Bobby Wayne Mitchell (February 23, 1943 – March 20, 2018) 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 ...

and the

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 ...

. Mitchell was born in

Chatham, Virginia Chatham is a town in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Pittsylvania County. Chatham's population was 1,232 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Danville, Virginia metropolitan area. The town was originally ...

, and was raised in nearby

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The city is located in the Southside (Virginia), Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River ( ...

. He dropped out of high school and turned pro at 15. He won the Virginia State Golf Association Open, the Virginia State PGA Open and the

Carolinas PGA Championship The Carolinas PGA Championship is a golf tournament that is the section championship of the Carolinas section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1923 at a variety of courses around both states. Winners *2024 Preston Cole *20 ...

before joining the PGA Tour. Mitchell won two PGA Tour events during his career: the 1971 Cleveland Open and the 1972

Tournament of Champions A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. He had more than two dozen top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events including more than a half-dozen 2nd or 3rd-place finishes. His best finish in a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

was T2 at the

1972 Masters Tournament The 1972 Masters Tournament was the 36th Masters Tournament, held April 6–9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Jack Nicklaus opened with a 68 and led wire-to-wire to win the fourth of his six Masters titles, three strokes ahead ...

. Since 1991, Mitchell has traveled to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in the summer to teach golf to young people in association with

Averett University Averett University is a private Baptist university in Danville, Virginia. Founded in 1859 as a women's college, Averett became a 4-year, coeducational institution in 1969. In 2011, the university restored its Baptist affiliation, renewing a relat ...

. Mitchell joined the Champions Tour in 1995; his best finish in a Champions Tour event is a T-12 at

The Transamerica The Napa Valley Championship was a golf tournament on the Champions Tour from 1989 to 2002. It was played in Napa, California at the Silverado Country Club. The purse for the 2002 tournament was US$1,300,000, with $195,000 going to the winner. The ...

in 1995. Mitchell died on March 20, 2018, from a presumed heart attack at Lynchburg General Hospital.

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (2)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

Other wins (2)

*1965 Virginia Open, Virginia PGA Open *1967

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Bobby American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Virginia People from Chatham, Virginia Sportspeople from Danville, Virginia 1943 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen