} Richard Lotz (born October 15, 1942) is 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 has 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

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 ...

. Lotz was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. Along with his older brother John, he developed his game under the tutelage of noted black golf instructor Lucius Bateman whose other students included PGA Tour winners

Don Whitt Donald Everett Whitt (November 15, 1930 – September 25, 2013) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Whitt was a student of accomplished black golf instructor Lucius Bateman, teacher ...

, John McMullin, and

Tony Lema Anthony David Lema (February 25, 1934 – July 24, 1966) was an American professional golfer who rose to fame in the mid-1960s and won a major title, the 1964 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. He died two years later ...

. Lotz attended

San Mateo Junior College College of San Mateo (CSM) is a Public college, public community college in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo County Community College District. College of San Mateo is located at the northern corridor of Silicon Valley and situ ...

(1962–1963) and was a member of the

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

team. He was the individual medalist at the California Community College Championship. He shot a record-breaking 59 in the final round of the 1963 Santa Clara County Golf Championship, which still stands. As an amateur, Lotz captured the 1960 and 1963 Alameda Commuters golf tournament, 1961 and 1962 California State Fair events, the 1962 and 1963 Stanford Invitationals, 1963 Oakland City, 1963 Santa Clara County championship, 1963 Far Western Junior Intercollegiate championship, and most notably, the 1962

California State Amateur The California Amateur Championship or California Amateur is a golf championship held in California for the state's top amateur golfers. The tournament is run by the California Golf Association. The first event was held in 1912 at the Del Monte Gol ...

. In 1963, his final year as an amateur, Lotz came within one stroke of becoming the first amateur since

Gene Littler Gene Alec Littler (July 21, 1930 – February 15, 2019) was an American professional golfer and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Known for a solid temperament and nicknamed "Gene the Machine" for his smooth, rhythmical swing, he once sai ...

in 1954 and

Doug Sanders George Douglas Sanders (July 24, 1933 – April 12, 2020) was an American professional golfer who won 20 events on the PGA Tour and had four runner-up finishes at major championships. Early years He was born into a poor family in Cedartown, G ...

in 1956, to win on the PGA Tour. He was victorious as an amateur that year in a Sectional Stroke Play tournament. Before declaring their intention to turn professional, both Lotz brothers were ranked among the nation's Top Ten Amateurs in 1963 by ''

Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. The magazine started by John F. ...

'' magazine. He and his brother both turned professional in 1963. Lotz played on the PGA Tour from 1964–1978. Among his victories were three official events, the 1969 Alameda Open, the 1970 Kemper Open and the 1970 Monsanto Open. Among the unofficial professional tournaments Lotz captured were the Chales Schultz Pro-Am Invitational, the 1972 Plantation Classic in North Carolina, the 1985 Northern California PGA Match and Medal championship, and the 1985 Blackhawk Invitational. Lotz's career year was 1970 when he won twice, finished second at the San Antonio Open Invitational, and earned five other top ten finishes to rank 7th on the year's official money list. That performance earned Lotz ''Golf Digests ''Most Improved Golfer'' award, along with selection by its editorial panel of experts of those most likely to capture 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 ...

in 1971. In similar fashion, ''

Golf Magazine ''Golf Magazine'' is a monthly golf magazine. One of the first "special interest" magazines of its kind, it was started in April 1959 by Arnold Abramson and Robert Abramson, the owners of Universal Publishing and Distributing Corporation, who sol ...

'' named Lotz to its PGA All-American Team. His best performance in a major also came in 1970 – a T-8 at 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. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

. After reaching the age of 50 in 1992, Lotz joined the

(now known as 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 ...

). His best finish in this venue was a T-4 at the 1994 Bank of Boston Senior Classic. Lotz lived in

Pleasanton, California Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is an upscale suburb in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 cens ...

for much of his adult life, but now lives in

El Dorado Hills, California El Dorado Hills (''El Dorado'', Spanish for "The Golden") is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in El Dorado County, California. Located in the Greater Sacramento region of Northern California, it had a population of 50,547 at ...

Amateur wins

*1960 Alameda Commuters Championship *1961 California State Fair Men's Amateur Championships *1962 California State Fair Men's Amateur Championships, Stanford Invitational Golf Championship,

*1963 Alameda Commuters Championship, Stanford Invitational Golf Championship, Oakland City, Santa Clara County Championship, Far Western Junior Intercollegiate Championship

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour wins (3)

Other wins (2)

*1966

Northern California Open The Northern California Open is a golf tournament played in the Northern California, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is run by the Northern California section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1920 at a va ...

*1985 Northern California PGA Championship

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lotz, Dick American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from California Sportspeople from Oakland, California Sportspeople from Pleasanton, California Sportspeople from El Dorado Hills, California 1942 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen