George Francis Burns III (born July 29, 1949) is 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 ...

. Turning pro in 1975, Burns had four PGA Tour wins, 80 top-10 finishes and won several other tournaments at both the amateur and professional levels. Burns was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He was the eldest child of George Burns Jr, President of Smith Corona Typewriters and Durkee Foods, and Kathleen Marie Scott. He attended the University of Tennessee before transferring his freshman year to the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

where he played

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for one season before quitting football to focus solely on

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 ...

. He turned pro in 1975. Burns won four PGA Tour events during that phase of his career. His first win came with

Ben Crenshaw Ben Daniel Crenshaw (born January 11, 1952) is a retired American professional golfer who has won 19 events on the PGA Tour, including two major championships: the Masters Tournament in 1984 and 1995. He is nicknamed ''Gentle Ben''. Professiona ...

at the 1979 Walt Disney World National Team Championship in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

. The biggest win of his career came a year later at the

Bing Crosby National Pro-Am The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held annually at Pebble Beach, California, near Carmel. The tournament is usually held during the month of February on three different courses, currently Pebble Beac ...

. Burns had more than 70 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. His best finish in 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 ...

was at the 1981 U.S. Open where Burns held a three-shot lead going into the final round before finishing T2. Burns also had a T-5 at the 1977

British Open 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 ...

. After reaching the age of 50 in 1999, Burns began play on the

Senior PGA Tour 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 ...

(now known as 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 ...

). His best finish at that level is a T-9 at the 2000 Brickyard Classic. He lives and plays at Quail Ridge Country Club in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Amateur wins (8)

*1972

Metropolitan Amateur The Metropolitan Amateur or Met Amateur is an amateur golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1899 and is one of the oldest amateur golf tournaments in the United States along with the U.S. ...

Monroe Invitational The Monroe Invitational Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament in the United States, played since 1937 at Monroe Golf Club in Pittsford, New York, a suburb southeast of Rochester. Originally a match play event, it switched to 72-hole str ...

Long Island Amateur The Long Island Golf Association Amateur Championship, or simply the Long Island Amateur, has been held annually since 1922 in Long Island. The tournament is organized by the Long Island Golf Association and played on a rotating basis at member cl ...

*1973

Canadian Amateur Championship The Canadian Amateur Championship, begun in 1895, is the men's amateur golf championship of Canada. It is staged annually by Golf Canada. It was played at match play until 1968, went to stroke play beginning in 1969, and reverted to match play in 1 ...

*1974

Azalea Invitational The Azalea Invitational is an annual amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1946 at the Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. Several past champions have subsequently gained membership to the PGA Tour, including m ...

Porter Cup The Porter Cup is a 72-hole, medal-play elite amateur golf tournament held annually at the Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, New York. It was first played in 1959 and over the years has hosted some of the biggest names in golf. Past champions ...

North and South Amateur The North and South Men's Amateur Golf Championship, commonly known as the North and South Amateur, is an annual golf tournament held since 1901 at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA. An invitational tournament, participants are ...

, New York State Amateur

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (4)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

European Tour wins (2)

European Tour playoff record (2–0)

Other wins (3)

*1982

New York State Open The New York State Open is the New York state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Metropolitan chapter of the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It has been played annually since ...

Panama Open The Panama Open was a golf tournament played from 1938 to 1982, during which time it was won by some of the biggest names in professional golf, including Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer. It was an event on the PGA-sponsored Caribbean Tour between 19 ...

*1988

Chrysler Team Championship The Chrysler Team Championship was an unofficial event on the PGA Tour from 1983 to 1990. It used a two-man better-ball format. It was played at Boca West Resort and Club and Broken Sound Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida from 1983 to 1986; at P ...

(with

Wayne Levi Wayne John Levi (born February 22, 1952) is an American professional golfer. Early life Levi was born in Little Falls, New York and attended high school in Herkimer, New York. He enrolled at Oswego State University for two years and then the U ...

)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1978 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (1981 U.S. Open – 1982 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1975 Open Championship – 1976 Open Championship)

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

(winners) *

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 ...

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)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, George American male golfers Maryland Terrapins men's golfers PGA Tour golfers European Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers European Senior Tour golfers Golfers from New York (state) Golfers from Florida Sportspeople from Brooklyn Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida 1949 births Living people