Hubert Myatt Green (December 28, 1946 – June 19, 2018) 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 won 29 professional golf tournaments, including two
major championships: the
1977 U.S. Open and the
1985 PGA Championship. He was inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...
in 2007.
Early life
Green was born in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
. He attended and played golf for
Shades Valley High School
Shades Valley High School (SVHS) is a four-year public secondary school in the Birmingham, Alabama suburb of Irondale. The school was established in 1948 near Homewood and moved to its present location in 1996. SVHS is the largest of 14 high sc ...
in Birmingham and then
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
(FSU) in
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...
. While at FSU, he 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, ...
in 1966 on his home course at the Country Club of Birmingham. In 1967, he became the Alabama Amateur golf champion, a title he successfully defended in 1968. He also won the Cape Coral Inter-Collegiate Tournament by eight strokes and the Miami Invitational by five strokes, among others. His fourth-place finish in the 1968
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 ...
in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
, earned him an invitation to play in the
1969 Masters as an amateur. Green graduated from FSU in 1968 with a degree in marketing. That year he also enlisted in the
Alabama National Guard
The Alabama National Guard is the National Guard of the U.S State of Alabama, and consists of the Alabama Army National Guard and the Alabama Air National Guard. (The Alabama State Defense Force is the third military unit of the Alabama Milita ...
at
Enterprise, Alabama
Enterprise is a city in the southeastern part of Coffee County and the southwestern part of Dale County in Southeastern Alabama, United States. Its population was 28,711 at the 2020 census. Enterprise is the primary city of the Enterprise micr ...
. However, in 1969, Green won the Southern Amateur for a second time, and as one of the top 10 amateurs in the country, he decided to turn pro. He took a year to earn his
PGA of America
The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...
credentials.
Career
In his 26 years on the PGA Tour, Green had 19 victories, including two
major championships: the
1977 U.S. Open at
Southern Hills Country Club
Southern Hills Country Club is a private golf and country club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
History
The club was established in 1935 from land donated by multimillionaire oilman Waite Phillips (Frank Phillips, Waite's brother, was the namesake and fo ...
in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
, and the
1985 PGA Championship at
Cherry Hills Country Club
Cherry Hills Country Club is a private country club in the western United States, located in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, a suburb south of Denver.
Founded in 1922 and designed by William Flynn, the club features a championship 18-hole golf c ...
in
Cherry Hills Village, Colorado
The City of Cherry Hills Village is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 6,442 at the 2020 United States Census. Cherry Hills Village is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, C ...
. He finished in the top-25 in a third of the PGA Tour events he entered. He also played on three
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
teams (
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
,
1979, and
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
) and was undefeated in singles play.
In 1971, Green won the
Houston Champions International
The Cadence Bank Houston Open is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played in November. As a part of a restructuring of the schedule, the event moved to the fall in 2019. Because the tour year starts the previous fall, the ...
and was the PGA Tour's
Rookie of the Year.
[ He went on to multiple victories throughout 1970s, but he was at his peak in the latter part of that decade.
In March 1976, Green won three PGA Tour events in consecutive weeks.
At the 1977 U.S. Open, as Green walked to the 15th tee of the final round, he was notified of a caller anonymously phoning in a death threat on his life. The police presented him with options, and he courageously opted to play on, winning by one stroke over ]Lou Graham
Louis Krebs Graham (born January 7, 1938) is an American professional golfer who won six PGA Tour tournaments including the 1975 U.S. Open. Most of his wins were in the 1970s.
Lou Graham was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He started playing g ...
.
A month later at the 1977 Open Championship
The 1977 Open Championship was the 106th Open Championship, held 6–9 July on the Ailsa Course at Turnberry, Scotland. Tom Watson won the second of his five Open titles by one stroke over runner-up Jack Nicklaus. The two played together in ...
at Turnberry, Green finished third behind Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...
, who were respectively eleven and ten shots clear of Green in their famous "Duel in the Sun." Alluding to the extent to which Watson and Nicklaus's scores were so significantly clear of the rest of the field, he notably remarked, "I won the ''other'' tournament".
Green was ranked third in Mark McCormack's world golf rankings
The McCormack rankings were unofficial world golf rankings published in Mark McCormack's ''World of Professional Golf Annual'' from 1968 to 1985, and were a forerunner of the current Official World Golf Ranking. Unlike their replacement they were ...
in 1977, having also won the 1977 Irish Open in August. He was also runner-up, one stroke behind, to Baldovino Dassù
Baldovino Dassù (born 3 November 1952) is an Italian golfer.
Dassù won the 1970 British Youths Open Amateur Championship and played for Italy in that year's Eisenhower Trophy. He turned professional in 1971 and was a regular on the European Tou ...
, at the 1976 Dunlop Masters
The Betfred British Masters is a professional golf tournament. It was founded in 1946 as the Dunlop Masters and was held every year up to 2008, except for 1984. Dunlop's sponsorship ended in 1982, and the name sponsor changed frequently therea ...
.
Green finished in the top 10 of the Masters six times in seven years from 1974 to 1980. At the 1978 Masters he came to the final hole about 30 minutes after Gary Player
Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...
had finished a round of 64. Player had a 1-shot lead over Green, who hit a good drive and then a great approach to within three feet of the cup. Green had to back away from the putt when he overheard radio announcer Jim Kelly say something. When Green took the stroke, he pushed it a little to the right and the putt slid by. Green never blamed Kelly, however, telling ''Golf Digest
''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit under its Warner Bros. Discovery Golf division. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competiti ...
'', "Only an amateur would have been put off by the interruption — or would try to make excuses about it."[
At the 1985 ]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 ...
, Green won his second major title, two strokes ahead of defending champion Lee Trevino
Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...
. It was Green's 19th and final victory on the PGA Tour.
In 1998, his second season on the Senior PGA Tour (now 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 ...
), Green won the Bruno's Memorial Classic
The Regions Charity Classic, formerly known as the Bruno's Memorial Classic, was an American golf tournament on the Champions Tour. It was originally held at Greystone Golf & Country Club and moved to Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa, one of ten co ...
in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. He shot a final round of 64, playing the last six holes with an eagle, four birdies, and one par to beat Hale Irwin
Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. Op ...
by one stroke.
Green was also active in golf course design, having worked on TPC Southwind
TPC Southwind is a private golf club in Shelby County, Tennessee, southern United States, located within the gated community of Southwind in Southeast Memphis.
East-southeast of central Memphis, the 18-hole championship golf course was designed ...
, the site for the PGA Tour's St. Jude Classic; Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia; and Greystone Golf & Country Club
Greystone Golf & Country Club is a private 36-hole golf club in the southeastern United States, located in Hoover, Alabama, a suburb southeast of Birmingham.
Opened in 1991, the first of the two courses was the Founders Course, designed by Bob ...
, the site of his Bruno's Classic victory.
Green retired as a touring professional in 2009.[
]
Cancer survivor
In the spring of 2003, Green was diagnosed with oral cancer
Oral cancer, also known as mouth cancer, is cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless white patch, that thickens, develops red patches, an ulcer, and continues to grow. When on ...
after his dentist
A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...
noticed an unusual swelling on the back of his tongue
The tongue is a muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surfa ...
[ after a routine cleaning and referred him to a medical specialist for evaluation. Green underwent a very difficult and painful regimen of ]radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
and chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
treatments during the summer of 2003.[ By the end of 2003, however, his cancer was in remission; his weight crept up to 165 pounds from a low of 143 pounds.
]
Honors
Green was inducted into the Florida State Seminoles
The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...
Hall of Fame in 1977, becoming the first golfer to be enshrined. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Southern Amateur Hall of Fame in 2006. He received the Champions Tour Comeback Player of the Year award in 2002 and 2004, and the American Cancer Life Inspiration Award in 2004. At the 2005 Masters Tournament, Green was presented with the Ben Hogan Award for continuing to be active in golf despite a serious illness. In 2007, he was recognized again when he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...
.[
]
Death
Green died on June 19, 2018, aged 71, from complications due to throat cancer.
Amateur wins
''this list may be incomplete''
*1966 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, ...
*1967 Alabama Amateur
*1968 Alabama Amateur, Cape Coral Invitational, Miami Invitational
*1969 Southern Amateur
Professional wins (29)
PGA Tour wins (19)
PGA Tour playoff record (2–3)
European Tour wins (3)
Japan Golf Tour wins (2)
Japan Golf Tour playoff record (1–0)
Other wins (1)
Senior PGA Tour wins (4)
Champions Tour playoff record (1–1)
Other senior wins (2)
*1999 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 Gil Morgan
Gilmer Bryan Morgan II, OD (born September 25, 1946) is an American professional golfer.
Morgan was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma. He graduated from East Central State College in Ada, Oklahoma in 1968. In 1972, Morgan earned a Doctor of Optometry deg ...
)
*2017 Bass Pro Shops 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 ...
– Legends Division (with Allen Doyle
Allen Michael Doyle (born July 26, 1948) is an American professional golfer who played on the Nike Tour, PGA Tour, and Champions Tour.
Life and career
Doyle was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island and raised in the Boston suburb of Norwood, Mass ...
)
Major championships
Wins (2)
Results timeline
CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1982 and 1984 Open Championships)
DQ = disqualified
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Summary
*Most consecutive cuts made – 16 (1974 Masters – 1978 Masters)
*Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)
Results in The Players Championship
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
U.S. national team appearances
Professional
*Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
: 1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
(winners), 1979 (winners), 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
*World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
: 1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
See also
* 1970 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
*List of Florida State Seminoles men's golfers
This List of Florida State Seminoles men's golfers includes notable athletes who played for the Florida State Seminoles men's golf team that represents Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, and who play or have played golf professionall ...
*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 ...
*List of longest PGA Tour win streaks
The following represents the golfers who have won at least three consecutive starts in 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 ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Hubert
American male golfers
Florida State Seminoles men's golfers
PGA Tour golfers
PGA Tour Champions golfers
Winners of men's major golf championships
Ryder Cup competitors for the United States
World Golf Hall of Fame inductees
Golf course architects
Golfers from Birmingham, Alabama
People from Mountain Brook, Alabama
People from Panama City, Florida
Deaths from throat cancer
Deaths from cancer in Alabama
1946 births
2018 deaths