Raymond Loran Floyd (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour, including four majors and four senior majors. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989.
Early life and amateur career Floyd was born on September 4, 1942, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was raised in Fayetteville. Floyd's father L.B. had a 21-year career in the U.S. Army, much of it at Fort Bragg as the golf pro at its enlisted-men's course. He also owned a nearby driving range where Raymond and younger sister Marlene, a future LPGA Tour pro, honed their games. From an early age, Floyd could play equally well left-handed, and used his skills to enhance his allowance, winning money from soldiers on the course, as well as civilians in nearby towns.
Floyd graduated from Fayetteville High School (now named Terry Sanford High School) in 1960. Skilled in golf and baseball, he had an offer to pitch in the Cleveland Indians organization, but chose to attend the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, but only stayed for a semester.
Professional career After leaving college, Floyd turned professional in 1961, and quickly established himself on the PGA Tour. His first victory came two years later at age 20 in March 1963 in Florida, winning $3,500 at the St. Petersburg Open Invitational, the first of his 22 wins on the PGA Tour, including four major championships.
Floyd won his first major title six years later at the PGA Championship in 1969, and the second came in 1976 at The Masters, by an eight-stroke margin and was won wire-to-wire. He won his second PGA Championship in 1982, after shooting a opening round of 63 in sweltering hot conditions at Southern Hills Country Club. Floyd's round of 63 was the lowest round in a major championship until 2017. Floyd finished 1982 ranked second in Mark McCormack's world golf rankings, behind only Tom Watson, who had won two majors that season; had those rankings been calculated over just two seasons, on a par with the system in place at the end of 2012, Floyd would have been ranked world number one in 1982, as he had earned more points from all events in total than Watson in both 1981 and 1982.
Floyd's fourth and final major title came at the U.S. Open in 1986 at Shinnecock Hills. After three rounds, he was tied for fifth place, three shots behind leader Greg Norman, who held the 54-hole lead at all four majors in 1986. Norman faltered on Sunday with a 75 (+5), but Floyd shot 66 to win by two strokes and became the then-oldest U.S. Open champion by a few months at 43 years and 9 months. (The record was Ted Ray's since 1920, and is now held by Hale Irwin, a champion at age 45 in 1990.)
The one major title that eluded Floyd, which prevented him from completing the career grand slam, was The Open Championship. His best result was in 1978 at St Andrews; he tied for second place, behind three-time winner Jack Nicklaus.
Floyd came very close to winning a second Green Jacket at the 1990 Masters, where he lost in a playoff to Nick Faldo. On the second playoff hole, Floyd pulled a 7-iron shot into the pond left of the 11th green. Afterward, he said, "This is the most devastating thing that's ever happened to me in my career. I've had a lot of losses, but nothing like this."
In 1992, Floyd again finished runner-up at The Masters, two strokes behind the winner Fred Couples. Floyd's final win on the PGA Tour came at the Doral-Ryder Open in 1992 at age 49, making him one of the oldest players to win a PGA Tour event. The Doral-Ryder Open victory also gave him the distinction of winning PGA Tour events in four decades, joining Sam Snead as the second player to achieve that feat. Floyd also won on the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions) later that season, making him the first player to win on both tours in the same year.
At the end of 1992, Floyd was ranked 14th on the Official World Golf Ranking at the age of 50, one of the highest positions ever attained by a player of that age. Floyd's successful run continued on the Senior Tour, with 14 wins between 1992 and 2000, including four senior majors and two Senior Tour Championships.
In addition to Floyd's victories on the PGA and Champions Tours, he won at least 24 additional tournaments around the world, taking his total victory tally to at least 60 events. While active, Floyd was considered by most golf experts to be the best at chipping the golf ball. He holed many shots from just off the green, the most famous may have been at the Doral-Eastern Open in 1980, where his successful birdie chip on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff defeated Jack Nicklaus.
On his decision to continue playing professional golf on the Senior Tour, Floyd spoke with Golf Digest and mused aloud: "Why do I enjoy golf after 31 years, going out there and doing things that are necessary to be competitive—having practice, having to work, having to dedicate yourself? I guess it comes down to the competition. My personality...I'm not going to play if I'm not competitive."
Floyd won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour in 1983 and played for the U.S. on eight Ryder Cup teams (1969, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1991, and 1993).
Floyd was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989. He captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team at The Belfry in England in 1989. At a gala dinner held before the start of the matches, Floyd famously introduced his American side as "The 12 greatest players in the world." This irritated European player Nick Faldo of England, who later said that he felt Floyd's comment was inappropriate.
Floyd was an assistant Ryder Cup captain in 2008. On the eve of the Masters in 2010, Floyd announced his retirement from competitive golf. He was the honoree at Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament in 2013.
Professional wins (63) PGA Tour wins (22) Legend Major championships (4) Players Championships (1) Other PGA Tour (17) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Mar 17, 1963St. Petersburg Open Invitational67-71-67-69=274−141 stroke Dave Marr2Jun 27, 1965St. Paul Open Invitational 66-70-65-69=270−144 strokes Tommy Aaron, Gene Littler3Mar 23, 1969Greater Jacksonville Open 68-71-68-71=278−10Playoff Gardner Dickinson4Jul 27, 1969American Golf Classic 67-68-68-65=268−124 strokes Bobby Nichols5Aug 17, 1969PGA Championship69-66-67-74=276−81 stroke Gary Player6Jun 8, 1975Kemper Open65-71-73-69=278−103 strokes John Mahaffey, Gary Player7Apr 11, 1976Masters Tournament65-66-70-70=271−178 strokes Ben Crenshaw8Sep 12, 1976World Open Golf Championship69-67-67-71=274−10Playoff Jerry McGee9May 8, 1977Byron Nelson Golf Classic69-70-68-69=276−82 strokes Ben Crenshaw10Jul 17, 1977Pleasant Valley Classic 67-68-67-69=271−121 stroke Jack Nicklaus11Apr 8, 1979Greater Greensboro Open73-71-71-67=282−61 stroke George Burns, Gary Player12Mar 16, 1980Doral-Eastern Open74-69-70-66=279−9Playoff Jack Nicklaus 13Mar 15, 1981Doral-Eastern Open (2)66-68-71-68=273−151 stroke Keith Fergus, David Graham14Mar 23, 1981Tournament Players Championship 72-74-71-68=285−3Playoff Barry Jaeckel, Curtis Strange15Jun 14, 1981Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic70-68-68-69=275−92 strokes Bobby Clampett, Gibby Gilbert, Craig Stadler16May 30, 1982Memorial Tournament74-69-67-71=281−72 strokes Peter Jacobsen, Wayne Levi, Roger Maltbie, Gil Morgan17Jun 13, 1982Danny Thomas Memphis Classic67-68-67-69=271−176 strokes Mike Holland18Aug 8, 1982PGA Championship (2)63-69-68-72=272−83 strokes Lanny Wadkins19Apr 28, 1985Houston Open69-70-69-69=277−111 stroke David Frost, Bob Lohr20Jun 15, 1986U.S. Open75-68-70-66=279−12 strokes Chip Beck, Lanny Wadkins21Oct 19, 1986Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic68-66-70-71=275−13Playoff Lon Hinkle, Mike Sullivan22Mar 8, 1992Doral-Ryder Open (3)67-67-67-70=271−172 strokes Keith Clearwater, Fred Couples
PGA Tour playoff record (5–10) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11969Greater Jacksonville Open Gardner DickinsonWon with birdie on first extra hole 21971Bob Hope Desert Classic Arnold PalmerLost to birdie on second extra hole 31973Bing Crosby National Pro-Am Orville Moody, Jack NicklausNicklaus won with birdie on first extra hole41974 American Golf Classic Gay Brewer, Jim Colbert Forrest FezlerColbert won with par on second extra holeBrewer and Fezler eliminated by par on first hole 51975Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational Bobby Nichols, J. C. SneadSnead won with birdie on fourth extra holeNichols eliminated by par on first hole61976World Open Golf Championship Jerry McGeeWon with birdie on first extra hole71980Doral-Eastern Open Jack NicklausWon with birdie on second extra hole81981Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open Tom Jenkins, Bruce LietzkeLietzke won with birdie on second extra holeJenkins eliminated by par on first hole 91981Tournament Players Championship Barry Jaeckel, Curtis StrangeWon with par on first extra hole101982Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic Keith FergusLost to birdie on first extra hole111982World Series of Golf Craig Stadler Lost to par on fourth extra hole121985Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic George Burns, Roger MaltbieMaltbie won with birdie on fourth extra hole131986Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic Lon Hinkle, Mike SullivanWon with par on first extra hole141990Masters Tournament Nick FaldoLost to par on second extra hole151992GTE Byron Nelson Classic Billy Ray Brown, Ben Crenshaw Bruce LietzkeBrown won with birdie on first extra hole
PGA of Japan Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Sep 1, 1991Daiwa KBC Augusta66-69-69-69=273−151 stroke Frankie Miñoza
Latin American wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Nov 26, 1978Brazil Open66-69-72-70=277−75 strokes Vicente Fernández, Steve Martin2Dec 16, 1979Friendship Cup71-69-66-69=275−93 strokes Peter Jacobsen
Other wins (12) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Jun 28, 1981Labatt's International Golf Classic71-70-65-71=277−116 strokes Daniel Talbot1Dec 5, 1982Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge72-69-68-71=280−8Playoff Craig Stadler2Dec 15, 1985Chrysler Team Championship(with Hal Sutton)63-65-68-64=260−28Playoff Charlie Bolling and Brad Fabel, Jim Colbert and Tom Purtzer, John Fought and Pat McGowan, Gary Hallberg and Scott Hoch3Nov 27, 1988Skins Game$290,000$372,000 Jack Nicklaus4Nov 18, 1990RMCC Invitational(with Fred Couples)64-57-61=182−345 strokes Peter Jacobsen and Arnold Palmer5Nov 21, 1993Franklin Funds Shark Shootout(with Steve Elkington)62-64-62=188−281 stroke Mark Calcavecchia and Brad Faxon, Hale Irwin and Bruce Lietzke, Tom Kite and Davis Love III, Mark O'Meara and Curtis Strange6Dec 3, 1995Office Depot Father/Son Challenge(with son Raymond Floyd Jr.)62-57=119−256 strokes Hale Irwin and son Steve Irwin7Dec 8, 1996Office Depot Father/Son Challenge (2)(with son Raymond Floyd Jr.)61-63=124−202 strokes Dave Stockton and son Ron Stockton8Dec 7, 1997Office Depot Father/Son Challenge (3)(with son Raymond Floyd Jr.)62-58=120−241 stroke Dave Stockton and son Ron Stockton9Jun 22, 2000Tylenol Par-3 Shootout$320,000$200,000 Phil Mickelson10Dec 10, 2000Office Depot Father/Son Challenge (4)(with son Robert Floyd)62-60=122−22Playoff Johnny Miller and son Scott Miller11Dec 2, 2001Office Depot Father/Son Challenge (5)(with son Robert Floyd)63-61=124−201 stroke Hale Irwin and son Steve Irwin
Other playoff record (3–2)