Jerry Michael Heard (born May 1, 1947) 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 ...

who won several

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 ...

events in the 1970s.

Early life

Heard was born in

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

. He attended Fresno State College (now

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

) for a short while.

Professional career

Heard turned professional in 1968 and joined the

in 1969. His first professional win came in the

American Golf Classic The American Golf Classic was a tournament on the PGA Tour from 1961 to 1976 at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It was the third event at the storied South course, after the Rubber City Open Invitational (1954–1959) and the PGA Championsh ...

Firestone Country Club Firestone Country Club is a private golf club in the United States, located in Akron, Ohio. It was a regular stop on the PGA Tour and has hosted the PGA Championship three times. It is the current home of the Bridgestone Senior Players Championshi ...

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

. He finished with a four-day total of 275, three strokes better than runner-up

Dale Douglass Dale Dwight Douglass (March 5, 1936 – July 6, 2022) was an American professional golfer who won tournaments at both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour level. Douglass was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma. He grew up in Fort Morgan, Colorado, wher ...

. In

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, he won the

Florida Citrus Open The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played each March at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, a private golf resort owned since 1974 by Arnold Palmer in Bay Hill, a suburb southwest of Orlando, Florida ...

and the

Colonial National Invitation The Colonial National Invitation, titled for sponsorship reasons as the Charles Schwab Challenge since 2019, is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played annually in May in Fort Worth at Colonial Country Club, which organize ...

. Heard had nearly 60 top-10 finishes in

events in his career including four top-10 finishes in major championships — his best finish in a major was T-5 at the

1972 Masters Tournament The 1972 Masters Tournament was the 36th Masters Tournament, held April 6–9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Jack Nicklaus opened with a 68 and led wire-to-wire to win the fourth of his six Masters titles, three strokes ahead ...

. Heard was struck by

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

at the

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. ...

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...

, along with playing partner

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 ...

. Three others were also struck:

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. Whi ...

, Jim Ahern, and

Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is a retired English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain ...

. Heard left the Tour in 1980, and today owns and operates a golf school, the ''Jerry Heard Golf Academy'' located at the Silverthorn Country Club in

Spring Hill, Florida Spring Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hernando County, Florida, Hernando County, Florida, United States. The population was 113,568 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 98,621 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 ...

. His school had been located for many years in

southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...

– in the

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

area where he now lives.

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (5)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

European Tour wins (1)

Other wins (2)

*1968

Northern California Open The Northern California Open is a golf tournament played in the Northern California, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is run by the Northern California section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1920 at a var ...

*1971

Garden City Classic The Garden City Classic was a golf tournament held in New Zealand from 1969 to 1975. The event was hosted by Russley Golf Club in Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the ...

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1971 PGA – 1974 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (four times)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heard, Jerry American male golfers Fresno State Bulldogs men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from California People from Visalia, California 1947 births Living people