Dave Marr | |
---|---|
— Golfer — | |
Personal information | |
Full name | David Francis Marr, Jr. |
Born |
Houston, Texas |
December 27, 1933
Died | October 5, 1997 Houston, Texas |
(aged 63)
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
Weight | 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st) |
Nationality | United States |
Career | |
College |
Rice Institute University of Houston |
Turned professional | 1953 |
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Professional wins | 5 |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 3 |
Best results in major championships (wins: 1) |
|
Masters Tournament | T2: 1964 |
U.S. Open | T4: 1966 |
The Open Championship | T8: 1966 |
PGA Championship | Won: 1965 |
Achievements and awards | |
PGA Player of the Year | 1965 |
David Francis Marr, Jr. (December 27, 1933 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional golfer and sportscaster, best known for winning the 1965 PGA Championship.
Marr was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the son of a professional golfer. He attended St. Thomas High School, and while there was on the honor roll, captain of the golf team and member of the Letterman's Club. Following graduation, he attended Rice Institute and the University of Houston.
In 1953 at age 19, Marr left college and turned professional. He began his professional golfing career by accepting a position at Westwood Country Club in Westwood, New Jersey, in 1953. A short time later, Marr took a job as an assistant club pro to Claude Harmon at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, where he began to blossom. He began playing regularly on the PGA tour in 1960, and in that year earned his first professional win at the Sam Snead Festival. A year later, he won the Greater Seattle Open Invitational and then the Azalea Open in 1962. Marr joined the elite in golf world in 1965 when he captured the coveted PGA Championship, was named to the Ryder Cup team and elected PGA Player of the Year.
The 1965 PGA Championship was played at the Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. He defeated golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Billy Casper by two strokes with a four-day total score of 280. Incredibly, this wasn't the biggest news story of the day in the Marr family – a few hours after his victory, his third child, son Tony, was born.