Loren Lloyd Roberts (born June 24, 1955) is an American professional golfer, who has played on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions.
Early life Roberts was born in San Luis Obispo, California. He competed for San Luis Obispo Senior High School and California Polytechnic State University. In 1975, he turned professional after his sophomore season due to the university's dropping its NCAA Division II golf team.
Professional career In the late 1970s, Roberts worked for Dennis Pogue as an assistant pro at San Luis Obispo Golf and Country Club as well as Morro Bay Golf Course. He won the Foot-Joy PGA Assistant Professional Championship of 1979 and was second in 1980. The first professional tour where he briefly competed was the PGA Tour of Australasia, after his 1979 PGA victory.
On his fifth attempt, Roberts earned his PGA Tour card at the PGA Tour Qualification Tournament in 1980 for the 1981 season. He returned to the tournament in 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1987, earning his card every year except 1981. He did not get his first win on the PGA Tour until 1994 at age 38, yet it sparked a nine-season run of eight victories. His career earnings are over $15 million. He is known as "Boss of the Moss" for his putting skills. He has featured in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
Roberts' best finish in a major was tie for 2nd place at the 1994 U.S. Open. He contended in an 18-hole playoff with Ernie Els and Colin Montgomerie. Montgomerie was eliminated. An additional pair of sudden-death holes gave Els the title.
Roberts played for the United States in the 1995 Ryder Cup, 1994 and 2000 Presidents Cups, and 2001 UBS Warburg Cup. He was 3–1 at the Ryder Cup, 4-2-1 at the Presidents Cups, and 1–2 at the UBS Warburg Cup. Of the four team events, only the Ryder Cup team lost. He was a co-assistant captain for the 2006 Ryder Cup which was also defeated by the European team.
After concentrating on the Champions Tour in 2006, Roberts went without a PGA Tour card for the 2007 and 2008 seasons, passing on using his exemption for being among the top 50 in career earnings. He used the exemption for the 2009 season.
In the middle of his regular career, in 1995, Roberts began hosting the annual Loren Roberts Celebrity Pro-Am in May at Spring Creek Ranch in Collierville, Tennessee. The benefitting charity is Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center of Memphis, Tennessee.
Roberts wrote Focus: The Name of the Game with fellow PGA Tour golfers Scott Simpson and Larry Mize. The 128-page book was published by J. Countryman in 1999.
Senior career In 2005, Roberts joined the Champions Tour. His first senior win came in his third event at the JELD-WEN Tradition, one of five senior majors. He defeated Dana Quigley in a two-hole sudden-death playoff.
In 2006, Roberts became the first golfer to open a Champions Tour season with three wins. Later that season he won his second senior major by beating Eduardo Romero in a playoff at the Senior British Open. He won the Byron Nelson Award for lowest average stroke total per round.
In 2009, he won his second Senior British Open title after beating Fred Funk and Mark McNulty in a playoff. He won a month later in August at the Boeing Classic, where he denied Mark O'Meara his first Champions Tour victory, defeating him by one stroke after making birdie on the final hole. The GWAA voted him Player of the Year.
He broke 54-hole tournament record for lowest score in relationship to par (25-under) and most birdies (26) as well as sharing lowest score (191). The marks were set largely due to scoring a career-best 61 in the final round of his 2006 MasterCard Championship at Hualalai win.
Personal life Since the 1980s, Roberts has been a resident of Germantown, Tennessee.
Awards and honors
In 1995 and 2007, Roberts was named Professional co-Athlete of the Year by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was inducted into the Cal Poly-SLO Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2008, the Tennessee Golf Foundation inducted him into the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame.
Professional wins (25) PGA Tour wins (8) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1 Mar 20, 1994Nestle Invitational −13 (70-70-68-67=275)1 stroke Nick Price, Vijay Singh, Fuzzy Zoeller2Mar 19, 1995Nestle Invitational (2)−16 (68-65-68-71=272)2 strokes Brad Faxon3Apr 21, 1996MCI Classic−19 (66-69-63-67=265)3 strokes Mark O'Meara4Sep 1, 1996Greater Milwaukee Open−19 (66-65-66-68=265)Playoff Jerry Kelly5Sep 14, 1997CVS Charity Classic−18 (67-67-68-64=266)1 stroke Bill Glasson6May 16, 1999GTE Byron Nelson Classic−18 (66-66-62-68=262)Playoff Steve Pate7Jul 16, 2000Greater Milwaukee Open (2)−24 (65-66-63-66=260)8 strokes Franklin Langham8Sep 29, 2002Valero Texas Open−19 (67-63-67-64=261)3 strokes Fred Couples, Fred Funk, Garrett Willis
PGA Tour playoff record (2–1) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11994U.S. Open Ernie Els, Colin MontgomerieEls won with par on second extra hole after 18-hole playoff;Els: +3 (74),Roberts: +3 (74),Montgomerie: +7 (78)21996Greater Milwaukee Open Jerry KellyWon with birdie on first extra hole31999GTE Byron Nelson Classic Steve PateWon with par on first extra hole
Other wins (5) This list may be incomplete. 1979 Foot-Joy PGA Assistant Professional Championship 1992 Ben Hogan Pebble Beach Invitational 1997 Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational 1999 Tennessee Open 2010 Straight Down Fall Classic (with Michael Rowley)
Champions Tour wins (13) LegendChampions Tour major championships (4)Other Champions Tour (9) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Aug 28, 2005JELD-WEN Tradition−15 (67-69-70-67=273)Playoff Dana Quigley2Jan 22, 2006MasterCard Championship−25 (63-67-61=191)1 stroke Don Pooley3Jan 29, 2006Turtle Bay Championship−12 (66-66-72=204)2 strokes Scott Simpson4Feb 19, 2006ACE Group Classic−14 (67-66-69=202)1 stroke R. W. Eaks, Brad Bryant5Jul 30, 2006The Senior British Open Championship−6 (65-65-69-75=274)Playoff Eduardo Romero6Jun 3, 2007Boeing Championship at Sandestin−16 (65-67-65=197)3 strokes Eduardo Romero7Oct 7, 2007Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship−13 (67-66-67-67=267)6 strokes Tom Watson8Jun 29, 2008Commerce Bank Championship−12 (65-68-68=201)1 stroke Nick Price, Lonnie Nielsen9Feb 22, 2009 ACE Group Classic (2)−7 (70-71-68=209)1 stroke Gene Jones10Jul 26, 2009 The Senior Open Championship (2)−12 (66-68-67-67=268)Playoff Fred Funk, Mark McNulty11Aug 31, 2009Boeing Classic−18 (68-65-65=198)1 stroke Mark O'Meara12Jun 27, 2010Dick's Sporting Goods Open−15 (68-68-65=201)1 stroke Fred Funk13Mar 18, 2012Toshiba Classic−8 (66-70-69=205)2 strokes Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer
Champions Tour playoff record (3–2) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result12005JELD-WEN Tradition Dana QuigleyWon with bogey on second extra hole22006The Senior British Open Championship Eduardo RomeroWon with par on first extra hole32007AT&T Classic Tom PurtzerLost to birdie on fourth extra hole42008AT&T Champions Classic Brad Bryant, Denis WatsonWatson won with birdie on third extra holeBryant eliminated by birdie on second hole52009The Senior Open Championship Fred Funk, Mark McNultyWon with par on third extra holeFunk eliminated by birdie on first hole
Results in major championships Tournament 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Masters TournamentU.S. OpenT34CUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipCUTT34
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Masters TournamentCUTT5T24T23CUTCUTU.S. OpenT49T11T2WDT40T13T18The Open ChampionshipT24CUTT18CUTT29PGA ChampionshipT5T27T28T9T58CUTT49T65CUT
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Masters TournamentT3T37T33U.S. OpenT8T52T42The Open ChampionshipT7T13T28CUTCUTPGA ChampionshipT58CUTT43T7T17CUT
CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 1 2 2 4 9 6U.S. Open 0 1 0 1 2 5 13 10The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 4 10 6 PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 3 4 17 12Totals 0 1 1 4 8 17 49 34 Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (1991 U.S. Open – 1995 Masters) Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (2000 Masters – 2000 Open Championship)
Results in The Players Championship Tournament1985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006The Players ChampionshipCUTT40CUTT14T46T27T21CUTT14T34T333CUTCUTCUTCUTT4971T66CUTCUT
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships Tournament1999200020012002200320042005Match PlayR16R64R64R32R64ChampionshipT40NT1T16Invitational14T29T28 1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied NT = No tournament
Senior major championships Wins (4) YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunner(s)-up 2005 JELD-WEN Tradition −15 (67-69-70-67=273) Playoff Dana Quigley 2006 The Senior Open Championship−6 (65-65-69-75=274) Playoff Eduardo Romero 2007 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship −13 (67-66-67-67=267) 6 strokes Tom Watson 2009 The Senior Open Championship (2)−12 (66-68-67-67=268) Playoff Fred Funk, Mark McNulty
Results timeline Results not in chronological order before 2017. Tournament 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 20192020The Tradition1T14T4T7T5T153T25T22T31WDT34WDNTSenior PGA Championship–5T12T49T28T15T8T12T47WDCUTT46NTU.S. Senior OpenT2T83T12T4T20T17T36T14T20CUTT9CUTCUTNTSenior Players ChampionshipT31T21T33T28T3856T22T29T20T26T46T62Senior British Open Championship51T41T14T27CUTT50NT
CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
U.S. national team appearances This list may be incomplete.
Professional Ryder Cup: 1995 Presidents Cup: 1994 (winners), 2000 (winners) UBS Warburg Cup: 2001 (winners)
See also Fall 1980 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 1982 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 1983 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 1986 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 1987 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates List of golfers with most Champions Tour major championship wins List of golfers with most Champions Tour wins
References
External links
Tournament press conferences