Introduction
Gay Robert Brewer Jr. (March 19, 1932 – August 31, 2007) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and won the 1967 Masters Tournament.
Career
Brewer turned professional in 1956 and made his first cut, at the Agua Caliente Open, tying for 12th. His first top-10 as a pro came at the Philadelphia Daily News Open (tied for eighth), and his first top-five performance was at the Miller High Life Open in Milwaukee (tied for fifth). Playing on the PGA Tour in 1965, he won the Hawaiian Open. At the 1966 Masters Tournament, he bogeyed the final hole to finish in a three-way tie for the lead after regulation play but ended up finishing third to Jack Nicklaus following an 18-hole playoff. He came back to win the prestigious event the next year, scoring a one stroke victory over lifelong friend Bobby Nichols in the first live television broadcast of a golf tournament from the United States to Europe. Brewer called winning the 1967 Masters "the biggest thrill I've had in golf".
Overall, Brewer was victorious in 10 tour events during his career. He was known for his jovial personality and his unusual golf swing.Brewer joined the Senior PGA Tour and won the 1984 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf tournament with Billy Casper and at age sixty-three he won the 1995 MasterCard Champions Championship. His final competitive round was at the 2001 Masters Tournament.
Brewer died at his home in Lexington, Kentucky from lung cancer. At the time of his death, he was engaged to Alma Jo McGuire.
Amateur wins
This list may be incomplete.
- 1949 Kentucky State Boys,U.S. Junior Amateur
- 1950 Kentucky State Boys
- 1951 Kentucky State Boys
- 1952 Southern Amateur
Professional wins (17)
PGA Tour wins (10)
| Legend |
| Major championships (1) |
| Other PGA Tour (9) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 20, 1961 | Carling Open Invitational | −3 (72-72-66-67=277) | 1 stroke | Billy Maxwell |
| 2 | Nov 26, 1961 | Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational | −13 (69-66-74-66=275) | 1 stroke | Johnny Pott |
| 3 | Dec 3, 1961 | West Palm Beach Open Invitational | −14 (69-64-70-71=274) | 4 strokes | Arnold Palmer |
| 4 | May 5, 1963 | Waco Turner Open | −12 (72-70-71-67=280) | 1 stroke | Ted Ball |
| 5 | Sep 26, 1965 | Greater Seattle Open Invitational | −9 (69-72-66-72=279) | Playoff | Doug Sanders |
| 6 | Nov 7, 1965 | Hawaiian Open | −7 (74-72-67-68=281) | Playoff | Bob Goalby |
| 7 | Mar 7, 1966 | Pensacola Open Invitational | −16 (65-69-67-71=272) | 3 strokes | Bruce Devlin |
| 8 | Mar 26, 1967 | Pensacola Open Invitational (2) | −26 (66-64-61-71=262) | 6 strokes | Bob Keller |
| 9 | Apr 9, 1967 | Masters Tournament | −8 (73-68-72-67=280) | 1 stroke | Bobby Nichols |
| 10 | Jul 9, 1972 | Canadian Open | −9 (67-70-68-70=275) | 1 stroke | Sam Adams, Dave Hill |
PGA Tour playoff record (2–6)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1959 | West Palm Beach Open Invitational | Pete Cooper, Arnold Palmer | Palmer won with par on fourth extra hole |
| 2 | 1965 | Greater Seattle Open Invitational | Doug Sanders | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1965 | Hawaiian Open | Bob Goalby | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 1966 | Masters Tournament | Tommy Jacobs, Jack Nicklaus | Lost 18-hole playoff; Nicklaus: −2 (70), Jacobs: E (72), Brewer: +6 (78) |
| 5 | 1966 | Tournament of Champions | Arnold Palmer | Lost 18-hole playoff; Palmer: −3 (69), Brewer: +1 (73) |
| 6 | 1969 | IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic | Dave Hill, Tommy Jacobs, R. H. Sikes |
Hill won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 7 | 1974 | American Golf Classic | Jim Colbert, Forrest Fezler, Raymond Floyd |
Colbert won with par on second extra hole Brewer and Fezler eliminated by par on first hole |
| 8 | 1976 | Walt Disney World National Team Championship (with Bobby Nichols) |
Woody Blackburn and Billy Kratzert | Lost to birdie on third extra hole |
Other wins (5)
This list is probably incomplete.
- 1951 Kentucky Open (as an amateur)
- 1965 PGA National Four-ball Championship (with Butch Baird)
- 1967 Alcan Golfer of the Year Championship
- 1968 Alcan Golfer of the Year Championship
- 1972 Taiheiyo Club Masters
Senior PGA Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 3, 1984 | Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic | −9 (68-69-67=204) | 2 strokes | Billy Casper, Rod Funseth |
Other senior wins (1)
This list is probably incomplete.
- 1984 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Billy Casper)
Source:
Major championships
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Masters Tournament | 2 shot deficit | −8 (73-68-72-67=280) | 1 stroke | Bobby Nichols |
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| The Open Championship | ||||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T11 | CUT | T25 | CUT | 3 | 1 | T35 | CUT | ||
| U.S. Open | CUT | 5 | CUT | T5 | 16 | T36 | T38 | T9 | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | CUT | T6 | 15 | |||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T49 | 8 | T28 | 27 | T28 | T20 | T25 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T31 | CUT | T10 | CUT | CUT | T23 | CUT | T29 | CUT | |
| U.S. Open | 7 | T9 | T25 | 26 | ||||||
| The Open Championship | T32 | T10 | T37 | |||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T7 | T64 | T17 | T33 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | T15 | 45 | 47 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | WD |
| U.S. Open | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | WD |
| U.S. Open | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | WD |
| U.S. Open | ||
| The Open Championship | ||
| PGA Championship |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 39 | 12 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 10 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 11 |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 22 | 75 | 38 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1965 U.S. Open – 1967 U.S. Open)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1972 PGA – 1973 Open Championship)
Source: