Eugene Claude Harmon Sr. (July 14, 1916 – July 23, 1989) was an American professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

er and golf instructor. Born in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, Harmon spent much of his boyhood in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

, in the

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...

area. A youthful prodigy, he qualified for the U.S. Amateur at age 15 in 1931. Harmon was a club professional when he won the 1948 Masters Tournament by five shots to earn $2,500. He was a semi-finalist three times in the

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 ...

( 1945,

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, and 1953), competing as a club pro against full-time tour players. Claude Harmon also finished in third place at the 1959 U.S. Open, which was held at his home course at Winged Foot. From 1945 to 1978, Harmon was the head professional at Winged Foot Golf Club in

Mamaroneck, New York Mamaroneck ( ) is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 31,758 at the 2020 United States census over 29,156 at the 2010 census. There are two villages contained within the town: Larchmont and the Village of ...

, and also served as the winter professional for many years at the

Seminole Golf Club Seminole Golf Club is a private golf club in the southeastern United States, located in North Palm Beach, Florida. Designed by Donald Ross in 1929, it is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 courses in the nation. History Investment banker ...

in Juno Beach, Florida. In 1959, he was hired as the head professional at Thunderbird Country Club in

Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and located ...

, where he served for over a decade, and finally took a club job in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in the

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

area. In 1959, Harmon played in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot and placed third. He was one of the few close friends of legendary star Ben Hogan, and the two played together frequently and worked together on their games.

Death

Harmon died of heart failure following surgery in

at the age 73, and is interred at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California. He is a member of the World Golf Teachers' Hall of Fame and the PGA of America Hall of Fame.

Personal

Harmon's sons Claude, Jr. (Butch), Craig, and Bill all occupy spots in ''

Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit under its Warner Bros. Discovery Golf division. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's compet ...

''s "top 50 teachers" list. His third eldest son

Dick Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

(1947–2006) was also a top golf instructor, as is grandson Claude Harmon III.

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (2)

* 1948

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

* 1950 Miami International Four-Ball (with Pete Cooper) Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins (13)

''this list may be incomplete'' * 1946 Westchester Open,

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. It ...

* 1947 Westchester Open * 1948 Westchester PGA Championship * 1949 Westchester PGA Championship, Havana Invitational * 1950 Westchester Open * 1951 Westchester Open,

, Metropolitan Open * 1953 Westchester Open * 1958 Westchester PGA Championship * 1960 Westchester Open

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
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 (1948 Open Championship – 1953 Masters) * Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

References

* "Claude Harmon", ''Almanac of Famous People'', 8th ed. Gale Group, 2003.

External links

*
PGA of America Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Claude American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Golfers from Savannah, Georgia Golfers from Florida Golfers from New York (state) Golfers from California Golfers from Texas Burials at Desert Memorial Park Sportspeople from New Rochelle, New York 1916 births 1989 deaths