Charles Coody
Personal information
Full nameBilly Charles Coody
Born (1937-07-13) July 13, 1937
Stamford, Texas
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Career
CollegeAbilene Christian University
Texas Christian University
Turned professional1963
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins15
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
European Tour2
PGA Tour Champions5
Other1 (regular)
4 (senior)
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentWon: 1971
PGA Championship4th: 1977
U.S. OpenT13: 1969
The Open ChampionshipT5: 1971

Billy Charles Coody (born July 13, 1937) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the 1971 Masters Tournament.

Coody was born in Stamford, Texas and raised in Abilene, Texas. He attended Abilene Christian University before transferring to and graduating in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in Business from Texas Christian University, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He made his pro debut in 1963.[1]

Coody won two regular PGA Tour events early in his career and was known as one of the best iron players of his era.[2] However he was considered somewhat of an underachiever until his Masters victory. In the words of his contemporary Frank Beard, "Charlie's one of our better shotmakers but he tries hard not to win."[3] Coody held the lead at the 1969 Masters Tournament with three holes left but finished bogey-bogey-bogey to tie for 5th place.

At the 1971 Masters Tournament, Coody opened with a 3 shot lead.[4] He remained in the lead entering the final round but was expected to lose to co-leader Jack Nicklaus who had won the 1971 PGA Championship two months earlier.[3] The event turned into a 3-way battle between Coody, Nicklaus, and a young Johnny Miller who was playing his first Masters as a professional. Miller took control with birdies on #11, #12, and #14 to build a two shot lead. However, things began to unravel when he hit his approach into the bunker on the 15th and failed to make birdie. He again hit his approach into the bunker on the 16th and made bogey. Coody, playing in the group behind Miller, went for the 15th green in two and ended up behind the same bunker Miller had just been in. Coody then chipped to 8 feet beyond the hole and made it coming back for birdie to reach 8-under. He next made another clutch birdie at the par-3 16th by striking his 6-iron to 13 feet and holing the putt to reach 9-under and take the lead alone.[3] He made pars on the last two and won by two strokes. Nicklaus uncharacteristically played mediocre on Sunday. He had four three-putts for the round and shot 37 on the back nine without a birdie.[3] He would tie Miller for runner-up.

Coody had his share of success after his Masters victory. He represented the United States for the only time in the 1971 Ryder Cup. He finished 5th at the 1971 Open Championship. He would win two events on the fledgling European Tour in 1973. He also had chances to win additional majors at the 1976 PGA Championship and 1977 PGA Championship. In 1976 he held a two stroke lead entering the final round before collapsing with a 77. The following year, at Pebble Beach, he finished two strokes out of a playoff, shooting a 73 in the final round.

However, his Masters triumph did not serve as a catalyst for Coody to become one of the greats in the game. While he posted nine top-3 finishes through the 1970s and early 1980s, he never won on the PGA Tour again. One example of his 'close calls' after his Masters win was the 1972 Hawaiian Open played at Waialae Country Club in early February. Coody fired rounds of 66-72-69-68 to finish at 13-under par 275 . . . but missed the Grier Jones/Bob Murphy playoff by a stroke (won by Jones).[5] Coody would play full-time on the PGA Tour until he reached his late 40s.

When he turned 50, Coody played on the Senior PGA Tour with a decent amount of success, winning five times. Like most Masters winners, Coody played the Masters Tournament through his old age. He retired from active competition at the 2006 event having played 38 of the last 39 Masters.

Coody was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. A college golf tournament, the Charles Coody West Texas Intercollegiate, is named for him. He also lends his name to a charity event, the Charles Coody Classic.[2]

Coody's son Kyle was also a professional golfer in the 1980s and 1990s. Grandsons Pierceson and Parker turned pro in 2022.

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (3)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Sep 7, 1964 Dallas Open Invitational −13 (67-67-68-69=271) 1 stroke United States Jerry Edwards
2 Jun 29, 1969 Cleveland Open Invitational −9 (67-64-71-69=271) 2 strokes Australia Bruce Crampton
3 Apr 11, 1971 Masters Tournament −9 (66-73-70-70=279) 2 strokes United States Johnny Miller, United States Jack Nicklaus

European Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 Sep 8, 1973 W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament −7 (70-72-69-70=281) 1 stroke Australia Jack Newton
2 Sep 29, 1973 John Player Classic +5 (68-74-70-77=289) 3 strokes England Tony Jacklin

Other wins (1)

Senior PGA Tour wins (5)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Nov 12, 1989 General Tire Las Vegas Classic −11 (67-69-69=205) Playoff New Zealand Bob Charles, United States Chi-Chi Rodríguez
2 Oct 7, 1990 Vantage Championship −14 (67-65-70=202) 3 strokes New Zealand Bob Charles, United States Al Geiberger
3 Jun 2, 1991 NYNEX Commemorative −17 (66-62-65=193) 3 strokes United States Don Massengale
4 Oct 20, 1991 Transamerica Senior Golf Championship −12 (67-66-71=204) 2 strokes United States Lee Trevino
5 Jun 16, 1996 du Maurier Champions −9 (69-70-67-65=271) 1 stroke United States Larry Mowry

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 1989 General Tire Las Vegas Classic New Zealand Bob Charles, United States Chi-Chi Rodríguez Won with birdie on second extra hole

Other senior wins (4)

Major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
1971Masters TournamentTied for lead−9 (66-73-70-70=279)2 strokesUnited States Johnny Miller, United States Jack Nicklaus

Results timeline

Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament CUT CUT T30 T5
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT T52 T28 T16 T13
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT T8 T7
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T12 1 T12 T29 T29 T40 T5 CUT CUT T34
U.S. Open T64 T63 CUT T29 CUT CUT T38 T30
The Open Championship T5
PGA Championship T35 CUT 15 T35 CUT T8 4 CUT CUT
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T38 T40 CUT T36 CUT T44 CUT CUT CUT T38
U.S. Open T47
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T41 74 T55
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament CUT CUT T57 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament1003354016
U.S. Open0000021810
The Open Championship00011111
PGA Championship0001451510
Totals10058137437
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1966 U.S. Open – 1971 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1968 PGA – 1969 Masters)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

References

  1. ↑ "Charles Coody profile from PGA Tour's official site". Archived from the original on January 22, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "2010 Charles Coody Classic Golf Tournament". Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Jenkins, Dan (April 19, 1971). "There Went the Slam". Sports Illustrated.
  4. ↑ "Charles Coody Far Ahead as Masters Stars Struggle". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. April 9, 1971. p. 19.
  5. ↑ "Charles Coody – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
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