Ernie Gonzalez (February 19, 1961 – May 15, 2020) was an American

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 ...

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 1980s. He won the only title of his career in 1986. By doing so, he became only the third left-handed golfer to win a Tour event.

Early life

Gonzalez was born in

Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...

(a suburb of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

) on February 19, 1961. His father was of Mexican descent and his mother was Puerto Rican. He attended the

United States International University United States International University (USIU) was a nonprofit university based in San Diego, California that was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. At its peak, it had two additional American campuses and three interna ...

, where he played on the

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 ...

team. He turned professional in 1983.

Career

Gonzalez played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1985 to 1989. He shot a 14-under-par 128 to edge

Joey Sindelar Joseph Paul Sindelar (born March 30, 1958) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the PGA Tour, winning seven tournaments between 1985 and 2004. Early life Sindelar was born in ...

by one stroke to win the rain-shortened 36-hole

Pensacola Open The Pensacola Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour. The inaugural version of the tournament was played in 1956 and its last edition in 1988. Tournament highlights * 1960: Arnold Palmer birdies the 72nd hole to win by one shot over Doug San ...

in 1986 for his only Tour victory. The win by Gonzalez was the first by a left-handed golfer on the PGA Tour since Bob Charles at the 1974

Greater Greensboro Open The Wyndham Championship is a professional golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in Greensboro and was originally the Greater Greensboro Open. History Founded in 1938 as the Greater Greensboro Open, it was usua ...

. He also became only the third left-hander ever to win an event on Tour, after Charles and

Sam Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...

. Gonzalez was friends with

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters To ...

, a fellow left-hander and San Diegan. In 1988, Gonzalez's penultimate season on the Tour, he helped organize a practice round for Mickelson with

Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...

. This occurred during Mickelson's first PGA Tour event at the Shearson Lehman Hutton Andy Williams Open, which he entered as an

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 ...

Later years and death

After losing his Tour card, Gonzalez worked as a golf instructor and a warehouseman at Wirtz Beverage Nevada. He has also played in a limited number of

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental golf tour, tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at tha ...

events, and in select PGA Tour events using exemptions. He lived with his family in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, where he was employed at a beverage distributorship. The only event on the

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

that he participated in after turning 50 was the 2011

Senior Open Championship The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open) is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Pr ...

. However, he did not make the cut. Gonzalez was married to Judy. Their son, David, was born in 1992, and Gonzalez later became

teetotal Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

to set a good example for him. His nephew was

Brian Smock Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meani ...

, who also played on the PGA Tour. Gonzalez was a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and attended Shadow Hills Baptist Church. Gonzalez died on May 15, 2020, at a hospital in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He was 59, and had been suffering from complications of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

Professional wins (1)

PGA Tour wins (1)

''*Note: The 1986 Pensacola Open was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.''

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
''Note: Gonzalez 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 ...

.''
Source:

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the half-way cut

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Ernie American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Left-handed golfers Golfers from San Diego Golfers from Nevada United States International University alumni People from Chula Vista, California People from the Las Vegas Valley American sportspeople of Mexican descent American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Neurological disease deaths in Illinois 1961 births 2020 deaths