Gary Koch
Gary Koch | |||
---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||
Full name | Gary D. Koch | ||
Born | Champions Tour | November 21, 1952||
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour | ||
Professional wins | 10 | ||
Number of wins by tour | |||
PGA Tour | 6 | ||
Best results in major championships | |||
Masters Tournament | T16: 1985, 1986 | ||
PGA Championship | T10: 1979 | ||
U.S. Open | T6: 1982 | ||
The Open Championship | T4: 1988 | ||
Achievements and awards | |||
|
Gary D. Koch (born November 21, 1952) is an American
Early years
Koch was born in
College career
Koch accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the
Professional career
Koch turned professional in 1975, and won six events as a professional on the
In preparation for play on the Champions Tour, Koch played some on the Nationwide Tour in his late 40s. After turning 50 in November 2002, he began play on the Champions Tour. His best finish in this venue was a tie for second at both the
Post-professional career
Koch's career as a sportscaster began in 1990 with ESPN working Champions Tour telecasts. Before the end of the decade, he joined NBC Sports. A long-time member of the NBC Sports announcing team (1996–present), he is best known for his "Better than Most"[7] call in the third round of the 2001 Players Championship at the TPC at Sawgrass. Three down from leader Jerry Kelly, Tiger Woods was facing a long, triple-breaking, fringe putt for birdie on the 17th hole's famous Island Green. Koch's call of that putt has gone down as one of the most famous in golf history as it was during the height of Tiger's dominance, on an iconic hole of a well-known course, on the way to an inevitable, yet routine Woods comeback to win the tournament.
Koch also maintains an interest in golf course design and helped design the front nine of "The Forest" course at The Eagles Golf Course in Odessa, Florida. Koch was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.[8] Koch currently resides in Tampa, Florida.
Koch won the Payne Stewart Award in 2023.[9]
Golf courses (original design)
- Bardmoor Golf and Tennis Club
- Mill Creek
- Mission Inn Resort & Club, Las Colinas course
- Mystic Dunes Golf Club
- The Eagles Golf Club, Forest course
- The Groves Golf & Country Club
Amateur wins
this list may be incomplete
- 1970 U.S. Junior Amateur
- 1973 Trans-Mississippi Amateur
Professional wins (10)
PGA Tour wins (6)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Apr 18, 1976 | Tallahassee Open | 71-69-67-70=277 | −11 | 1 stroke | ![]() |
2 | Mar 7, 1977 | Florida Citrus Open
|
70-69-65-70=274 | −14 | 2 strokes | ![]() ![]() |
3 | Feb 27, 1983 | Doral-Eastern Open
|
69-67-65-70=271 | −17 | 5 strokes | ![]() |
4 | Jan 29, 1984 | Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open
|
68-70-69-65=272 | −16 | Playoff | ![]() |
5 | Mar 18, 1984 | Bay Hill Classic (2)
|
69-68-72-63=272 | −12 | Playoff | ![]() |
6 | May 8, 1988 | Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational
|
68-73-66-67=274* | −14 | 1 stroke | ![]() ![]() |
*Note: The 1988 Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational was shortened to 72 holes due to weather.
PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1984 | Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open
|
![]() |
Won with birdie on second extra hole |
2 | 1984 | Bay Hill Classic
|
![]() |
Won with birdie on second extra hole |
Other wins (1)
- 1969 Florida Open (as an amateur)
Senior wins (3)
- 2003 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf – Raphael Division (with Roger Maltbie)
- 2008 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf – Raphael Division (with Roger Maltbie)
- 2009 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf – Raphael Division (with Roger Maltbie)
Playoff record
PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (0–1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1984 | Casio World Open | ![]() |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2004 | ACE Group Classic
|
![]() ![]() |
Stadler won with birdie on first extra hole |
Results in major championships
Tournament | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | T42 | ||||
U.S. Open | 57 | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||
The Open Championship | CUT | ||||||
PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T64 | T10 |
Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | CUT | T35 | T16 | T16 | T22 | T25 | CUT | |||
U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | T6 | T24 | T34 | CUT | T15 | CUT | CUT | CUT |
The Open Championship | T14 | T60 | T11 | T6 | T4 | T30 | ||||
PGA Championship | T46 | CUT | T54 | CUT | 66 | T31 | T61 |
Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | ||||||||||||
U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||||||||
The Open Championship | ||||||||||||
PGA Championship |
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 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 6 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 5 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 7 |
Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 45 | 24 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (four times)
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
- Walker Cup: 1973 (winners), 1975 (winners)
- Eisenhower Trophy: 1974 (winners)
See also
- Fall 1975 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- List of Florida Gators men's golfers on the PGA Tour
- List of Sigma Alpha Epsilon members
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
References
- ^ Associated Press, "Koch Ousts Champ in Junior Amateur," St. Petersburg Times, p. 2C (August 1, 1970). Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 34, 35, 37, 39, 41 (2010). Retrieved July 11, 2011.
- ^ 2008–09 Florida Gators Men's Golf Media Guide Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 36 (2008). Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ Robbie Andreu, "Top 25 Gator teams: #8 1973 Men's golf," Gainesville Sun (June 18, 2009). Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- ^ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
- ^ "Bean And Koch Inducted," The Ledger, p. 1D (March 30, 1978). Retrieved June 23, 2010.
- ^ "Tiger Woods' 'Better Than Most' Putt".
- ^ "Cozart, Koch among 2012 Florida sports hall inductees". tbo.com. January 24, 2012. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ "Gary Koch honored with PGA Tour's Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company". PGA Tour. July 17, 2023.
External links
- Gary Koch at the PGA Tour official site
- Gary Koch at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Golf With Gary: Biography