Albert Cornelius Besselink (June 10, 1923 – April 10, 2017) was an American professional golfer who played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. Besselink grew up in

Merchantville, New Jersey Merchantville is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 3,821,University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

and was the first UM golfer to win a national tournament. He won the Southern Intercollegiate 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 John Chandler Harper (March 10, 1914 – November 8, 2004) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1950. He won seven times on the PGA Tour and played in the Ryder Cup in 1955. Harper was born, raised a ...

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 Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (; Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball and track and field. She won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Summer O ...

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. Besselink 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 National Invitation The Colonial National Invitation, titled for sponsorship reasons as the Charles Schwab Challenge since 2019, is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played annually in May in Fort Worth at Colonial Country Club, which organize ...

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. In 2016, it was reported that Besselink, then aged 93, was living in a one-storey care home in South Florida. He was by then using a wheelchair and suffering from severe memory loss. Besselink died in Florida on April 10, 2017, at the age of 93.

Amateur wins

*1948 Southern Intercollegiate Championship *1949 Southern Intercollegiate Championship

Professional wins (18)

PGA Tour wins (5)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Other wins (13)

*1946

Azalea Open The Azalea Open Invitational was a golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour, held at Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington. Last played in November 1971 as an unofficial event; it was an official PGA Tour event in 1945 and from 1949 thro ...

(as an amateur) *1952 International Mixed Two-Ball Open (with

Colombian Open The Colombian Open, or Abierto de Colombia, is a golf tournament on the Colombian Tour and PGA Tour Latinoamérica that was first played in 1945. It has also on occasion been an event on the Tour de las Americas. In 2001, Camilo Villegas Ca ...

, Barranquilla Open (Colombia) *1955

West Palm Beach Open The West Palm Beach Open Invitational, first played as The West Palm Beach Open, was a PGA Tour event in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was held at the West Palm Beach Country Club, now known as the West Palm Beach Golf Course, an 18-hole, par- ...

*1956

Havana Invitational The Havana Invitational was a pro-am golf tournament held from 1948 to 1958. It was played at Havana Country Club in Havana, Cuba. In 1958 a second unrelated event was held two weeks before the pro-am, the Havana International. This was held at ...

*1960 Philadelphia PGA Championship *1961

Pennsylvania Open Championship The Pennsylvania Open Championship is the Pennsylvania state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Pennsylvania Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1912 (except for war years) at ...

*1963

Philadelphia Open Championship The Philadelphia Open Championship is an annual golf tournament played in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. It is organized by the Golf Association of Philadelphia. It has been played annually since 1903 (except for war years & 2020) at member c ...

*1965

Caracas Open The Venezuela Open or Abierto de Venezuela is a men's professional golf tournament. It has only been staged intermittently since 1957, 2019 being the 35th edition of the event. Al Geiberger, Art Wall Jr., David Graham, Roberto De Vicenzo and Tony ...

(Feb),

(Nov) *1966

*1969 Philadelphia PGA Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Besselink never played in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

.''
WD = withdrew
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Besselink, Al American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Miami Hurricanes men's golfers Golfers from New Jersey Sportspeople from Camden County, New Jersey People from Merchantville, New Jersey 1923 births 2017 deaths