Frank Conner (born January 11, 1946) 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 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 ...

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...

, and

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 ...

. He was also an accomplished amateur tennis player. He,

Ellsworth Vines Henry Ellsworth Vines Jr. (September 28, 1911 – March 17, 1994) was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 in 1932 as an amateur, and in 1934, 1935, 1936 and 1937 as a professional. He won three Grand ...

and G. H. "Pete" Bostwick Jr. are the only men to play in the U.S. Open in both

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and

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 ...

.Trinity University Hall of Fame profile
/ref>
/ref>

Early life and amateur career

Conner was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, where his father was stationed with 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 ...

. He competed in the U.S. Open in tennis in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

. He attended Trinity University in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, graduating in 1970 with a degree in

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

. While at Trinity he was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in tennis in 1968.

Professional career

Conner gave up playing tennis and turned to golf, turning professional in 1971. He failed four times at

qualifying school In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

before finally getting his tour card at 1974 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He played on the

from 1975 to 1989 and again in 1992. He finished second four times: in 1979 to

Hubert Green Hubert Myatt Green (December 28, 1946 – June 19, 2018) was an American professional golfer. Green won 19 PGA Tour events including two major championships: the 1977 U.S. Open and the 1985 PGA Championship. He was inducted into the World Go ...

at the First NBC New Orleans Open, in 1981 to Dave Barr in a five-man playoff at the Quad Cities Open, in 1982 to Tom Watson in a playoff at the

Sea Pines Heritage The RBC Heritage, known for much of its history as the Heritage Classic or simply The Heritage, is a PGA Tour event in South Carolina, first played in 1969. It is currently played in mid-April, the week after The Masters in Augusta, Georgia. T ...

, and in 1984 to

George Archer George William Archer (October 1, 1939 – September 25, 2005) was an American professional golfer who won 13 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the Masters in 1969. Early life Archer was born in San Francisco, Cali ...

at the Bank of Boston Classic. He won the 1988

Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic The Sanderson Farms Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played annually in Mississippi. It moved to the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson in autumn 2014, early in the 2015 season. The tournament has been part of the P ...

which was played opposite the

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

- it was an official money event but not an official win on the PGA Tour. His best finish in a major championship was a T-6 at the 1981 U.S. Open. Conner played on the PGA Tour's developmental tour from 1990–91 and 1993-95. He won twice in 1991 at the Ben Hogan Knoxville Open and the

Ben Hogan Tulsa Open The Tulsa Open was a golf tournament on the Ben Hogan Tour. It ran from 1991 to 1992. It was played at The Golf Club of Oklahoma in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Broken Arrow is a city in Tulsa and Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It ...

and finished fifth on the money list to regain his PGA Tour card. After turning 50 in 1996, Conner played on 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 ...

from 1996 to 2002. His best finishes on this tour were a pair of second places: at the 1997

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 ...

and the 1998

Kroger Senior Classic The Kroger Classic was a golf tournament on the Champions Tour from 1990 to 2004. It was played in Mason, Ohio at the Golf Center at Kings Island (1990–2001) and Maineville, Ohio at the TPC at River's Bend (2002–2004). The purse for the 2004 ...

in a five-man playoff.

Awards and honors

In 2001, Conner was elected to Trinity University Hall of FameTrinity University's Hall of Fame
/ref>

Professional wins (7)

Ben Hogan Tour wins (2)

Ben Hogan Tour playoff record (1–0)

Other wins (5)

*1978

Southern Texas PGA Championship The Southern Texas PGA Championship is a golf tournament that is the championship of the Southern Texas section of the PGA of America. The Southern Texas section was formed in 1968, and the tournament has been played annually since that time. Tommy ...

*1982 King Hassan Open,

*1983

Texas State Open The Texas State Open is the Texas state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Northern Texas section of the PGA of America. It was first played in 1960 and has been played annually since 1975 at ...

*1988

(unofficial PGA Tour win)

Playoff record

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2) Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conner, Frank American male golfers American male tennis players PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from San Antonio Golfers from Las Vegas Tennis players from Vienna Golfers from Vienna Tennis players from Texas Trinity Tigers athletes Trinity Tigers men's tennis players American expatriate sportspeople in Austria 1946 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen