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 ...

Early life

Harbert was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, and served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Air Forces #REDIRECT Air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Professional career

Harbert won seven times 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 ...

, including one major championship, the 1954 PGA Championship, 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 country i ...

(falling to

Jim Ferrier James Bennett Elliott Ferrier (24 February 1915 – 13 June 1986) was an Australian professional golfer. After compiling a fine record as an amateur golfer in Australia during the 1930s, he moved to the United States in 1940, turned professiona ...

) and

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

(to Jim Turnesa). Harbert was one of the great PGA Championship match play competitors, compiling a 24–10 () record between

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

, his first appearance, and

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

, 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 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

, Harbert played on the

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 ...

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

Ganton Golf Club Ganton Golf Club is a golf club in Ganton, North Yorkshire, England. It has an 18-hole golf course that has hosted many major tournaments, including the 1949 Ryder Cup. Ganton has been widely rated as one of the best golf courses in England a ...

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 Yijian ...

, 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 () 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 world championship that a ...

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 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 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 was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. From 2014 to 2019, it was played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the ...

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 life Toski was born in Haydenville, Massachusetts. ...

Personal life

He died of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

at age 77 at his home in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

Amateur wins

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

Professional wins (19)

PGA Tour wins (7)

*1941 (1) Beaumont Open-Texas *1942 (2) Texas Open, St. Paul Open *1948 (2) Jacksonville Open, Charlotte Open *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 co ...

(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. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins (12)

''this list is probably incomplete'' *1937 Michigan Open (as an amateur) *1942 Michigan Open *1946 Michigan PGA Championship *1947 Michigan PGA Championship *1948 Michigan Open *1949 Michigan PGA Championship *1950 Michigan PGA Championship *1953 Michigan Open, Michigan PGA Championship *1954

(with Ed Furgol) *1957 Puerto Rico Open *1959 Michigan PGA Championship

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 th ...

.''
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

{{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 20th-century American sportsmen