William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.

In his youth, Casper started as a caddie and emerged from the junior golf hotbed of San Diego, where golf could be played year-round, to rank seventh all-time in career Tour wins with 51, across 20 years between 1956 and 1975. Fellow San Diegan great Gene Littler was a friend and rival from teenager to senior. Casper won three major championships, represented the United States on a then-record eight Ryder Cup teams, and holds the U.S. record for career Ryder Cup points won. After reaching age 50, Casper regularly played the Senior PGA Tour and was a winner there until 1989. In his later years, Casper successfully developed businesses in golf course design and management of golf facilities.

Casper served as Ryder Cup captain in 1979, was twice PGA Player of the Year (1966 and 1970), was twice the leading money winner, and won five Vardon Trophy awards for the lowest seasonal scoring average on the Tour.

Respected for his putting and short-game skill, Casper overcame his distance disadvantages against longer-hitting competitors such as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus with creative shot-making, and golf-course management abilities. Casper developed his style by relying on solid technique, determination, concentration, and perseverance.

He converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1966. Casper was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978.

Early life Casper was born in San Diego, California. He grew up in Chula Vista, California. His father started him in golf at age five. Casper caddied during his youth at San Diego Country Club to earn money for golf.

Amateur career Casper spent one semester at the University of Notre Dame on a golf scholarship, after graduating from Chula Vista High School. He returned to San Diego to marry his wife Shirley in 1952. Casper competed frequently as an amateur against fellow San Diegan Gene Littler. After graduating from Notre Dame, he turned professional in 1954.

Professional career

Casper had 51 PGA Tour wins in his career, with his first coming in 1956. This total places him seventh on the all-time list. His victories helped him finish third in McCormack's World Golf Rankings in 1968, 1969, and 1970, the first three years they were published. He won three major championships: the 1959 and 1966 U.S. Opens, and the 1970 Masters Tournament.

He was the PGA Tour Money Winner in 1966 and 1968. He was PGA Player of the Year in 1966 and 1970. Casper won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average five times: 1960, 1963, 1965, 1966, and 1968.

Casper was a member of the United States team in the Ryder Cup eight times: 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, and a non-playing captain in 1979. Casper has scored the most points in the Ryder Cup by an American player.

Casper won at least one PGA Tour event for 16 straight seasons, from 1956 to 1971, the third-longest streak, trailing only Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, who each won on Tour in 17 straight years.

On the senior circuit, Casper earned nine Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) wins from 1982 to 1989, including two senior majors.

Legacy Between 1964 and 1970, Casper won 27 tournaments on the PGA Tour, two more than Jack Nicklaus and six more than Arnold Palmer and Gary Player combined, during that period.

Casper’s PGA Tour victories spanned 20 years, from 1956 to 1975. His leading contemporaries included Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead, Cary Middlecoff, Gary Player and Lee Trevino.

Casper was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978. In 2000, he was ranked as the 15th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine.

Casper's grandson, Mason Casper, played for the Utah Valley University golf team. Mason qualified for NCAA post-season play in 2012.

Personal life Casper was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, joining in early 1966 at age 34, at the height of his playing career.

Casper died at age 83 in 2015 of a heart attack at his home in Springville, Utah. He was survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Shirley Franklin Casper, 11 children, six of whom are adopted, 71 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.

Other ventures Golf course design and management

After his professional career, Casper was a designer for many golf courses, such as The Highlands, The Palm, and Eagle Crest in Sun City Summerlin, Nevada. He also designed the Hidden Oaks Golf Course, 9 holes of a beloved Par 3 in a residential neighborhood just north of Santa Barbara, CA. Chula Vista Golf Course, designed by Casper, is a par 73 with three par 5's on the front nine and two on the back. Billy Casper Golf (BCG) is one of the largest privately owned golf course management companies in the United States, with roughly 150 owned or managed courses in their portfolio. BCG annually hosts the "World's Largest Golf Outing" – a national golf outing fundraiser benefiting military charities.

Acting Casper had a cameo appearance in the movie, Now You See Him, Now You Don't.

Billy's Kids Casper was active in charitable work for children and hosted fundraisers, including an annual tournament at San Diego Country Club for "Billy's Kids".

Awards and honors

In 1978, Casper was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame In 2000, he was ranked as the 15th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine

Bibliography

Professional wins (72)

PGA Tour wins (51) LegendMajor championships (3)Other PGA Tour (48) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Jul 15, 1956Labatt Open−14 (68-68-67-71=274)2 strokes Jimmy Demaret2Feb 3, 1957Phoenix Open Invitational−9 (68-71-65-67=271)3 strokes Cary Middlecoff, Mike Souchak3Apr 28, 1957Kentucky Derby Open Invitational−7 (68-68-71-70=277)1 stroke Peter Thomson4Jan 12, 1958Bing Crosby National Pro-Am Golf Championship−11 (71-66-69-71=277)4 strokes Dave Marr5Mar 12, 1958Greater New Orleans Open Invitational−10 (69-70-70-69=278)Playoff Ken Venturi6Jun 23, 1958Buick Open Invitational−3 (70-73-71-71=285)1 stroke Ted Kroll, Arnold Palmer7Jun 14, 1959U.S. Open +2 (71-68-69-74=282)1 stroke Bob Rosburg8Oct 4, 1959Portland Centennial Open Invitational−19 (69-64-67-69=269)3 strokes Bob Duden, Dave Ragan9Nov 15, 1959Lafayette Open Invitational−11 (69-64-71-69=273)4 strokes George Bayer10Nov 22, 1959Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational−8 (71-68-68-73=280)2 strokes Wes Ellis, Dave Ragan11Sep 25, 1960Portland Open Invitational (2)−22 (68-67-66-65=266)2 strokes Paul Harney12Oct 3, 1960Hesperia Open Invitational−13 (70-68-67-70=275)5 strokes Bob Rosburg13Oct 16, 1960Orange County Open Invitational−8 (70-68-69-69=276)1 stroke Charlie Sifford14Sep 24, 1961Portland Open Invitational (3)−15 (68-71-67-67=273)1 stroke Dave Hill15Mar 26, 1962Doral C.C. Open Invitational−5 (70-67-75-71=283)1 stroke Pete Bondeson16Apr 15, 1962Greater Greensboro Open−9 (69-70-68-68=275)1 stroke Mike Souchak17May 27, 1962500 Festival Open Invitation−20 (66-67-67-64=264)1 stroke George Bayer, Jerry Steelsmith18Oct 14, 1962Bakersfield Open Invitational−16 (69-71-65-67=272)4 strokes Tony Lema19Jan 20, 1963Bing Crosby National Pro-Am (2)−3 (73-65-73-74=285)1 stroke Dave Hill, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Bob Rosburg, Art Wall Jr.20Aug 18, 1963Insurance City Open Invitational−13 (67-68-71-65=271)1 stroke George Bayer21Mar 22, 1964Doral Open Invitational (2)−11 (70-70-67-70=277)1 stroke Jack Nicklaus22May 10, 1964Colonial National Invitation−1 (72-67-70-70=279)4 strokes Tommy Jacobs23Sep 27, 1964Greater Seattle Open Invitational−15 (68-67-66-64=265)2 strokes Mason Rudolph24Nov 3, 1964Almaden Open Invitational−9 (68-70-73-68=279)Playoff Pete Brown, Jerry Steelsmith25Feb 7, 1965Bob Hope Desert Classic−12 (70-70-69-67-72=348)1 stroke Tommy Aaron, Arnold Palmer26Jul 4, 1965Western Open−14 (70-66-70-64=270)2 strokes Jack McGowan, Chi-Chi Rodríguez27Jul 25, 1965Insurance City Open Invitational (2)−10 (70-72-66-66=274)Playoff Johnny Pott28Oct 23, 1965Sahara Invitational−15 (66-66-68-69=269)3 strokes Billy Martindale29Jan 16, 1966San Diego Open Invitational−16 (70-66-68-64=268)4 strokes Tommy Aaron, Tom Weiskopf30Jun 20, 1966U.S. Open (2)−2 (69-68-73-68=278)Playoff Arnold Palmer31Jun 26, 1966Western Open (2)−1 (69-72-72-70=283)3 strokes Gay Brewer32Jul 31, 1966500 Festival Open Invitation (2)−11 (69-70-68-70=277)3 strokes R. H. Sikes33Jul 3, 1967Canadian Open−5 (69-70-71-69=279)Playoff Art Wall Jr.34Sep 4, 1967Carling World Open−3 (74-68-70-69=281)Playoff Al Geiberger35Jan 28, 1968Los Angeles Open−10 (70-67-68-69=274)3 strokes Arnold Palmer36Apr 8, 1968Greater Greensboro Open (2)−17 (65-67-69-66=267)4 strokes George Archer, Gene Littler, Bobby Nichols37May 19, 1968Colonial National Invitation (2)−5 (68-71-68-68=275)5 strokes Gene Littler38Jun 9, 1968500 Festival Open Invitation (3)−8 (70-71-69-70=280)1 stroke Frank Beard, Mike Hill39Sep 8, 1968Greater Hartford Open Invitational (3)−18 (68-65-67-66=266)3 strokes Bruce Crampton40Nov 3, 1968Lucky International Open−15 (68-65-70-66=269)4 strokes Raymond Floyd, Don Massengale41Feb 9, 1969Bob Hope Desert Classic (2)−15 (71-68-71-69-66=345)3 strokes Dave Hill42Jun 8, 1969Western Open (3)−8 (72-69-68-67=276)4 strokes Rocky Thompson43Sep 28, 1969Alcan Open−14 (70-68-70-66=274)1 stroke Lee Trevino44Jan 11, 1970Los Angeles Open (2)−8 (68-68-68-72=276)Playoff Hale Irwin45Apr 13, 1970Masters Tournament−9 (72-68-68-71=279)Playoff Gene Littler46Jul 19, 1970IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic−14 (68-67-71-68=274)3 strokes Terry Wilcox47Aug 24, 1970AVCO Golf Classic−11 (68-67-73-69=277)1 stroke Rod Funseth, Tom Weiskopf48Oct 24, 1971Kaiser International Open Invitational−19 (67-65-69-68=269)4 strokes Fred Marti49Jul 1, 1973Western Open (4)−12 (67-69-67-69=272)1 stroke Larry Hinson, Hale Irwin50Sep 3, 1973Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open (4)−20 (67-65-68-64=264)1 stroke Bruce Devlin51May 18, 1975First NBC New Orleans Open (2)−17 (67-68-66-70=271)2 strokes Peter Oosterhuis

PGA Tour playoff record (8–8) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11958Greater New Orleans Open Invitational Ken VenturiWon with an eagle on the second extra hole21961Buick Open Jack Burke Jr., Johnny PottBurke won 18-hole playoff;Burke: −1 (71),Casper: +2 (74),Pott: +2 (74)31964Almaden Open Invitational Pete Brown, Jerry SteelsmithWon with a birdie on the third extra hole after 18-hole playoff;Casper: −4 (68),Brown: −4 (68),Steelsmith: +1 (73)41965San Diego Open Invitational Wes EllisLost to a birdie on the first extra hole51965Insurance City Open Invitational Johnny PottWon with a birdie on the first extra hole61966U.S. Open Arnold PalmerWon 18-hole playoff;Casper: −1 (69),Palmer: +3 (73)71967Canadian Open Art Wall Jr.Won 18-hole playoff;Casper: −6 (65),Wall: −2 (69)81967Carling World Open Al GeibergerWon with a par on the first extra hole91967Hawaiian Open Dudley WysongLost to par on the first extra hole101968Bing Crosby National Pro-Am Bruce Devlin, Johnny PottPott won with a birdie on the first extra hole111969Kaiser International Open Invitational George Archer, Don January, Jack NicklausNicklaus won with birdie on second extra holeJanuary eliminated by birdie on first hole121970Los Angeles Open Hale IrwinWon with a birdie on the first extra hole131970Masters Tournament Gene LittlerWon 18-hole playoff;Casper: −3 (69),Littler: +2 (74)141971Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open Bob LunnLost to a birdie on the fourth extra hole151972Byron Nelson Golf Classic Chi-Chi RodríguezLost to a birdie on the first extra hole161975World Open Golf Championship Jack NicklausLost to par on the first extra hole

Source:

European Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Oct 19, 1975Italian Open−2 (74-69-70-73=286)1 stroke Brian Barnes

Latin American wins (4)