Charles R. Kocsis (January 27, 1913 – May 30, 2006) was an American

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er. Kocsis was introduced to the game as a caddie at the Phoenix Country Club, which is now Rogell Municipal Golf Course. One of fourteen children, he grew up in the Old Redford area of Detroit. Attended Redford High and was victorious at the city and state championship levels. Kocsis was the winner of six Michigan Match Play Amateurs and six Michigan Medal Play Amateurs, three

Michigan Open The Michigan Open is the Michigan state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Michigan section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1916 at a variety of courses around the sta ...

s (1931, 1945, 1946), individual intercollegiate champion member of three U.S.

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

teams, member of two NCAA Championship teams at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, low amateur in the Masters, low amateur in two U.S. Opens, runner-up at the 1956

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

, and runner-up at the 1937

Western Amateur The Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association. The Western Amateur features an international field of top-ranked amateur golfers. It was first ...

. Kocsis also found success on the senior level winning the US National Open Senior Championship in 1969, 1970, and 1979. Kocsis played in the International Seniors Championship five times and won four - 1970, 1973, 1980, and 1988. He set the tournament record at Gleneagles in 1970 with a 13 under par total of 271. During his time at the University of Michigan, Kocsis became a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. The Golf Association of Michigan voted Kocsis the Michigan amateur golfer of the century and was a member of the first class elected into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.

Tournament wins

:''this list may be incomplete'' *1930 Michigan Amateur *1931

*1933 Michigan Amateur *1934 Michigan Amateur *1936

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 ...

*1937 Michigan Amateur *1945

*1946

*1948 Michigan Amateur *1951 Michigan Amateur *1955 Michigan Amateur Medal Play *1958 Michigan Amateur Medal Play *1959 Michigan Amateur Medal Play *1960

Dogwood Invitational The Dogwood Invitational is an amateur golf championship played annually at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1941, the goal of the Dogwood is to promote the game of amateur golf and support junior golf organizations. The tou ...

, Michigan Amateur Medal Play *1961 Michigan Amateur Medal Play *1962 Michigan Amateur Medal Play

Results in major championships

''Note: Kocsis 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 ...

nor the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

.'' LA = low amateur
NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place Sources: U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur, 1938 Amateur Championship

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

(winners),

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

(winners)

References

External links

Michigan Golf Hall of Fame profileObituary from the USGA
American male golfers Amateur golfers Michigan Wolverines men's golfers Golfers from Michigan 1913 births 2006 deaths {{US-golf-bio-stub

Tournament wins

Results in major championships

U.S. national team appearances

See also

References

External links