Richard Burnice "Pete" Cooper (December 31, 1914 – October 8, 1993) was an American professional golfer. Cooper played on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s; he was best known for winning the 1976 PGA Seniors' Championship.
Professional career In 1938, Cooper turned professional. In the ten-year span between 1949 and 1958, he won five official PGA Tour events and had runner-up finishes in the 1950 Houston Open and the 1955 Tournament of Champions. His best finish in a major was T4 at the 1953 U.S. Open. He helped a young Chi-Chi Rodríguez improve enough to secure a spot on the PGA Tour.
Cooper won the 1976 PGA Seniors' Championship at the age of 61 with a four-day total of 283 over runner-up Fred Wampler. The tournament was held at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
He was also active in golf course design.
Personal life Cooper lived in Lakeland, Florida, where he owned the Par 3 and Lone Palm Golf Club.
Professional wins (23) PGA Tour wins (4) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Mar 6, 1949St. Petersburg Open−9 (68-67-69-71=275)1 stroke Cary Middlecoff3Jun 13, 1954Virginia Beach Open−13 (67-64-64-68=263)1 stroke Tommy Bolt4Mar 17, 1957St. Petersburg Open−15 (68-68-68-65=269)4 strokes Jack Burke Jr.5Nov 23, 1958West Palm Beach Open Invitational−19 (68-63-68-70=269)Playoff Wes Ellis
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11958West Palm Beach Open Invitational Wes EllisWon with birdie on first extra hole21959West Palm Beach Open Invitational Gay Brewer, Arnold PalmerPalmer won with par on fourth extra hole Sources:
Latin American and Caribbean wins (6) 1959 Panama Open, Puerto Rico Open, Colombian Open 1960 Jamaica Open, Maracaibo Open 1961 Panama Open
Other regular wins (12) this list is probably incomplete 1944 Florida Open 1946 Florida Open 1948 Florida Open 1949 Florida Open 1950 Florida Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Claude Harmon) 1953 Metropolitan Open 1954 Orlando Two-ball (with Patty Berg) 1956 Michigan Open 1957 Florida Open 1958 Florida Open 1966 Florida Open
Senior wins (1) 1976 PGA Seniors' Championship
Team appearances Canada Cup (representing Puerto Rico): 1961
References
External links
Notice of Pete Cooper's death