Billy Charles Coody ( ; born July 13, 1937) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the 1971 Masters Tournament.
Early life and amateur career Coody was born in Stamford, Texas and raised in Abilene, Texas. He attended Abilene Christian University before transferring to and graduating in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in Business from Texas Christian University, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
Professional career In 1963, Coody made his pro debut. He won two regular PGA Tour events early in his career and was known as one of the best iron players of his era. However, he was considered somewhat of an underachiever until his Masters victory. In the words of his contemporary Frank Beard, "Charlie's one of our better shotmakers but he tries hard not to win." Coody held the lead at the 1969 Masters Tournament with three holes left but finished bogey-bogey-bogey to tie for 5th place.
At the 1971 Masters Tournament, Coody opened with a three-shot lead. He remained in the lead entering the final round but was expected to lose to co-leader Jack Nicklaus who had won the 1971 PGA Championship two months earlier. The event turned into a 3-way battle between Coody, Nicklaus, and a young Johnny Miller who was playing his first Masters as a professional. Miller took control with birdies on #11, #12, and #14 to build a two shot lead. However, things began to unravel for Miller when he hit his approach into the bunker on the 15th and failed to make birdie. Miller's tee shot on the par-3 16th also found sand; the right bunker. This led to a bogey when Miller's par putt spun out. Coody, playing in the group behind Miller, went for the 15th green in two and ended up behind the same bunker Miller had just been in. Coody then chipped to 8 feet beyond the hole and made it coming back for birdie to reach 8-under. He next made another clutch birdie at the par-3 16th by striking his 6-iron to 13 feet and holing the putt to reach 9-under and take the lead alone. He made pars on the last two and won by two strokes. Nicklaus uncharacteristically played mediocre on Sunday. He had four three-putts for the round and shot 37 on the back nine without a birdie. He tied Miller for runner-up.
Coody had his share of success after his Masters victory. He represented the United States for the only time in the 1971 Ryder Cup. He finished 5th at the 1971 Open Championship – the only time he played in The Open. In later years, as expressed in an interview on the "ForeTheGoodOfTheGame" podcast, Coody mentioned regrets about playing The Open only one time and that he had made a mistake by not journeying overseas to compete in The Open more often. He later won two events on the fledgling European Tour in 1973 and also had chances to win additional majors at the 1976 PGA Championship and 1977 PGA Championship. In 1976, he held a two stroke lead entering the final round before collapsing with a 77. The following year, at Pebble Beach, he finished two strokes out of a playoff, shooting a 73 in the final round.
However, his Masters triumph did not serve as a catalyst for Coody to become one of the greats in the game. While he posted nine top-3 finishes through the 1970s and early 1980s, he never won on the PGA Tour again. One example of his "close calls" after his Masters win was the 1972 Hawaiian Open played at Waialae Country Club in early February. Coody fired rounds of 66-72-69-68 to finish at 13-under par 275 but finished a stroke out of a playoff. Coody played full-time on the PGA Tour until his late 40s.
When he turned 50, Coody played on the Senior PGA Tour with a decent amount of success, winning five times. Like most Masters winners, Coody played the Masters Tournament through his old age. He retired from active competition at the 2006 event having played 38 of the last 39 Masters.
Personal life Coody has a son Kyle, who was also a professional golfer in the 1980s and 1990s. He also has two daughters, Caryn Coody Hill and Kristyn Coody Aguero.
In 2022, his grandsons Pierceson and Parker turned professional and play on the PGA Tour.
Awards and honors In 2000, Coody was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame . A college golf tournament, the Charles Coody West Texas Intercollegiate, is named after him. Coody lends his name to a charity event, the Charles Coody Classic, hosted by Texas Christian University.
Professional wins (15) PGA Tour wins (3) Legend Major championships (1) Other PGA Tour (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Sep 7, 1964Dallas Open Invitational−13 (67-67-68-69=271)1 stroke Jerry Edwards2Jun 29, 1969Cleveland Open Invitational−9 (67-64-71-69=271)2 strokes Bruce Crampton3Apr 11, 1971Masters Tournament −9 (66-73-70-70=279)2 strokes Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus
European Tour wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Sep 8, 1973W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament−7 (70-72-69-70=281)1 stroke Jack Newton2Sep 29, 1973John Player Classic +5 (68-74-70-77=289)3 strokes Tony Jacklin
Other wins (1) 1971 World Series of Golf
Senior PGA Tour wins (5) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Nov 12, 1989 General Tire Las Vegas Classic −11 (67-69-69=205)Playoff Bob Charles, Chi-Chi Rodríguez2Oct 7, 1990Vantage Championship−14 (67-65-70=202)3 strokes Bob Charles, Al Geiberger3Jun 2, 1991NYNEX Commemorative−17 (66-62-65=193)3 strokes Don Massengale4Oct 20, 1991Transamerica Senior Golf Championship−12 (67-66-71=204)2 strokes Lee Trevino5Jun 16, 1996du Maurier Champions−9 (69-70-67-65=271)1 stroke Larry Mowry
Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult11989General Tire Las Vegas Classic Bob Charles, Chi-Chi RodríguezWon with birdie on second extra hole
Other senior wins (4) 1990 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Dale Douglass) 1994 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Dale Douglass) 1998 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (Legends Division with Dale Douglass) 1998 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (Legendary Division with Dale Douglass)
Major championships Wins (1) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up 1971 Masters Tournament Tied for lead −9 (66-73-70-70=279) 2 strokes Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus
Results timeline Tournament1960196119621963196419651966196719681969Masters TournamentCUTCUTT30T5U.S. OpenCUTCUTCUTCUTCUTT52T28T16T13The Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipCUTT8T7
Tournament1970197119721973197419751976197719781979Masters TournamentT121T12T29T29T40T5CUTCUTT34U.S. OpenT64T63CUTT29CUTCUTT38T30The Open ChampionshipT5PGA ChampionshipT35CUT15T35CUTT84CUTCUT
Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989Masters TournamentT38T40CUTT36CUTT44CUTCUTCUTT38U.S. OpenT47The Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipT4174T55
Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999Masters TournamentCUTCUTT57CUTCUTCUTCUTCUTCUTU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipPGA Championship
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006Masters TournamentCUTCUTCUTCUTCUTCUTCUTU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipPGA Championship
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place.
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 1 0 0 3 3 5 40 16U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 2 18 10The Open Championship 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 4 5 15 10Totals 1 0 0 5 8 13 74 37 Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1966 U.S. Open – 1971 Open Championship) Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1968 PGA – 1969 Masters)
U.S. national team appearances Professional Ryder Cup: 1971 (winners)
References
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