Grier Jones (born May 6, 1946) is a former college head

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 ...

coach and former

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 ...

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 years

Jones was born, raised and has been a lifelong resident of

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. He attended Wichita's Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School where he played both football and golf. He won the 1963 and 1964 Kansas State High School golf championships. An All-American at

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, Jones won the Big Eight Championship in 1967 and 1968 before taking the individual medalist honors at the 1968

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

. He also won the 1966 Kansas State Amateur Championship held in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

while a student at Oklahoma State.

Professional playing career

Jones spent 14 years on the PGA Tour, beginning in 1969, when he earned PGA Rookie of the Year honors. His career year was 1972 when he won two PGA Tour events and finished fourth on the final money list. He won his third and final PGA Tour event in 1977. Jones ended his career with 54 top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events. His best finish in a major championship was a T-16 at the 1978

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 ...

Post-playing career

After his full-time tour playing days ended, Jones took a club teaching job at Willowbend Golf Club in Wichita, while continuing to play part-time on the Nationwide (then called the NIKE Tour) and PGA Tours. Later he became the head pro at Terradyne Country Club in Wichita. In 1995, he was named men's head golf coach at

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

, where he remained until his retirement in 2019. He was named

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

Coach of the Year in 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2006.

Amateur wins

*1966 Kansas State Amateur *1967 Big Eight Championship *1968 Big Eight Championship,

NCAA Championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (3)

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

Other wins (1)

*1968

Oklahoma Open The Oklahoma Open is the Oklahoma state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Oklahoma Golf Association. It has been played every year since 1910 at a variety of courses around the state. It wa ...

Results in major championships

''Note: Jones 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 ...

.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

External links

*
Terradyne Country Club official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Grier American male golfers Oklahoma State Cowboys golfers PGA Tour golfers College golf coaches in the United States Golfers from Wichita, Kansas Wichita State University people 1946 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen