Cary Middlecoff

His 39 Tour wins place him tied for tenth all-time, and he won three major championships. Middlecoff graduated as a dentist, but gave up his practice at age 26 to become a full-time Tour golfer.

Cary Middlecoff
Middlecoff, circa 1950
Personal information
Full name	Emmett Cary Middlecoff
Nickname	Doc
Born	(1921-01-06)January 6, 1921 Halls, Tennessee
Died	September 1, 1998(1998-09-01) (aged 77) Memphis, Tennessee
Sporting nationality	United States
Spouse	Edith Buck ​ (m. 1947)​
Career
College	University of Mississippi University of Tennessee College of Dentistry
Turned professional	1947
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	40
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	39 (Tied 10th all time)
Other	1
Best results in major championships (wins: 3)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1955
PGA Championship	2nd: 1955
U.S. Open	Won: 1949, 1956
The Open Championship	14th: 1957
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 1986 (member page) Vardon Trophy 1956

Middlecoff was born January 6, 1921, in Halls, Tennessee. He graduated from Christian Brothers High School. He played collegiate golf at the University of Mississippi, becoming that school's first golf All-American in 1939. First as an undergraduate and active member of Kappa Alpha Order, then as a dental student at the University of Tennessee, Middlecoff won the Tennessee State Amateur Championship for four straight years (1940–1943). After obtaining his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree in 1944, he entered the United States Army Dental Corps during World War II. He won a PGA Tour tournament as an amateur in 1945, and then turned professional in 1947. He was selected for the 1947 Walker Cup team but immediately withdrew as he intended turning professional.

During his playing career, Middlecoff won 39 PGA Tour tournaments, including the 1955 Masters and U.S. Open titles in 1949 and 1956. He won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average in 1956.

Middlecoff played on three Ryder Cup teams: 1953, 1955, and 1959 – the U.S. teams won all three times. He was ineligible for the 1957 Ryder Cup because he failed to play in the PGA Championship that year. Middlecoff was disappointed to lose a playoff in the 1957 U.S. Open to Dick Mayer, and played very few events following that event. The U.S. lost the Cup in 1957, for the first time since 1933.

Middlecoff's three best seasons were 1949, 1951 and 1956, as he won six tour titles in each of those years. He won at least one tour tournament in 13 of his 15 seasons, missing only in 1957 and 1960.

During the decade of the 1950s, Middlecoff won 28 tour titles, more than any other player during that span. A tall player with plenty of power and very good accuracy, Middlecoff during his best years was also a superb putter. He was known for often taking excessive time to play his shots.

Back problems and struggles with his nerves during competition ended his career in the early 1960s, when he was in his early 40s, although he continued to play occasionally, competing in the Masters until 1971, as a past champion.

Middlecoff became a top player despite having one leg slightly shorter than the other.

Middlecoff later developed a reputation as one of the best of the early golf television commentators. After retiring from the tour, he spent 18 years as a golf analyst for television. He appeared in two motion pictures as himself (Follow the Sun (1951, about the life and career of Ben Hogan) and The Bellboy (1960)). He wrote a newspaper column, "The Golf Doctor." He also appeared in a short biographical sports documentary Golf Doctor (1947).

In 1986, Middlecoff was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He died of heart disease in 1998 in Memphis, Tennessee. He was survived by his wife of 51 years, Edith.

PGA Tour wins (39)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Nov 8, 1945	North and South Open (as an amateur)	−8 (70-69-69-72=280)	5 strokes	Denny Shute
2	Mar 30, 1947	Charlotte Open	−11 (70-65-71-71=277)	Playoff	George Schoux
3	Mar 9, 1948	Miami International Four-Ball (with   Jim Ferrier)	1 up		Ed Furgol and   Ellsworth Vines
4	Nov 7, 1948	Hawaiian Open	−10 (70-70-63-71=274)	3 strokes	Johnny Bulla
5	Feb 27, 1949	Rio Grande Valley Open	−17 (68-66-63-70=267)	2 strokes	Bob Hamilton
6	Mar 13, 1949	Miami International Four-Ball (2) (with   Jim Ferrier)	9 and 8		Skip Alexander and   Harry Cooper
7	Mar 21, 1949	Jacksonville Open	−14 (66-68-71-69=274)	2 strokes	Jerry Barber
8	Jun 11, 1949	U.S. Open	+2 (75-67-69-75=286)	1 stroke	Clayton Heafner,   Sam Snead
9	Jun 19, 1949	Motor City Open	−11 (66-67-71-69=273)	Shared title with   Lloyd Mangrum
10	Jul 10, 1949	Reading Open	−14 (67-68-65-66=266)	1 stroke	Sam Snead
11	Feb 26, 1950	Houston Open	−11 (71-66-69-71=277)	3 strokes	Pete Cooper
12	Mar 20, 1950	Jacksonville Open (2)	−9 (70-73-67-69=279)	2 strokes	George Fazio
13	Sep 18, 1950	St. Louis Open	−10 (71-66-68-65=270)	Playoff	Ed Oliver
14	Jan 22, 1951	Lakewood Park Open	−13 (70-64-69-68=271)	3 strokes	Manuel de la Torre
15	May 27, 1951	Colonial National Invitation	+2 (69-71-69-73=282)	1 stroke	Jack Burke Jr.
16	Aug 5, 1951	All American Open	−14 (71-69-66-68=274)	2 strokes	Fred Hawkins
17	Sep 16, 1951	Eastern Open	−9 (71-68-69-71=279)	1 stroke	Jerry Barber
18	Sep 30, 1951	St. Louis Open (2)	−15 (65-65-69-70=269)	2 strokes	Lloyd Mangrum
19	Oct 7, 1951	Kansas City Open	−10 (69-66-72-71=278)	Playoff	Dave Douglas,   Doug Ford
20	Feb 10, 1952	El Paso Open	−15 (65-66-69-69=269)	3 strokes	Al Besselink
21	Jul 6, 1952	Motor City Open (2)	−14 (69-67-67-71=274)	Playoff	Ted Kroll
22	Jul 13, 1952	St. Paul Open	−22 (65-68-67-66=266)	5 strokes	Sam Snead
23	Aug 17, 1952	Kansas City Open (2)	−12 (67-68-72-69=276)	Playoff	Jack Burke Jr.
24	Mar 1, 1953	Houston Open (2)	−5 (67-72-72-72=283)	Playoff	Jim Ferrier,   Shelley Mayfield,   Bill Nary,   Earl Stewart
25	May 17, 1953	Palm Beach Round Robin	+42 points	7 points	Jimmy Demaret
26	Jun 28, 1953	Carling Open	−13 (68-71-67-69=275)	Playoff	Ted Kroll
27	Jul 4, 1954	Motor City Open (3)	−6 (72-68-70-68=278)	2 strokes	Tommy Bolt,   Marty Furgol,   Gene Littler
28	Jan 16, 1955	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am Golf Championship	−7 (69-69-71=209)	4 strokes	Julius Boros,   Paul McGuire
29	Mar 20, 1955	St. Petersburg Open	−14 (68-66-73-67=274)	2 strokes	Jay Hebert
30	Apr 10, 1955	Masters Tournament	−9 (72-65-72-70=279)	7 strokes	Ben Hogan
31	Jun 26, 1955	Western Open	−16 (69-70-70-63=272)	2 strokes	Mike Souchak
32	Jul 17, 1955	Miller High Life Open	−15 (64-67-66-68=265)	4 strokes	Julius Boros,   Ted Kroll,   Mike Souchak
33	Sep 11, 1955	Cavalcade of Golf	−4 (71-70-70-65=276)	2 strokes	Sam Snead
34	Sep 11, 1956	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am Golf Championship (2)	−14 (66-68-68=202)	5 strokes	Mike Souchak
35	Feb 5, 1956	Phoenix Open	−8 (72-66-70-68=276)	3 strokes	Mike Souchak
36	Jun 16, 1956	U.S. Open (2)	+1 (71-70-70-70=281)	1 stroke	Julius Boros,   Ben Hogan
37	Aug 11, 1958	Miller Open Invitational (2)	−16 (67-64-66-67=264)	2 strokes	Bob Rosburg
38	Mar 23, 1959	St. Petersburg Open Invitational (2)	−16 (70-69-67-69=275)	3 strokes	Pete Cooper
39	Jun 4, 1961	Memphis Open Invitational	−14 (67-68-64-67=266)	5 strokes	Gardner Dickinson,   Mike Souchak

*Mangrum and Middlecoff agreed to share the 1949 Motor City Open after failing light caused play to halt after eleven holes of a playoff.

PGA Tour playoff record (7–6–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1947	Charlotte Open	George Schoux	Won 18-hole playoff; Middlecoff: −8 (64), Schoux: +1 (73)
2	1948	Tacoma Open Invitational	Chuck Congdon,   Vic Ghezzi,   Fred Haas,   Ed Oliver	Oliver won with eagle on first extra hole after 18-hole playoff; Oliver: −2 (69), Middlecoff: −2 (69), Haas: +1 (72), Congdon: +2 (73), Ghezzi: +4 (75)
3	1949	Motor City Open	Lloyd Mangrum	Playoff abandoned after eleven holes due to darkness; tournament shared
4	1950	St. Louis Open	Ed Oliver	Won with birdie on second extra hole after 18-hole playoff; Middlecoff: −3 (67), Oliver: −3 (67)
5	1951	Kansas City Open	Dave Douglas,   Doug Ford	Won 18-hole playoff; Middlecoff: −4 (68), Douglas: E (72), Ford: E (72)
6	1952	Motor City Open	Ted Kroll	Won with birdie on first extra hole
7	1952	World Championship of Golf	Julius Boros	Lost 18-hole playoff; Boros: −4 (68), Middlecoff: −2 (70)
8	1952	Kansas City Open	Jack Burke Jr.	Won 18-hole playoff; Middlecoff: −6 (66), Burke: E (72)
9	1953	Houston Open	Jim Ferrier,   Shelley Mayfield,   Bill Nary,   Earl Stewart	Won 18-hole playoff; Middlecoff: −3 (69), Ferrier: −1 (71), Mayfield: −1 (71), Stewart: E (72), Nary: +3 (75)
10	1953	Carling Open	Ted Kroll	Won with par on second extra hole
11	1953	Fort Wayne Open	Art Wall Jr.	Lost 18-hole playoff; Wall: −2 (70), Middlecoff: E (72)
12	1954	Phoenix Open	Ed Furgol	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
13	1956	Texas International Open	Gene Littler,   Peter Thomson	Thomson won with birdie on second extra hole
14	1957	U.S. Open	Dick Mayer	Lost 18-hole playoff; Mayer: +2 (72), Middlecoff: +9 (79)

Sources:

Other wins (1)

this list may be incomplete

• 1949 Greenbrier Pro-Am

Wins (3)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1949	U.S. Open	1 shot lead	+2 (75-67-69-75=286)	1 stroke	Clayton Heafner,   Sam Snead
1955	Masters Tournament	4 shot lead	−9 (72-65-72-70=279)	7 strokes	Ben Hogan
1956	U.S. Open (2)	1 shot lead	+1 (71-70-70-70=281)	1 stroke	Julius Boros,   Ben Hogan

Results timeline

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" = tied

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1948 Masters – 1953 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1953 (winners), 1955 (winners), 1959 (winners)
• Canada Cup: 1959
• Hopkins Trophy: 1952 (winners), 1955 (winners), 1956 (winners)

• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins