Peter Oosterhuis

Peter Arthur Oosterhuis (born 3 May 1948) is an English professional golfer and golf broadcaster. Oosterhuis played on the European circuit from 1969 to 1974, winning 10 tournaments and taking the Harry Vardon Trophy for heading the Order of Merit for four consecutive seasons from 1971 to 1974. From 1975 he played on the PGA Tour, winning the Canadian Open in 1981. He was twice runner-up in the Open Championship, in 1974 and 1982. Later he became a golf analyst on TV, initially in Europe and then in the United States. In 2015, Oosterhuis announced that he had Alzheimer's disease.

Oosterhuis was born in London and educated at Dulwich College. He won the 1966 Berkshire Trophy by a stroke from Michael Bonallack, after a final round 67 which included nine 3s in 11 holes, with seven 3s in succession. Later in 1966 he won the British Youths Open Amateur Championship by four strokes.

Oosterhuis represented Great Britain in the 1967 Walker Cup. Playing with Ronnie Shade in the foursomes they halved one match and won the other. However, Oosterhuis lost both his singles matches. He also played in the 1968 Eisenhower Trophy where Great Britain and Ireland won the silver medal. Great Britain and Ireland led the United States by 7 strokes after three rounds, but the Americans scored 73, 73 and 75 in the final round to Great Britain and Ireland's 76, 76, and 77 to win by a stroke. Oosterhuis turned professional in November 1968.

On November 25, 1968, Oosterhuis turned professional. Roughly a month after this announcement, Oosterhuis flew to South Africa to play on their circuit. Later in the year, he moved on to the British PGA. In 1969, his rookie season, he started the season by winning the Sunningdale Foursomes, playing with the amateur Peter Benka, and finished runner-up in the Gor-Ray Under-24 Championship. He was awarded the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award.

In 1970 Oosterhuis won two age-restricted events, Lord Derby’s Under-23 Professional Tournament and the Coca-Cola Young Professionals' Championship. Later in the season he finished tied for sixth in the Open Championship, and third in the Dunlop Masters. Oosterhuis had won the General Motors Open in South Africa in February, an event which served as the South African qualifier for the Alcan Golfer of the Year Championship. He finished tied for third place in that event with Neil Coles and Lee Trevino, winning £2,487.

In April 1971, Oosterhuis made his debut on the PGA Tour at the 1971 Greater Greensboro Open, the week before competing in his first Masters. The following month, 1971, Oosterhuis won his first important British event, the Agfa-Gevaert Tournament, and followed this up by winning the Sunbeam Electric Tournament and the Piccadilly Medal later in the season. These, together a number of other high finishes, including being runner-up in the Carroll's International and the Dunlop Masters, gave Oosterhuis the Order of Merit title with 1292.5 points, beating Neil Coles who finished just 7 points behind. Late in the year, he represented Great Britain and Ireland for the first time in the Ryder Cup. In his singles match he defeated Gene Littler and Arnold Palmer.

The following two years, Oosterhuis continued with success. In 1972, Oosterhuis won the Penfold-Bournemouth Tournament and the Coca-Cola Young Professionals' Championship, a non-tour event. He was runner-up in the Dutch Open, the Viyella PGA Championship and the John Player Classic. He won the Order of Merit title with 1,751 points, ahead of Guy Hunt on 1,710, although his performances in the big money events put him well ahead as the leading money winner with £18,525. In April 1973, Oosterhuis led the Masters Tournament after three rounds before finishing third. Later in the year, Oosterhuis won three European Tour events: the Piccadilly Medal, French Open and Viyella PGA Championship. He was also runner-up in the Sunbeam Electric Scottish Open and Dutch Open. He won the Order of Merit again, with 3,440 points, 460 points ahead of Maurice Bembridge. He won £17,455 in official tour events, second behind Tony Jacklin. Late in the year, he played the Ryder Cup again. He played well in his singles matches again, halving with Lee Trevino and defeating Palmer again.

In April 1974, Oosterhuis played the Monsanto Open on the PGA Tour where he lost in a playoff to Lee Elder. Oosterhuis won three more European Tour events in 1974: the French Open and the last two tournaments of the season, the Italian Open and El Paraiso Open. In addition he was runner-up in five other events, including the Open Championship, and was third in three more, finishing outside the top three only twice during the European Tour season. He won the Order of Merit for the fourth time, nearly 600 points ahead of second-place Dale Hayes. Late in the year, Oosterhuis tried out for the PGA Tour at 1974 PGA Tour Qualifying School in Palm Springs, California. Oosterhuis easily qualified, finishing in fourth place, three back of medalist Fuzzy Zoeller.

PGA Tour

Oosterhuis made his debut on the PGA Tour at the opening event of the season, the Phoenix Open. In the middle of the year, he recorded a second-place finish at First NBC New Orleans Open to Billy Casper. He was also in contention for the U.S. Open on the last day. He was in a tie for 4th place as he entered the final round. The leaders struggled early and Oosterhuis' even-par golf through the first 8 holes was nearly enough to catch them. However, he made four consecutive bogeys in the middle of the round to eliminate his chances. He would still finish only two back, in a tie for seventh. Oosterhuis also recorded one other top-10 in 1975. His overall record for the year was 28 starts with 24 made cuts along with 3 top-10s and 10 top-25s. Late in the year, Oosterhuis played the 1975 Ryder Cup. He again had much success at the event, defeating Johnny Miller and J. C. Snead.

Oosterhuis did not progress on this performance, however. Through the late 1970s he would easily keep his Tour card, but was not a regular contender to win events on the PGA Tour. His year-end statistics through the late 1970s are remarkably similar to his 1975 results. In 1976, he made the cut in 25 of 29 events with 3 top-10s and 11 top-25s. In 1977, he made 18 of 25 cuts with 3 top-10s and 9 top-25s, including a runner-up finish at the Canadian Open, his third and final runner-up finish on tour. In 1978, he recorded 20 made cuts in 24 events with, for the fourth straight year, 3 top-10s as well as 6 top-25s.

Oosterhuis' career in America reached its nadir in the summer of 1981. He hadn't recorded a top-10 in over a year. He barely kept his card the previous year, finishing #107 on the money list. He had gotten some advice, however, from former pro and instructor Bert Yancey which, in this words, "helped immensely." This work eventually paid off as he won the Canadian Open in August 1981. It would be his only PGA Tour win. He defeated Andy North, Bruce Lietzke, and Jack Nicklaus by a shot. Nicklaus had a 20-foot eagle putt on the last hole to tie but missed. He would build on this success, recording 4 top-10s and 13 top-25s in 1982, both his best ever for the PGA Tour. He would also finish runner-up at the 1982 Open Championship.

The remainder of Oosterhuis' career was not quite as successful. He would record a handful of top-10s before quitting life as a touring professional after the 1986 season. From 1987 to 1993, he was Director of Golf at Forsgate Country Club in Jamesburg, New Jersey, and at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.

Broadcasting career

In 1994, Oosterhuis was hired to cover the PGA Tour by Britain's Sky Sports and covered the Open Championship for the BBC in 1996 and 1997. From 1995 to 1997, he was the lead analyst for the Golf Channel's coverage of the European Tour.

In 1997, Oosterhuis joined the CBS Sports announcer team part-time, working five events including the Masters and the PGA Championship. In 1998, he joined the CBS golf team full-time. Oosterhuis has also worked on early-round coverage when CBS was covering the weekend, fulfilling this role for ESPN (2003–2006), Golf Channel (1998–2002, 2007–2014), and USA Network (1997–2007). In 2010, Oosterhuis began to work part-time for CBS, again calling about five events per year including the Masters and PGA Championship. Oosterhuis retired from broadcasting following the 2014 PGA Championship due to health concerns stemming from early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Oosterhuis called the action at Augusta National's par 4 17th hole for 18 straight years from 1997 through 2014.

Oosterhuis lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the United States with his second wife, Ruth Ann. He is a member of the Quail Hollow Golf Club there. His son Rob is also a professional golfer.

In May 2015, Oosterhuis announced that he is battling early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

• 1966 Berkshire Trophy, British Youths Open Amateur Championship

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

European Tour wins (7)

European Tour playoff record (2–1)

Southern Africa Tour wins (3)

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (1–1)

European circuit wins (3)

South African circuit wins (3)

Caribbean Tour wins (1)

• 1973 Ford Maracaibo Open

Other wins (9)

This list may be incomplete.

• 1969 Sunningdale Foursomes (with Peter Benka)
• 1970 Lord Derby’s Under-23 Professional Tournament, Coca-Cola Young Professionals' Championship
• 1971 Southern Professional Championship
• 1972 Coca-Cola Young Professionals' Championship
• 1974 Raleigh Cup (Guadalajara, Mexico)
• 1983 Spalding Invitational
• 1985 Spalding Invitational
• 1989 New Jersey PGA Championship

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1981 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 16 (1975 U.S. Open – 1980 Open Championship)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1975 U.S. Open – 1975 Open Championship)

Amateur

• Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1967
• Eisenhower Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1968
• St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1968 (winners)
• EGA Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1967 (winners), 1968 (winners)

Professional

• Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland/Europe): 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981
• World Cup (representing England): 1971
• Double Diamond International (representing England): 1973, 1974 (winners, captain)
• Sotogrande Match: (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1974 (winners)