Gay brewer golfer

He won a major championship in that stretch. Around that time, Gay was as good as there was."

Brewer's playoff loss in 1966 and Masters win in 1967 were two of 12 career Top 10s in majors for him.

[Waialae CC, Honolulu, Hawaii].

Played as the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. His last appearance on the Champions Tour was in 2000.

In June of 2007, just a couple months before his death as a result of lung cancer, Brewer's beloved Picadome Golf Course in Lexington, Ky., was renamed The Gay Brewer Jr. Course at Picadome. Billy Casper; and in 1969, a 3-way match with Arnold Palmer and Chi Chi Rodriguez.

He turned pro and joined the PGA Tour in 1956.

His first brush with victory was at the 1959 West Palm Beach Open, where he got into a playoff with Arnold Palmer and Pete Cooper. Throughout his career, he won with a "loopy" golf swing, and throughout his life with a funny sense of humor.

Full name: Gay Robert Brewer Jr.

Date of birth: March 19, 1932

Place of birth: Middletown, Ohio

Date and place of death: August 31, 2007 in Lexington, Kentucky

Brewer's Biggest Pro Wins

Brewer is credited with 10 victories on the PGA Tour: On the Champions Tour, he won once: Brewer also won several other pro tournaments, including the 1972 Taiheiyo Club Masters in its inaugural year (it's a tournament still played today on the Japan Tour).

Brewer won the 1967 Alcan Golfer of the Year tournament at St.

Andrews, and the same tournament in 1968 at Royal Birkdale.

And in 1965, Brewer teamed with Butch Baird to win the PGA National Four-ball Championship.

1967 Masters Win and Other Majors

Gay Brewer won the 1967 Masterswith an excellent final round that included a back-nine birdie charge — one year after losing the Masters in a playoff.

A second-round 68 jumped Brewer into a tie for second place.

His early victory at the 1965 Hawaiian Open was a sign of the successes that would follow.

Triumph at the 1967 Masters

The pinnacle of Brewer's career came in 1967 when he won the Masters Tournament, a victory that came after a near miss in 1966. But he also teamed with Billy Casper to win the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in 1984 when it was an unofficial money tournament.

Nicklaus shot 70, Jacobs 72 and Brewer, perhaps still reeling from his 72nd-hole mishap the day before, carded a 78.

After Brewer won it in 1967, Nicklaus said, "For Gay to come back the next year and win a Green Jacket was fitting for such a tremendous person and a darn good player. He finished solo fifth in the 1962 U.S. Open and tied fifth in the 1964 U.S.

Open, his only other Top 5s.

Gay Brewer's Golf Swing

Peter Alliss once wrote that Gay Brewer had "one of the strangest swings that golf has seen." Brewer himself referred to the "loop" in his swing, and to his "figure of eight" action after drawing the club back way inside.

Alliss described Brewer's swing by writing that "...

Second-placed Bobby Nichols (USA) finished 1 shot behind Brewer (USA), who lost out in a playoff for the previous year's Masters. [Griffin Gate Resort, Lexington, Kentucky].

Played as the inaugural Taiheiyo Club Pacific Masters (Oct 5-8; Japan pro circuit event; at the time the world's richest golf tournament). At age 10 Brewer started working as a caddie, and then started playing at Picadome Golf Course in Lexington, where he honed his game as a junior in city tournaments, and later amateur matches and collegiate tournaments.

Brewer won the U.S.

Junior Amateur Championship in 1949, and played collegiately at the University of Kentucky. It took another two years after that (five since joining the tour), but when Brewer broke through for his first win in 1961 he won another two tournaments that year, too.

His first brush with greatness was in the 1966 Masters that he should have won, but his putting — he periodically battled the yips when his confidence was down — cost him the win on the 72nd hole, then Brewer lost it in the playoff.

Gay Brewer (USA) beat Bob Goalby (USA) with a birdie at the first playoff hole. "He was always so likable and a very jovial type of guy," Gil Morgan said. [Onion Creek Club, Austin, Texas].

Played as the Citizens Union Senior Classic. He also fell in the 18-hole Tournament of Champions playoff to Arnold Palmer.

Brewer's Masters win in 1967 couldn't have been a surprise, though: He went into the tournament hot.

According to an old PGA Tour media guide, the incident "nearly took his life." He was given the Ben Hogan Award for perseverance in 1974.) In 1974, he lost another four-way playoff at the 1974 PGA Tour American Golf Classic. Brewer recorded his first and only win in Japan. Palmer won it on the fourth extra hole. "Gay was just a fun-loving guy and you always looked forward to being around him."

In addition to the instructional book mentioned during the swing section, Brewer also authored Gay Brewer's Golf Guidebook: Basic Form and Playing Techniques for Young People (affiliate link).

His career was highlighted by numerous victories, including a significant win at the 1967 Masters Tournament.