John Richard Harris (born June 13, 1952) 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 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 ...

and the

Champions 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 ...

Early life and amateur career

Harris was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

and grew up in

Roseau, Minnesota Roseau () (pronounced row - so) is a city in, and the county seat of, Roseau County, Minnesota. Its population was 2,744 at the time of the 2020 census. History A post office called Roseau has been in operation since 1895. The city took its nam ...

. He attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

where he distinguished himself in both golf and hockey. Harris was the second-leading scorer on his 1974 hockey team that went on to win the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. In addition, his brother Robbie was a talented hockey player and played for the U.S. ice hockey team at the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

. In the spring of 1974, Harris won the individual Big Ten championship in golf. In the summer, he also won the 1974 Minnesota State Amateur.

Professional career

Harris played minor league hockey after college and then became a professional golfer in 1975. He earned playing privileges for the

at Fall 1975 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates. Harris did not have much success on the

, however, his best finish being T-26 at the 1976

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 ...

Re-instated amateur career

Harris regained his amateur status in 1983 and soon became one of the dominant players on the amateur circuit in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. He won the Minnesota State Amateur three additional times during this era. He also won the Minnesota State Mid-Amateur five times and the 1993

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 ...

at the age of 41. During this era, he also won the Minnesota State Open back-to-back in 1994 and 1995 while still an amateur.

Second professional career

After turning 50 in June 2002, Harris began his second professional golf career. His first win during this era, came in his fifth

season at the 2006

Commerce Bank Championship The Commerce Bank Championship was a golf tournament on the Champions Tour. It started as non-sanctioned event in 1987, before becoming a regular Senior event in 1988. The tournament was played annually in either June or July until 2008. It was las ...

. Harris took over as director of golf at the

in July 2010 after the departure of Brad James. In December 2010, the ''

Minnesota Daily The ''Minnesota Daily'' is the campus newspaper of the University of Minnesota, published Monday and Thursday while school is in session, and published weekly on Wednesdays during summer sessions. Published since 1900, the paper is currently the la ...

'' published a report that Harris kept associate women's head coach Katie Brenny from coaching, traveling with the team, or recruiting while letting his son-in-law and former caddy, Ernie Rose, perform those duties under a different title. Harris resigned as director of golf in June 2011. In March 2014, Hennepin County Judge Thomas M. Sipkins awarded Katie Brenny $359,000 in a discrimination lawsuit related to her treatment by Harris and Rose while at the University of Minnesota.

Personal life

Harris lives in

Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie is a city southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County and the 16th-largest city in the State of Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,198. The city is adjacent to the north bank of th ...

Amateur wins

*1974 Big Ten Championship (individual), Minnesota State Amateur *1987 Minnesota State Amateur *1988 Minnesota State Mid-Amateur *1989 Minnesota State Amateur *1990 Minnesota State Mid-Amateur *1991 Minnesota State Mid-Amateur *1992 Minnesota State Mid-Amateur *1993

*1995

Sunnehanna Amateur The Sunnehanna Amateur, officially the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions, is a men's amateur golf tournament. Founded in 1954, it is hosted annually at the Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States. It is consider ...

*1997

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 ...

*1999 Minnesota State Mid-Amateur *2000 Minnesota State Amateur *2002 Terra Cotta Invitational

Professional wins (3)

Regular wins (2)

*1994 Minnesota State Open (as an amateur) *1995 Minnesota State Open (as an amateur)

Champions Tour wins (1)

Champions Tour playoff record (1–0)

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

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 ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

(winners),

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

(winners),

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

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 ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

(winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, John American male golfers Minnesota Golden Gophers men's golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Minneapolis American men's ice hockey players Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions People from Roseau, Minnesota People from Edina, Minnesota 1952 births Living people