Fred "Butch" Baird (born July 20, 1936) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour).
| Butch Baird | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Fred Baird |
| Born | July 20, 1936 Chicago, Illinois |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  United States |
| Residence | Scottsdale, Arizona |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1959 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions Tour |
| Professional wins | 14 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 2 |
| PGA Tour Champions | 2 |
| Other | 9 (regular) 1 (senior) |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | CUT: 1977 |
| PGA Championship | T28: 1966 |
| U.S. Open | T4: 1976 |
| The Open Championship | CUT: 1978 |
Early life
editBaird was born in Chicago, Illinois. He learned the game at the age of 14 from his father. He turned pro in 1959 after working in the Texas oil fields for a few years after high school.[1]
Professional career
editBaird won two official PGA Tour events during his career: the 1961 Waco Turner Open and the 1976 San Antonio Texas Open. The San Antonio victory came 15 years, 5 months and 10 days after the Waco win, and was the record for longest time span between victories in PGA history until eclipsed by Robert Gamez in 2005.[2][3] His career year came in 1976, when in addition to his San Antonio win, he finished 46th on the money list with $58,192. Also in 1976, came his best finish in a major championship — a T-4 at the U.S. Open.[4]
Baird now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona as do many other professional golfers. He has a golf-memorabilia marketing business, BBJM Golf Enterprises, with partner Jack Mishler. His son, Briny, is also a professional golfer.
Professional wins (14)
editPGA Tour wins (2)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 7, 1961 | Waco Turner Open | −7 (73-72-68-68=281) | 1 stroke |  Rex Baxter
|
| 2 | Oct 17, 1976 | San Antonio Texas Open | −15 (68-70-70-65=273) | Playoff | Miller Barber
|
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1976 | San Antonio Texas Open | Miller Barber
|
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
PGA Tour satellite win (1)
edit- 1967 West End Classic
Caribbean Tour wins (5)
edit- 1967 Los Lagartos Open
- 1968 Panama Open
- 1969 Panama Open, Maracaibo Open Invitational
- 1979 Panama Open (tie with Chi-Chi Rodríguez)
Other wins (3)
edit- 1965 PGA National Four-ball Championship (with Gay Brewer)
- 1968 Southern Texas PGA Championship
- 1974 Florida PGA Championship
Senior PGA Tour wins (2)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 19, 1986 | Cuyahoga Seniors International | −3 (70-71-69=210) | 4 strokes | Chi-Chi Rodríguez
|
| 2 | Jun 18, 1989 | Northville Long Island Classic | −9 (58-62-63=183)* | Playoff | Frank Beard, Don Bies, Orville Moody
|
*Note: The 1989 Northville Long Island Classic was played over 16 holes for each round due to flooding.[5]
Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1987 | MONY Senior Tournament of Champions | Don January
|
Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole |
| 2 | 1989 | Northville Long Island Classic | Frank Beard, Don Bies, Orville Moody
|
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Other senior wins (1)
edit- 2007 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Bobby Nichols)
Results in major championships
edit| Tournament | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | CUT | T42 | |||||
| The Open Championship | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T28 | T32 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | ||||||||||||
| U.S. Open | T52 | T4 | CUT | T53 | |||||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | ||||||||||||
| PGA Championship | T40 | CUT | T42 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
References
edit- ^ Golf Today November 2003 article
- ^ "Biographical information from PGA Tour's official site". Archived from the original on February 12, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
- ^ "Victory Records from PGA Tour's official site". Archived from the original on January 3, 2006. Retrieved September 29, 2006.
- ^ "Golf Major Championships".
- ^ Baird wins Senior event on extra hole
External links
edit- Butch Baird at the PGA Tour official site