Melvin R. "Chick" Harbert (February 20, 1915 – September 1, 1992) 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 ...

. Harbert won seven times on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

, including one major championship, the

1954 PGA Championship The 1954 PGA Championship was the 36th PGA Championship, held July 21–27 at Keller Golf Club in Maplewood, Minnesota, a suburb north of St. Paul. Chick Harbert won the match play championship, 4 & 3 over defending champion Walter Burkemo in t ...

, then a

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

event. A three-time finalist, he was also that event's runner-up twice, in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January– February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the count ...

(falling to

Jim Ferrier James Bennett Elliott Ferrier (24 February 1915 – 13 June 1986) was an Australian professional golfer from Manly, New South Wales. After compiling a fine record as an amateur golfer in Australia during the 1930s, he moved to the United States ...

) and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh ...

(to

Jim Turnesa James R. Turnesa (December 9, 1912 – August 27, 1971) was an American professional golfer and winner of the 1952 PGA Championship, beating Chick Harbert 1-up in the match-play final. He was one of seven famous golfing brothers; Phil (1896–19 ...

). Harbert was one of the great PGA Championship match play competitors, compiling a 24–10 () record between 1946, his first appearance, and

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

, the final year of the match play format. In

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – ...

, Harbert played on the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

team, winning his singles match against Sam King, 4 and 3, at

Ganton Golf Club Ganton Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course in Ganton, North Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1891, the course was initially designed by Tom Chisholm and Robert Bird, but modifications to the course have been made since by a number of people inclu ...

in Scarborough, England. He was playing-captain of the U.S. team in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yiji ...

, with a singles victory against Syd Scott (3 and 2) to his credit. In 1955, he represented the United States at the

Canada Cup The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true worl ...

team competition at Columbia Country Club outside Washington, D.C. He teamed with Ed Furgol, with the duo outdueling Australia's team of Peter Thomson and

Kel Nagle Kelvin David George Nagle AM (21 December 1920 – 29 January 2015) was an Australian professional golfer best known for winning The Open Championship in 1960. He won at least one tournament each year from 1949 to 1975. Biography Nagle was bor ...

by nine strokes. He finished fourth in the individual competition, two strokes out of the Furgol, Thomson and Flory Van Donck playoff that Furgol won. After turning 50, he made two official

Senior PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many year ...

appearances. He tied for 43rd at the 1981 Michelob Senior Classic and then tied for 40th in the same tournament the following year. In addition, he played in nine

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar is a golf tournament in Missouri on the PGA Tour Champions. Since 2014, it has been played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the 18 ...

team events, with his top showing a fifth-place performance in the inaugural event in 1978, when he teamed with

Bob Toski Robert John Toski, born Algustoski (born September 18, 1926), is an American professional golfer and golf instructor. He was inducted into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2013. Early years He was born in Haydenville, Massachusetts of ...

. Harbert was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater ...

, and served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He died of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

at age 77 at his home in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home t ...

Amateur wins

''this list may be incomplete'' *1939 Trans-Mississippi Amateur

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (7)

*1941 (1) Beaumont Open-Texas *1942 (2)

Texas Open The Texas Open, known as the Valero Texas Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played near San Antonio, Texas. It dates back years to 1922, when it was first called the Texas Open; San Antonio-based Va ...

, St. Paul Open *1948 (2) Jacksonville Open,

Charlotte Open The Charlotte Open was a golf tournament played at Myers Park Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina from 1944 to 1948. Winners References {{Former PGA Tour Events Former PGA Tour events Golf in North Carolina ...

*1949 (1)

Inverness Invitational Four-Ball The Inverness Invitational Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1935 to 1953. It was played at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Format The tournament featured an unusual team round robin format. From 1935 to 1951, the field consi ...

(with Bob Hamilton) *1954 (1)

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins

''this list is probably incomplete'' *1937 Michigan Open (as an amateur) *1942 Michigan Open *1946

Michigan PGA Championship The Michigan PGA Championship is a golf tournament that is the section championship of the Michigan section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1922 at a variety of courses around the state. The 2018 event was noticeable for a ...

*1947

*1948 Michigan Open *1949

*1950

*1953 Michigan Open,

*1957

Puerto Rico Open The Puerto Rico Open is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was first played in 2008. It is the only PGA Tour event ever held in Puerto Rico. The tournament is played at the Coco Beach Golf Course (previously Trump International ...

*1959

Major championships

Wins (1)

''Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958''

Results timeline

''Note: Harbert never played in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

.''
LA = low amateur
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1958 PGA Championship)
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1951 PGA – 1956 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1942 Masters – 1946 U.S. Open)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional *

(winners),

(winners, playing captain) *

(winners) * Hopkins Trophy: 1955 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harbert, Chick American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of men's major golf championships Golfers from Ohio United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Dayton, Ohio Sportspeople from Ocala, Florida 1915 births 1992 deaths