Edgar Rice Updegraff (March 1, 1922 – December 23, 2022) was an American amateur

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 ...

er and

urologist Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and '' -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive org ...

. Undegraff was born in

Boone, Iowa Boone ( ) is a city in Des Moines Township, and county seat of Boone County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Boone County. This micropolitan statistical ...

, and is a descendent of the German Op den Graeff family.

Biography

Medical career

He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

and his medical degree from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

. Unlike his father and brothers, who were

otolaryngologist Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...

s, Updegraff chose

urology Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and '' -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive org ...

as a specialty. He eventually settled into practice in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, in 1951, partially because of the opportunity to continue playing golf there.

Sporting career

Updegraff had a long amateur career, winning many tournaments on a local, state, and national scale, including the

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 ...

(1957, 1959),

Sunnehanna Amateur The Sunnehanna Amateur, officially the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions, is a men's amateur golf tournament. Founded in 1954, it is hosted annually at the Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States. It is consider ...

(1962),

Pacific Coast Amateur The Pacific Coast Amateur is an annual amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1967 and is organized by the Pacific Coast Golf Association. It is held in various locations in the United States and Canada. In December 2021, the Pacific Co ...

(1967), and U.S. Senior Amateur (1981). He was a semi-finalist at 1963

British Amateur The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

. He played on three winning

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 (1963, 1965, 1969) and captained the 1975 team to a win. He also finished in a tie for 4th place at the 1969

Tucson Open The Tucson Open was a golf tournament in Arizona on the PGA Tour from 1945 to 2006, played annually in the winter in Tucson. It was last held at the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort in late February, with a $3 million purse and a $540,000 winner ...

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 ...

but failed to sign his scorecard and was disqualified. Updegraff received the Bob Jones Award from the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

in 1999. He was inducted into the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame in 1969 and the Iowa Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2006. As of June 2021, Updegraff lived at Saddlebrooke Ranch. He turned 100 in March 2022, and died on December 23, 2022, in

Saddlebrooke, Arizona Saddlebrooke is a census-designated place (CDP) and retirement community in Pinal County, Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th m ...

Amateur wins

*1940 Northwest Amateur *1941 Northwest Amateur *1947 Northwest Amateur *1952 Arizona Amateur *1954 Southwestern Amateur *1955 Southwestern Amateur, Arizona Amateur *1957

*1959

*1961 Southwestern Amateur, Arizona Amateur *1962

*1967

*1969 Southwestern Amateur, Arizona Amateur *1981 U.S. Senior Amateur Sources:

U.S. national team appearances

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

(winners), 1965 (tied, cup retained),

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

(winners),

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. ...

(winners, non-playing captain) *

Americas Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

: 1963 (winners), 1967 (winners, non-playing captain)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Updegraff, Ed American male golfers Amateur golfers Golfers from Iowa Golfers from Arizona American urologists University of Iowa alumni Iowa State University alumni People from Boone, Iowa Sportspeople from Tucson, Arizona American centenarians Men centenarians 1922 births 2022 deaths