Richard Karl (born September 28, 1944) 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 is best known as the last

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 ...

club professional to win an official

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 ...

event.

Early life

Karl was born in

Johnson City, New York Johnson City is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Broome County, New York, Broome County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 15,174 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton, New York, Bin ...

. He played college golf at

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 ...

.Richie Karl Golf School profile
/ref> He won the Alaska State Amateur twice while stationed in the Army there.

Professional career

Karl turned professional in 1968. He won the 1974

B.C. Open The B.C. Open was a PGA Tour golf tournament in New York, held annually from 1971 to 2006. In 1971, it was called the Broome County Open, and the next year it switched to the B.C. Open. In 1973, it became a PGA Tour regular 72-hole money event. F ...

by sinking a 35-foot putt on the first hole in a playoff with

Bruce Crampton Bruce Crampton (born 28 September 1935) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953 he reached final of the New South Wales ...

. Karl, who worked at the En-Joie Golf Club in

Endicott, New York Endicott is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 13,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is named after Henry B. Endicott, a founding member of the En ...

where the B.C. Open was played and lived along the 10th fairway, is the last club professional to win on the PGA Tour. Karl played briefly on the Senior PGA Tour (now

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 ...

) starting after he turned 50 in September 1994. His best finish in this venue was a T-5 at the ACE Group Classic. In 2007, Karl played as a sponsor's exemption in the inaugural

Dick's Sporting Goods Open The Dick's Sporting Goods Open is a PGA Tour Champions event in Endicott, New York. It debuted in July 2007, supplanting the B.C. Open, a former PGA Tour event from 1971 through 2006. It is sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods, founded in adjacent B ...

, a Champions Tour event played on his home course.

Amateur wins

*1965 Alaska State Amateur *1966 Alaska State Amateur

Professional wins (6)

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

Other wins (5)

*1972 Yuma Open (PGA Tour satellite event) *1982 Iowa PGA Championship *1983 Iowa PGA Championship *1984 Iowa PGA Championship *1985 Iowa PGA Championship

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karl, Richie American male golfers Florida State Seminoles men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from New York (state) People from Johnson City, New York Sportspeople from Binghamton, New York 1944 births Living people