Gay Robert Brewer Jr. (March 19, 1932 – August 31, 2007) 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 ...
and won the
1967 Masters Tournament.
Life
Brewer was born in
Middletown, Ohio
Middletown is a city located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, about 35 miles (47 km) north of Cincinnati. The population as of the 2020 census was 50,987. It is part of the Cincinnati metrop ...
, and raised in
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
. As an amateur, Brewer won the Kentucky State Boys Golf Championship in three consecutive years from 1949 to 1951 while attending Lafayette high school. In 1949, he also won the
U.S. Junior Amateur, the most prestigious amateur event for golfers under the age of eighteen. In 1952, Brewer won the
Southern Amateur
The Southern Amateur is an amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1902 and is organized by the Southern Golf Association. From
1902 to 1963, it was played at match play. Since 1964, it has been played at stroke play.
In December 2021, ...
.
Brewer attended the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
on a football scholarship because the school did not have golf scholarships. Head coach
Bear Bryant used him in practice as a holder for the kicker on field goals and extra points. Brewer stayed at the school for two years.
Brewer turned professional in 1956 and made his first cut, at the
Agua Caliente Open
The Agua Caliente Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour first played in 1930 in Tijuana, Mexico
Tijuana ( , , tying for 12th. His first top-10 as a pro came at the Philadelphia Daily News Open (tied for eighth), and his first top-five performance was at the
Miller High Life Open in Milwaukee (tied for fifth). Playing on the PGA Tour in 1965, he won the
Hawaiian Open
The Sony Open in Hawaii is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, and is part of the tour's FedEx Cup Series. It has been contested at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, since the event's modern-day inception as the Hawaiian O ...
. At the
1966 Masters Tournament, he bogeyed the final hole to finish in a three-way tie for the lead after regulation play but ended up finishing third to
Jack Nicklaus following an 18-hole playoff. He came back to win the prestigious event the next year, scoring a one stroke victory over lifelong friend
Bobby Nichols
Robert Herman Nichols (born April 14, 1936) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1964.
Early years
Born in April 1936 and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Nichols attended St. Xavier High School. Wh ...
in the first live television broadcast of a golf tournament from the United States to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. Brewer called winning the 1967 Masters "the biggest thrill I've had in golf".
He went on to become a member of the 1967
Ryder Cup winning team, going 3-2 in his five matches, including a win (4 and 3 over
Hugh Boyle) and a loss (2 and 1 to
Peter Alliss
Peter Alliss (28 February 1931 – 5 December 2020) was an English professional golfer, television presenter, commentator, author and golf course designer. Following the death of Henry Longhurst in 1978, he was regarded by many as the "Voice of ...
) in singles play. That same year at the
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 ...
, he set a PGA Tour record for the best 54-hole total on a par-72 course. His score of 25-under par 191 is a record that still stands over forty years later. Only
Steve Stricker
Steven Charles Stricker (born February 23, 1967) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has twelve victories on the PGA Tour, including the WGC-Match Play title in 2001 and two FedEx Cup play ...
's 25-under on the par-71
TPC Deere Run
TPC Deere Run is an 18-hole golf course in the central United States, located in Silvis, Illinois, along the Rock River. It is operated by the PGA Tour as a member of their Tournament Players Club network of golf courses and plays host to the ann ...
at the 2010
John Deere Classic (25-under 188) has matched it. In the direct opposite vein, at the 1969
Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic
The Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic was a golf tournament in south Florida on the PGA Tour that was played only once, in early December 1969. Held at Diplomat Presidential Country Club, between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, it had a $125,000 purse and ...
he tied the record at the time for a player having the largest lead (six strokes) with 18 holes to play and then losing. He finished inside the top 10 on the Tour's money list three times (1961, 1966 and 1967), with his best performance his fifth-place finish ($75,688) in 1966. His top earning year came in 1973, when he made $89,911 (21st place).
Brewer's 1966 performances earned him the ''
Golf Digests Most Improved Golfer award and his 1967 performances earned him the cover of the August 7th issue of ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' magazine. He won the 1972
Canadian Open and was again part of the U.S. team that won the 1973 Ryder Cup.
Overall, Brewer was victorious in 10 tour events during his career. He was known for his jovial personality and his unusual golf swing.
[ Brewer joined the Senior PGA Tour and won the 1984 ]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- ...
tournament with Billy Casper
William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.
In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...
and at age sixty-three he won the 1995 MasterCard Champions Championship. His final competitive round was at the 2001 Masters Tournament.[
In 2006, Brewer was voted to the ]University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2007, the golf course in Lexington where he learned to play was renamed the "Gay Brewer Jr. Course at Picadome."
Brewer died at his home in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
from lung cancer. At the time of his death, he was engaged to Alma Jo McGuire. He is interred at Lexington Cemetery
Lexington Cemetery is a private, non-profit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 833 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky.
The Lexington Cemetery was established in 1848 as a place of beauty and a public cemetery, in part to deal ...
in Lexington.
Amateur wins
''This list may be incomplete.''
*1949 Kentucky State Boys, U.S. Junior Amateur
*1950 Kentucky State Boys
*1951 Kentucky State Boys
*1952 Southern Amateur
The Southern Amateur is an amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1902 and is organized by the Southern Golf Association. From
1902 to 1963, it was played at match play. Since 1964, it has been played at stroke play.
In December 2021, ...
Professional wins (17)
PGA Tour wins (10)
PGA Tour playoff record (2–6)
Other wins (5)
''This list is probably incomplete.''
*1951 Kentucky Open (as an amateur)
*1965 PGA National Four-ball Championship (with Butch Baird
Fred "Butch" Baird (born July 20, 1936) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour).
Early life
Baird was born in Chicago, Illinois. He learned the game at the age of ...
)
*1967 Alcan Golfer of the Year Championship
*1968 Alcan Golfer of the Year Championship
*1972 Taiheiyo Club Masters
Senior PGA Tour wins (1)
Other senior wins (1)
''This list is probably incomplete.''
*1984 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 Billy Casper
William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.
In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...
)
Major championships
Wins (1)
Results timeline
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Summary
*Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1965 U.S. Open – 1967 U.S. Open)
*Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1972 PGA – 1973 Open Championship)
See also
*List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
This is a list of the fifty golfers who have won the most official (or later deemed historically significant) money events on the PGA Tour. It is led by Sam Snead and Tiger Woods with 82 each.
Many players won important events early in the 20th ce ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, Gay
American male golfers
PGA Tour golfers
PGA Tour Champions golfers
Ryder Cup competitors for the United States
Winners of men's major golf championships
Golfers from Ohio
Golfers from Kentucky
Deaths from lung cancer in Kentucky
Sportspeople from Middletown, Ohio
Sportspeople from Lexington, Kentucky
Sportspeople from the Cincinnati metropolitan area
1932 births
2007 deaths