Labron E. Harris Jr. (born September 27, 1941) is an American professional golfer 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 ...

in the 1960s and 1970s. Harris was born in

Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater ( iow, Ñápinⁿje, ''meaning: "Water quiet"'') is a city in, and the county seat of, Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177 and State Highway 51. As of t ...

, and grew up playing the

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

practice facility, Lakeside Golf Course. He attended Oklahoma State University, where he was a distinguished member of the

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 ...

team: second-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n in 1961, first-team All-American and winner of the

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 1962. Harris won the 1983 Oklahoma Open and was low amateur at the 1963 Masters. He played on the winning Walker Cup, Eisenhower Trophy and Americas Cup teams. Harris turned professional in 1964; he was runner-up in voting for Rookie of the Year. Harris won the 1964 Par 3 Tournament preceding the Masters. His father, Labron Harris, Sr. was the

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National Col ...

golf coach from 1947 to 1973. In addition to playing golf at Oklahoma State, Harris earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in statistics while studying at the university. Harris defeated

Bert Yancey Albert Winsborough Yancey (August 6, 1938 – August 26, 1994) was an American professional golfer who won seven times on the PGA Tour and later played on the Senior PGA Tour. Biography Born in Chipley, Florida, Yancey lived much of his adult ...

in a playoff at the 1971 Robinson Open Golf Classic. Also in 1971, Harris was the first-round leader at the U.S. Open with a score of 67, eventually fading to finish the tournament at T-46. His best finish in a major was a T-24 at the 1965 U.S. Open. Harris served as vice-president of the

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 ...

and was a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board 1975–1976. In 1977, Harris joined the PGA Tour staff as Director of Tournament Operations. Duties included purse negotiations and scheduling with the sponsors, running the Qualifying Schools, supporting the field staff in tournament operations and general support activities of the PGA Tour operations. During this time he redid the tournament purse breakdown to its present form, worked with John Barron of Rogers and Wells law firm to rewrite the tournament regulations, worked with Merrill Lynch to work out a more convenient payment of the purse to the players, started the Senior PGA Tour and was a part of many other positive changes in the tour operations. In 1981, he left the PGA Tour to work with Kemper Sports Management, a company involved with golf course and tournament management. He was Executive Director of the men's and women's Kemper Opens from 1982–1986 as well as the PGA Seniors in 1982 and the 1983 Ryder Cup. The 1983 Ryder Cup was the first one that sought out corporate sponsorships and was the start of what is now recognized as one of the premier golf events. In 1986, he left Kemper Sports Management and started his own consulting firm which he operated until he began preparing for the Champions Tour. Harris retired from golf in 1996. Harris is currently a prominent stamp dealer with a U.S. postal history specialty living in Maryland.

Amateur wins

*1960

Western Junior The Western Junior is the oldest national junior golf tournament in the United States. It was founded in 1914 and is organized by the Western Golf Association. It is played at a different course each year, primarily in the midwest. From 1914 to 1 ...

*1962

Professional wins (2)

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Other wins (1)

*1963

Oklahoma Open The Oklahoma Open is the Oklahoma state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Oklahoma Golf Association. It has been played every year since 1910 at a variety of courses around the state. It wa ...

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 ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

(winners) *

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. Eise ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

(winners) *

Americas Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

: 1963 (winners)

References

External links

* American male golfers Oklahoma State Cowboys golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Oklahoma People from Stillwater, Oklahoma 1941 births Living people {{US-golf-bio-stub