Introduction
George Alfred Christian Knudson, CM (June 28, 1937 – January 24, 1989) was a Canadian professional golfer, who along with Mike Weir holds the record for the Canadian with the most wins on the PGA Tour, with eight career victories.
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Knudson learned to play golf at the St. Charles Country Club. He won the 1954 and 1955 Manitoba Junior Championships, and the 1955 Canadian Junior Championship. He moved to Toronto in 1958, and worked at the Oakdale Golf Club, where he received instruction and encouragement from the Club, to improve his game. He was then able to secure some financial backing to try the PGA Tour. He won the Manitoba Open in 1958, 1959, and 1960, and the Ontario Open in 1960, 1961, 1971, 1976 and 1978.
Between 1961 and 1972, he won eight tournaments on the PGA Tour. He won the Canadian PGA Championship five times, and won the World Cup with Al Balding in 1968. He wrote a book, The Natural Golf Swing (ISBN 0-7710-4534-4) with Lorne Rubenstein.
Knudson tied for second in the 1969 Masters Tournament, one shot behind champion George Archer. In seven Masters appearances, Knudson posted three top-10s, including 10th in his 1965 debut and sixth a year later.
He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1969, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.
Knudson left tournament golf in the late 1970s, and started teaching golf, with success, at a facility in the Toronto area. His teaching methods have since been adopted by the Canadian PGA.
In 1988, he was inducted into both Royal Canadian Golf Association Hall of Fame, the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and was made a member of the Order of Canada.
He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1987. He recovered, and competed at the 1988 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf Senior tournament. Shortly thereafter, the cancer had spread to his brain, and he would die from it in 1989.
He was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, Ontario.
Amateur wins
- 1954 Manitoba Junior Championship
- 1955 Manitoba Junior Championship, Canadian Junior Championship
Professional wins
PGA Tour wins (8)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 10, 1961 | Coral Gables Open Invitational | −11 (65-71-71-66=273) | 1 stroke | Gay Brewer |
| 2 | Sep 22, 1963 | Portland Open Invitational | −17 (69-67-68-67=271) | Playoff | Mason Rudolph |
| 3 | Oct 4, 1964 | Fresno Open Invitational | −8 (73-69-71-67=280) | Playoff | Al Balding |
| 4 | May 14, 1967 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | −11 (71-66-70-70=277) | 1 stroke | Jack Nicklaus |
| 5 | Feb 18, 1968 | Phoenix Open Invitational | −12 (67-64-70-71=272) | 3 strokes | Julius Boros, Sam Carmichael, Jack Montgomery |
| 6 | Feb 25, 1968 | Tucson Open Invitational | −15 (70-67-71-65=273) | 1 stroke | Frank Beard, Frank Boynton |
| 7 | Sep 20, 1970 | Robinson Open Golf Classic | −16 (67-69-69-63=268) | Playoff | George Archer |
| 8 | Oct 22, 1972 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | −17 (66-69-66-70=271) | 3 strokes | Hale Irwin, Bobby Nichols |
PGA Tour playoff record (3–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1963 | Portland Open Invitational | Mason Rudolph | Won with eagle on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1964 | Fresno Open Invitational | Al Balding | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 3 | 1970 | Robinson Open Golf Classic | George Archer | Won with par on fourth extra hole |
Other wins (22)
This list may be probably incomplete
- 1958 Manitoba Open
- 1959 Manitoba Open
- 1960 Manitoba Open, Ontario Open
- 1961 Ontario Open
- 1962 Maracaibo Open Invitational, Puerto Rico Open
- 1963 Panama Open
- 1964 Canadian PGA Championship, Caracas Open
- 1966 Millar Trophy, Canada Cup (individual event)
- 1967 Canadian PGA Championship
- 1968 Canadian PGA Championship, World Cup (team event with Al Balding)
- 1969 Wills Masters (Australia)
- 1971 Ontario Open
- 1976 Canadian PGA Championship
- 1976 Ontario Open
- 1977 Canadian PGA Championship, Shrine Pro-Am (shared with Dan Halldorson and Gar Hamilton)
- 1978 Ontario Open, Shrine Pro-Am
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 10 | T6 | T31 | T28 | T2 | T45 | CUT | ||||||
| U.S. Open | T17 | T44 | T36 | T61 | T51 | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | T51 | T28 | T20 | T43 | T25 | T55 | CUT | CUT | T56 |
Note: Knudson never played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 6 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 |
| Totals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 18 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 16 (1962 PGA – 1970 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)
Team appearances
Amateur
- Americas Cup (representing Canada): 1956
Professional
- World Cup (representing Canada): 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966 (individual winner), 1967, 1968 (winners), 1969, 1976, 1977