA Championship Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989Masters TournamentT32T6CUTT42U.S. OpenT22LAT53CUTCUT73The Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipCUTCUTT42T6T59CUTCUT Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999Masters TournamentT57U.S. OpenT44CUTT28CUTT42The Open ChampionshipT32T68PGA ChampionshipCUTT56T14CUT
LA = low amateur CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 5U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 6The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 2 11 5Totals 0 0 0 0 2 4 31 18 Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (1992 U.S. Open – 1993 PGA) Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1984 PGA – 1985 Masters)
Results in The Players Championship Tournament198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995The Players ChampionshipT8T72CUTT544CUTCUTCUTT50CUTCUTCUTT46T9CUT
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place
U.S. national team appearances Amateur Walker Cup: 1977 (winners)
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