Hubert Green's Career Wins, Major Championship Victories
Green had 19 career wins on the PGA Tour, good enough to make the list of golfers with the most PGA Tour victories. Two of those 19 wins were in major championships, one U.S. Open and one PGA Championship. That's a resumé good enough that he was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
We'll recap his wins in majors first, then list all of Green's professional tour wins.
Green's Major Championships
1977 U.S. Open: Green's first major championship win was by one stroke over Lou Graham in the 1977 U.S. Open. And he achieved it under the threat of assassination — a death threat against him was called in to the FBI. As Green left the 14th green, needing to par-in to win, he was informed of the threat, which supposedly would be carried out on the 15th hole. He decided to play on, although he did hit a tree with his drive on the 15th. But he recovered for par, birdied the 16th and parred the 17th. Green did bogey the 18th, but his 4-foot bogey putt was good for the championship.
1985 PGA Championship: Green's victory in the 1985 PGA Championship was his 19th on the PGA Tour, and turned out to be his last. Green was two strokes behind leader Lee Trevino after 36 holes, but took a three-shot lead over Trevino following the third round. Early in the final round, Trevino went back on top. But they were tied after the 14th hole. Green parred-in from there, while Trevino had two bogeys, giving Green the two-stroke win.
Green's Other Top 10 Finishes in Majors
Hubert Green had 15 total Top 10 finishes in major championships:- 2nd-place: Green tied for second in the 1978 Masters after being the 54-hole leader. He finished one stroke behind the winner, Gary Player, who shot 64 in the final round. Green missed a 2½-foot putt on 18th green that would have forced a playoff. (Read more about this and much more about Green in our biography of him, Hubert Green: Major Champion With Quirky Swing.)
- 3rd-place: 1974 PGA Championship, 1977 British Open
- 4th-place: 1974 British Open, 1980 Masters
- 5th-place: 1976 British Open
- 6th-place: 1976 U.S. Open, 1980 British Open
- 8th-place: 1975 Masters, 1977 Masters
- 9th-place: 1974 Masters, 1989 U.S. Open
- 10th place: 1979 Masters
Hubert Green's Professional Tournament Victories
PGA Tour
Green won 19 times on the PGA Tour, first in 1971 and last in 1985.- 1971 Houston Champions International, 280, defeated Don January in playoff
- 1973 Tallahassee Open, 277, won by one stroke over runner-up Jim Simons
- 1973 B.C. Open, 266, won by six strokes over Dwight Nevil
- 1974 Bob Hope Desert Classic, 341 (five rounds), won by two strokes over Bert Yancey
- 1974 Greater Jacksonville Open, 276, won by three strokes over John Mahaffey
- 1974 IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic, 271, won by four strokes over Hale Irwin
- 1974 Walt Disney World National Team Championship (partnered by Mac McLendon), 255, won by one stroke over the teams of Sam Snead/J.C. Snead and Ed Sneed/Bert Yancey
- 1975 Southern Open, 264, won by three strokes over John Schroeder
- 1976 Doral-Eastern Open, 270, won by six strokes over Jack Nicklaus and Mark Hayes
- 1976 Greater Jacksonville Open, 276, won by two strokes over Miller Barber
- 1976 Sea Pines Heritage Classic, 274, won by five strokes over Jerry McGee
- 1977 U.S. Open, 278, won by one stroke over Lou Graham
- 1978 Hawaiian Open, 274, won a playoff over Billy Kratzert
- 1978 Heritage Classic, 277, won by three strokes over Hale Irwin
- 1979 Hawaiian Open, 267, won by three strokes over Fuzzy Zoeller
- 1979 New Orleans Open, 273, won by one stroke over Lee Trevino, Frank Conner, Bruce Lietzke and Steve Melnyk
- 1981 Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open, 264, won by one stroke over Roger Maltbie, Fred Couples and Bobby Clampett
- 1984 Southern Open, 265, won by six strokes over Scott Hoch, Rex Caldwell and Corey Pavin
- 1985 PGA Championship, 278, won by two strokes over Lee Trevino
Green's PGA Tour Playoffs
Green was in five playoffs on the PGA Tour, winning two and losing three. His two wins are noted in the list above. These are his three losses:- 1975 Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open, lost to Don Bies
- 1978 World Series of Golf, lost to Gil Morgan
- 1986 Doral-Eastern Open, lost to Andy Bean
Green's Wins on Other Tours
European Tour (3): Green had three wins on the European Tour, two of which were his majors (1977 U.S. Open, 1985 PGA Championship). His one "regular" win on the European Tour was the 1977 Carroll's Irish Open, where he beat runner-up Ben Crenshaw by one stroke.PGA of Japan Tour (2): 1975 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament and 1985 Casio World Open
Champions Tour
Green won four times on the Champions Tour, which was still called the Senior PGA Tour when he first joined it. Those four victories are:- 1998 Bruno's Memorial Classic, 203, won by one stroke over Hale Irwin
- 2000 Audi Senior Classic, 197, won by five strokes over Jim Colbert, Doug Tewell and Dean Overtuff
- 2000 Kroger Senior Classic, 200, won by one stroke over Larry Nelson
- 2002 Lightpath Long Island Classic, 199, won a playoff over Hale Irwin
Green also, partnered by Gil Morgan, won the 1999 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, not counted as an official Champions Tour victory.
See also: Hubert Green biography
Sources:
Brenner, Morgan. The Majors of Golf (affiliate link), Volume 2, 2009, McFarland and Company.
PGA Tour. Champions Tour Media Guide, 2002.
PGA Tour. PGA Tour Media Guide, 1989.
PGATour.com. "Hubert Green," https://www.pgatour.com/player/01443/hubert-green
