Dan Sikes

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Dan Sikes
Personal information
Full nameDaniel David Sikes, Jr.
Nickname"The Golfing Lawyer"
Born(1929-12-07)December 7, 1929
Champions Tour
Professional wins9
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour6
PGA Tour Champions3
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament5th: 1965
PGA ChampionshipT3: 1967
U.S. Open10th: 1963
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Daniel David Sikes, Jr. (December 7, 1929 – December 20, 1987) was an American

Champions Tour
. Sikes won nine tournaments as a pro, including six PGA Tour events. He was influential as the chairman of the tournament players committee in the late 1960s, prior to the formation of the PGA Tour.

Early life

Sikes was born in

Andrew Jackson High School.[1]

Amateur career

Sikes enrolled at the

All-American in 1952—the University of Florida's first All-American golfer.[1][3]
Sikes graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1953.

Although he later earned a law degree from the university's

College of Law and was known as the "golfing lawyer," he never actually practiced law. He was the chairman and spokesman of the controversial tournament players' committee prior to the formation of the "Tournament Players Division" in late 1968, which was later renamed the PGA Tour.[4]

Sikes won the U.S. Amateur Public Links championship in 1958 while in law school.

Professional career

Sikes turned professional in 1960 and won six tournaments on the PGA Tour, half in his home state of Florida. Sikes' career year was

PGA of America, the championship was nearly boycotted by the top tournament players.[6] Sikes played on the Ryder Cup team in 1969 at Royal Birkdale
.

Sikes later represented caddies on tour in

Hilton Head Seniors International in 1982, which Sikes and Miller Barber were leading when play was stopped.[1]

Personal life

Sikes died in Jacksonville at age 58 in late 1987.[8]

Awards and honors

Sikes was inducted into the

University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."[9]

Sikes was posthumously inducted into the Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.[1]

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (6)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Mar 24, 1963
Doral C.C. Open Invitational
76-70-67-70=283 −5 1 stroke United States Sam Snead
2 Jun 13, 1965
Cleveland Open Invitational
68-70-68-66=272 −12 1 stroke United States Tony Lema
3 Mar 19, 1967
Jacksonville Open
67-69-70-73=279 −9 1 stroke United States Bill Collins
4 Sep 17, 1967
Philadelphia Golf Classic
71-68-69-68=276 −12 2 strokes United States George Archer
5 Mar 17, 1968
Florida Citrus Open Invitational
71-67-70-66=274 −14 1 stroke United States Tom Weiskopf
6 Jul 28, 1968
Minnesota Golf Classic
71-66-71-64=272 −12 1 stroke United States Ken Still

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1962
Houston Classic
United States Bobby Nichols, United States Jack Nicklaus Nichols won with eagle on first extra hole after 18-hole playoff;
Nichols: +1 (71),
Sikes: +1 (71),
Nicklaus: +6 (76)
2 1973
Byron Nelson Golf Classic
United States Lanny Wadkins Lost to par on first extra hole

Senior PGA Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Oct 24, 1982
Hilton Head Seniors International
69-69=138* −6 Shared title with United States Miller Barber
2 Jun 3, 1984
Gatlin Brothers Seniors Golf Classic
69-73-68=210 −6 1 stroke United States Rod Funseth
3 Sep 9, 1984
United Virginia Bank Seniors
67-69-71=207 −9 1 stroke United States Lee Elder

*Note: The 1982 Hilton Head Seniors International was shortened to 36 holes due to weather.

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1984 Daytona Beach Seniors Golf Classic United States Orville Moody, United States Arnold Palmer Moody won with birdie on second extra hole
2 1985
Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic
United States Lee Elder, United States Orville Moody,
United States Walt Zembriski
Elder won with birdie on third extra hole
Moody eliminated by birdie on second hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
Masters Tournament T15 T13 5 T36 T35 12 T36 CUT T15 CUT
U.S. Open T36 10 T44 T36 15 T38 T27
PGA Championship T47 T45 T28 T3 T8 T25 T18 T46 T13 T6 T74

Note: Sikes never played in The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 1 1 5 10 8
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 1 2 7 7
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PGA Championship 0 0 1 1 3 6 11 11
Totals 0 0 1 2 5 13 28 26
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 21 (1962 U.S. Open – 1970 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Athletes of the Century: Dan Sikes". Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  2. ^ Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 39 & 42 (2010). Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  3. ^ 2008–09 Florida Gators Men's Golf Media Guide Archived 2012-03-22 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 36 (2008). Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "PGA rebel grabs lead". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. July 23, 1967. p. 1B.
  5. ^ "Dan Sikes hold two stroke lead". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. UPI. July 23, 1967. p. 1C.
  6. ^ "Pro golfers settle odds with PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. July 6, 1967. p. 1C.
  7. ^ Green, Bob (March 21, 1970). "Dan Sikes will represent golf's angry tour caddies". Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. p. 4.
  8. ^ Golf
  9. ^ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 15, 2014.

External links