Craig Robert Stadler (born June 2, 1953) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who has won numerous tournaments at both the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

and

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

level, including one major championship, the 1982 Masters Tournament.

Early life

Stadler was born in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. His father introduced him to golf at age four, and he displayed a talent for golf early in life. Stadler attended La Jolla High School He won the 1973

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

, while attending the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, where he was a teammate of future PGA Tour winners Mark Pfeil and Scott Simpson. Stadler was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

all four years – first-team his sophomore and junior years; second-team his freshman and senior years. Stadler finished college in 1975 and turned professional in 1976.

Professional career

Stadler won his first two PGA Tour events in 1980, at the Bob Hope Desert Classic and the

Greater Greensboro Open The Wyndham Championship is a professional golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in Greensboro and was originally the Greater Greensboro Open. History Founded in 1938 as the Greater Greensboro Open, it was usu ...

. His career year was 1982 when he won four PGA Tour events including the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

after a playoff with Dan Pohl and the World Series of Golf at the end of the year. Stadler won the money list for the only time. His next win was at the 1984 Byron Nelson Classic. Despite playing relatively well, Stadler did not win a PGA Tour event for over 7 years (May 1984 – November 1991) during the heart of his career. During this period he recorded six runner-up performances and dozens of top-10s on the PGA Tour. He had more success at winning international tournaments. He won the 1985 Swiss Open on the

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

and the 1987 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament on the

Japan Golf Tour The Japan Golf Tour () is a prominent professional golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006, it offered the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after the PGA Tour and the ...

. He had great success at the Scandinavian Enterprise Open too, an official event on the European Tour, finishing runner-up at the 1983 and 1986 events until finally winning in 1990. His winless streak in America was broken at the final event of the 1991 season, defeating Russ Cochran in a playoff at the

Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...

. Stadler won the B.C. Open in 2003, becoming the first player over age 50 to win a PGA Tour event in 28 years and the first player ever to win on the

after he had won on the

. He won 13 PGA Tour events in all, and played on the 1983 and 1985

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

teams. In 1994 he was the featured coach for the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...

video game

Pebble Beach Golf Links Pebble Beach Golf Links is a public golf course located in Pebble Beach, California, U.S. Opened in 1919, it is regarded as one of the most beautiful courses in the world. It hugs the rugged coastline and has wide open views of Carmel Bay, o ...

. In 1996 he appeared as himself in the film '' Tin Cup''. Stadler began playing on the

upon becoming eligible in June 2003. His greatest successes came during his first two years of eligibility; he was the leading money winner in his first full year on that tour in 2004. Stadler underwent total left-hip-replacement surgery in Los Angeles on September 15, 2010, which limits his playing time. Stadler announced that the 2014 Masters Tournament, his 38th and in which he played with Kevin, was his last.

Personal life

Very popular with the galleries, Stadler is affectionately called "The

Walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobeni ...

" for his portly build and ample

mustache A moustache (; mustache, ) is a growth of facial hair grown above the upper lip and under the nose. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history. Etymology The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Itali ...

. He lives in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. His son Kevin is also a PGA Tour champion. Stadler and his son Kevin are the only father and son who have both won on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. Stadler's brother Gary Stadler is a Billboard-charting recording artist. In 1984,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

held a promotion for its frequent flyer members in which any member who flew the airline to all 50 states in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in a 50-day period would receive free first-class flights for one year. Stadler was one of 78 people who completed the challenge.

Amateur wins

*1973

*197
Southwestern Amateur

Professional wins (30)

PGA Tour wins (13)

Craig Stadler at 2011 Principal Charity Classic

PGA Tour playoff record (3–3)

European Tour wins (3)

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

South American Tour wins (1)

*1992 Argentine Open

Other wins (4)

Other playoff record (1–1)

Champions Tour wins (9)

Champions Tour playoff record (1–2)

Major championships

Wins (1)

¹Defeated Pohl with par on first extra hole.

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1975 and 1985 Open Championships)
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (1990 PGA – 1993 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

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

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

Wins (2)

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

(winners) Professional *

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

(winners),

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

UBS Cup The UBS Cup was a team golf tournament contested by the United States and a team representing the "Rest of the World" which ran from 2001 to 2004. In 2001 and 2002 it was called the UBS Warburg Cup. Six golfers on each side had to be 50 or over, and ...

: 2003 (tie), 2004 (winners) * Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing Champions Tour): 2003, 2004, 2005 (winners), 2006

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stadler, Craig American male golfers USC Trojans men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of men's major golf championships Winners of senior major golf championships Golfers from San Diego Golfers from Denver 1953 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen