Allen Lee Geiberger Sr. (born September 1, 1937) is an American former

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

Professional career

Geiberger turned pro in 1959 and joined the PGA Tour in 1960. Geiberger won 11 tournaments 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 ...

, the first being the 1962 Ontario Open and the biggest being the

1966 PGA Championship The 1966 PGA Championship was the 48th PGA Championship, played July 21–24 at the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Al Geiberger won his only Men's major golf championships, major championship, four strokes ahead of runner- ...

, a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

title. He won the Tournament Players Championship in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, and played on the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

teams in 1967 and

. Geiberger also won 10 times on the Senior PGA Tour, now called the Champions Tour.

Mr. 59

During the second round of the

Danny Thomas Memphis Classic The FedEx St. Jude Classic was a professional golf tournament held in Memphis, Tennessee as a regular event on the PGA Tour. The tournament was held annually from 1958 through 2018, and was played in June at TPC Southwind (since 1989). In 2019 ...

in 1977, Geiberger became the first player in history to post a score of 59 (−13) in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. Starting on the tenth tee of the Colonial Country Club in

Cordova, Tennessee Cordova is a community in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. Cordova lies east of Memphis, north of Germantown, south of Bartlett, and northwest of Collierville at an elevation of 361 feet (110 meters). The majority of Cordova has been a ...

, he shot a bogey-free round of six pars, 11 birdies, and an eagle on the layout. He sank a putt for birdie on his opening hole, and ended the round with a birdie from ; the lone eagle was a holed-out wedge shot. Geiberger won the tournament, though not handily. He shot even-par 72 in the first and third rounds, and was two strokes down to

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

on Sunday after a 38 (+2) on the front nine put him at 241 (−11) for 63 holes. He regained the lead with a 32 (−4) on the back nine to finish at 273 (−15), two strokes ahead of Player and

Jerry McGee Jerry McGee (July 21, 1943 – March 29, 2021) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. McGee was born in New Lexington, Ohio. He attended Ohio State University and was a member of the golf team. ...

. Scorecard: ''Friday, June 10, 1977'' :Source:

Personal life

Geiberger was born in

Red Bluff, California Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 14,710 at the 2020 census, up from 14,076 at the 2010 census. It is located north of Sacramento, south of Redding, and it is bisect ...

, the son of Ray and Mabel Geiberger. His first big tournament win was the 1954 National Jaycee Championship. He graduated from

Santa Barbara High School Santa Barbara Senior High School, "Home of the Dons," is situated on a sprawling campus in Santa Barbara, California in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Among the oldest high schools in California and one of five high schools in the Dis ...

, attended

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and is located in Atherton, California. Campus Menlo College is situated on 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco and 20 miles nort ...

and graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

in 1959. Geiberger has six children. His son

Brent Geiberger Brent Andrew Geiberger (born May 22, 1968) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. He is the son of golfer Al Geiberger. Early life Geiberger was born in Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbar ...

is also a professional golfer who won two PGA Tour events. Another son, John, was the coach of the

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

golf team from 1996-2012, and won the

NCAA Championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

in 1997. Geiberger's father was one of the victims of the

Tenerife airport disaster The Tenerife airport disaster occurred on March 27, 1977, when two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Airport) on the Spanish island of Tenerife. The collision occurred when KLM Flight 4 ...

in 1977. Geiberger had surgery in 1980 to remove his colon due to

inflammatory bowel disease Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammation, inflammatory conditions of the colon (anatomy), colon and small intestine, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine a ...

and has an

ileostomy Ileostomy is a stoma (surgical opening) constructed by bringing the end or loop of small intestine (the ileum) out onto the surface of the skin, or the surgical procedure which creates this opening. Intestinal waste passes out of the ileostomy an ...

Professional wins (30)

PGA Tour wins (11)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Other wins (6)

*1961

Utah Open The Utah Open is the Utah state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Utah section of the PGA of America. It was first played in 1926 and has been played at a variety of courses around the state ...

*1962

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 ...

, Almaden Open Invitational *1979

Spalding Invitational The TaylorMade Golf Pebble Beach Invitational is a non-tour professional golf tournament. The event debuted in 1972. The 2019 purse was $300,000 with $60,000 going to the individual winner. There is also a team competition. Professionals from the P ...

*1982 Frontier Airlines Open *1985 Colorado Open

Senior PGA Tour wins (10)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1-1)

Other senior wins (2)

*1989

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar is a golf tournament in Missouri on the PGA Tour Champions. Since 2014, it has been played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the 18- ...

(with

Harold Henning Harold Henning (3 October 1934 – 1 January 2004) was a South African professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. Early life Henning was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. His brothers Allan, Brian, and Graham ...

) *2008

- Demaret Division (with Jimmy Powell)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 20 (1963 PGA – 1970 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

References

External links

* *
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article with quotes from Geiberger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geiberger, Al American male golfers USC Trojans men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from California People from Red Bluff, California Sportspeople from Palm Springs, California 1937 births Living people

Professional career

Mr. 59

Personal life

Professional wins (30)

PGA Tour wins (11)

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Other wins (6)

Senior PGA Tour wins (10)

Other senior wins (2)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Summary

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Results timeline

See also

References

External links