Al Besselink

Albert Cornelius Besselink (born June 30, 1922) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960s.

Besselink grew up in Merchantville, New Jersey. He attended the University of Miami and was the first UM golfer to win a national tournament. He won the Southern Invitational Championship twice before graduating in 1949. He turned pro later that year.

Besselink won five PGA Tour events including the inaugural Tournament of Champions in 1953. The field was made up of 20 professionals, all tournament winners in the prior twelve months. With a six-foot par putt on the 18th hole, he finished with a 280, beating Chandler Harper by one stroke. Besselink was paid off with a wheelbarrow filled with silver dollars. He also had bet $500 on himself at 25 to 1, earning another $12,500. Because he had just heard that Babe Zaharias had been diagnosed with cancer he donated half of his $10,000 first prize to the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund. Besselink and Zaharias had won the International Two-Ball Championship at Orlando in February 1952.

He was called "Bessie" by the other tour players and was known for living life with a gambler's recklessness and a showman's flair. One famous example of his showmanship occurred during the third round of the 1965 Colonial Invitational in Fort Worth when Besselink played the final four holes of his third round with a red rose—plucked from a bush at the 15th hole—between his teeth. Afterward, Besselink said the gesture was a nod to the "loveliness of Texas women in general and Fort Worth women in particular." The next day, locker room attendants presented Besselink with 50 roses sent by female fans.

• Two Southern Invitational Championships

PGA Tour wins (5)

• 1952 Sioux City Open
• 1953 Tournament of Champions
• 1957 Kansas City Open, Caracas Open
• 1964 Azalea Open

Other wins (15)

• One South American Open (Colombia)
• One Baron Cay Open (Venezuela)
• One Madrid Open (Spain)
• 1946 Azalea Open (as an amateur)
• 1952 International Mixed Two-Ball Open (with Babe Zaharias), Colombian Open
• 1955 West Palm Beach Open
• 1956 Havana Open
• 1960 Philadelphia PGA Championship
• 1961 Pennsylvania Open Championship
• 1963 Philadelphia Open Championship
• 1965 Venezuela Open (Feb), Venezuela Open (Nov)
• 1966 Philadelphia Open Championship
• 1969 Philadelphia PGA Championship

Note: Besselink never played in The Open Championship.
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (1950 U.S. Open – 1952 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (four times)