William R. Collins (September 23, 1928 – April 8, 2006) was 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 played on 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 ...

in the 1950s and 1960s and the

Senior PGA 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 ...

in the 1980s.

Early life

Collins was born in

Meyersdale, Pennsylvania Meyersdale is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States, situated on the Casselman River, southeast of Pittsburgh. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the past, Meyersdale's chief i ...

. He grew up in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

Professional career

Collins joined the PGA Tour in 1958 and won four events between 1959 and 1962. His first victory came at the 1959

Greater New Orleans Open Invitational The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a professional golf tournament in Louisiana on the PGA Tour, currently held at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, a suburb southwest of New Orleans. Beginning in 1938 and held annually since 1958, it is commonly pla ...

by three strokes (280) over Jack Burke Jr. and

Tom Nieporte Thomas Nieporte (October 21, 1928 – December 21, 2014) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960s. Nieporte grew up in the Cincinnati suburb of North College Hill, Ohio. He attended the Ohio State Univ ...

. In 1960, Collins finished in a three-way tie for first at the end of regulation at the

Insurance City Open The Travelers Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Cromwell, Connecticut, a suburb south of Hartford. Since 1984 the tournament has been held at TPC River Highlands. It is managed by The Greater Hartford Community Fou ...

, which he and

Jack Fleck Jackson Donald Fleck (November 8, 1921 – March 21, 2014) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the U.S. Open in 1955 in a playoff over Ben Hogan. Early years Born in 1921 and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa, Fleck's parents ...

lost in a playoff to

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

. His best finishes in major championships were T-7 at

The Masters 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 golf championships, men's major championships in Professional golf tours, professional golf. Schedul ...

in 1961 and a 7th-place finish at the 1964 U.S. Open. He was a member of the victorious

1961 Ryder Cup The 14th Ryder Cup Matches were held 13–14 October 1961 at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England. The United States team won the competition by a score of 14 to 9 points. At the 1959 Ryder Cup there had been informal d ...

team. Collins was forced to quit the Tour after back surgery in 1963. In 1965, he took a club pro job at Brae Burn Country Club in

Purchase, New York Purchase is a hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set ...

and remained there until December 1981. He joined the Senior PGA Tour in 1982 and won the Greater Syracuse Senior's Pro Golf Classic in his first full season.

Death

Collins died in

Woodstock, Georgia Woodstock is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 35,065 as of 2020 according to the US Census Bureau. Originally a stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Woodstock is part of the Atlanta metropolitan a ...

at the age of 77.

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (4)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–3) Source:

Other wins (2)

*1956

Metropolitan PGA Championship The Metropolitan PGA Championship is a golf tournament that is the section championship of the Metropolitan section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1926 at a variety of courses around the New York City metropolitan area. I ...

*1975

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional *

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 ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

(winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Bill American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Somerset County, Pennsylvania People from Purchase, New York Golfers from Westchester County, New York 1928 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen