Greg Powers (born March 17, 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 ...

Amateur career

Powers was born and raised in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

. He had a "brilliant amateur career" while growing up in Albany. Powers attended

Memphis State University The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

and played on the golf team from 1967 to 1970. In his sophomore year, Powers led the team to an 8–0 record with victories in the Sunkist Tournament, Buckhalter Tournament, and the LSU Invitational Tournament.

Professional career

Powers turned professional in 1970. He settled in Tennessee and won several local professional tournaments in the state during the 1970s. However it took him several years to reach 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 ...

. In 1976, he achieved tour status for the second time but found little success, missing the cut in nearly half the events and earning only $4,000 for the entire season. In 1978, he reached the tour for the third time. He had a chance to win an event early in the season at the

Doral-Ryder Open The Doral Open was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in the southeastern United States. It was played annually for 45 seasons, from 1962 to 2006, on the "Blue Monster" course at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Doral, Florida, a subu ...

. He played in the final group with

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

and

Tom Weiskopf Thomas Daniel Weiskopf (November 9, 1942 – August 20, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His most successful decade was the 1970s. He won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, incl ...

for the 36-hole Sunday finale, two off the lead. On the first hole, Powers hit three shots into the water which led to a quintuple bogey 10. He would not be in contention again, ultimately recording a third round 80 (+8). Despite this disappointing finish, Powers went on to his best season up to that point, recording his first top-10 finishes and keeping his card for the first time. Powers' next good chance to win was at the 1981

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...

. He tied the 36-hole record at 136 (−8). Like his experience at Doral, however, he had a disappointing third round, shooting a 75 (+3) to fall out of the lead. He shot a solid 70 in the final round, however, birdieing 5 of his final 7 holes, to finish in a tie for second place. This was the best official finish of his career. In 1981, he recorded an additional five top-10 finishes and finish 53rd on the money list. It would easily be his best year on tour. In 1983, Powers played excellently at two satellite tournaments. He finished runner-up at the 1983 Tallahassee Open. Powers was well inside of Bob Charles, his competitor, on the first playoff hole but Charles made a 45-foot birdie and Powers missed his 20-foot putt. The following month he was −9 after the first 13 holes of the Chattanooga Classic, another satellite event, threatening to shoot in the 50s for the first time in his career. He ultimately shot a 64 (−7) to tie for the first round lead. Powers maintained full-time status for the next two seasons but had few highlights, only recording a handful of top-25 finishes and missing the majority of cuts. He would not play full-time on the PGA Tour after the 1988 season. He played on the

Ben Hogan 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. T ...

, the PGA Tour's developmental tour, in the early 1990s. On October 5, 1992, Powers was severely injured in a car crash. Returning from a Boys and Girls Club benefit in Nashville, Powers "topped a hill" and had to abruptly stop at an intersection. He hit the brakes too late and his car crossed the intersection and went down an embankment. Rescue workers had to use the "jaws of life" to save him. His thigh bone was ripped out of his hip socket, essentially ending his career. Powers did not have medical insurance for these huge costs, which were nearly $100,000. The following March, during the

Nestle Invitational The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played each March at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, a private golf resort owned since 1974 by Arnold Palmer in Bay Hill, Florida, Bay Hill, a suburb southwest of ...

, his fellow professionals participated in a benefit tournament to help him. He also received a letter from

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory, hi ...

, who himself was severely injured in an auto accident in the middle of his career. Hogan wrote, "I know from personal experience that recovery from an automobile accident is certainly possible. So you keep battling and you will soon overcome this bad interlude in your life." Powers read the letter "a hundred times" as inspiration through rehab. Later in life, Powers worked for PGA Tour radio.

Professional wins

*1974 Tennessee PGA Championship *1975 Tennessee Open, Nashville Pro-Am *1977 Tennessee PGA Championship

Results in major championships

Sources:
''Note: Powers never played in 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 ...

.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

References

External links