Robert Jay Sigel (born November 13, 1943) is an American professional golfer. He enjoyed one of the more illustrious careers in the history of U.S. amateur

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 ...

, before turning pro in 1993 at age 50, when he became a member of the Senior PGA Tour, now known as the PGA Tour Champions.

Early years

Born and raised in

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township and Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. I ...

, Sigel grew up playing golf at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. He attended

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

at Lower Merion High School in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. From there he moved on to

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private university, private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Wake Forest, north of Rale ...

where he was a member of the golf team. He graduated with a degree in sociology in 1967.

Amateur career

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Sigel was one of America's premier amateur golfers. He compiled victories in the U.S. Amateur, British Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur, competed on nine Walker Cup teams, and won numerous other amateur titles. In 1975 he was ranked the #8 amateur in the USA by '' Golf Digest'' and the following year advanced to #4. In 1983, he became the only golfer ever to win the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur in the same year, which made him only the third golfer to win two USGA individual titles in the same year. He was also runner-up in the Canadian Amateur Championship that year. Although he remained an amateur he did occasionally compete in professional events on the PGA Tour. His best finish was tied 18th at the 1979 IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic. He was the low amateur in the 1980 Open Championship, the 1984 U.S. Open, and the Masters Tournament in 1980,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

, and 1988.

Business career and personal life

Sigel was considering a professional golf career while in college, but injured his arm in an accident. He decided on a career in

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

, while competing in high-level amateur golf. Sigel developed his own successful insurance business in the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

area for over 30 years. He recently sold the business to Century Business Services, where he remains a Senior Vice President. He is a Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant and a qualifying life member of the Million Dollar Round Table. He also sits on the Corporate Advisory Board for the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more tha ...

, and is the president of the Greater Philadelphia Scholastic Golf Association and the First Tee of Philadelphia chapter. He hosts the Annual Jay Sigel Invitational Golf Tournament at his home course, Aronimink Golf Club. The proceeds from this tournament benefit prostate

cancer research Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate a ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

. He has three daughters and currently resides in Berwyn, Pennsylvania with wife Betty.

Professional career

Sigel turned professional when he reached the age of 50. He joined the Senior PGA Tour in 1994 and won Rookie of the Year honors, when he earned 14 top-10 finishes and secured his first victory at the GTE West Classic. For the next five seasons, he finished in the top-31 on the Senior Tour money list. He won eight events; the last was the 2003 Bayer Advantage Celebrity Pro-Am. In the 2004 Champions Tour season, Sigel finished in the money in all 28 tournaments that he entered and had six top-10 finishes. During the 2005 campaign his best finish was 5th at the Turtle Bay Championship. He has career earnings of over $9 million. Since joining the Champions Tour in 1994, Sigel has been sponsored by Global Management Consulting and technology services company Accenture.

Amateur wins

''this list may be incomplete'' *1961 International Jaycee Junior Golf Tournament *1962 Pennsylvania Amateur *1966 Pennsylvania Amateur *1968 Pennsylvania Amateur *1972 Pennsylvania Amateur *1973 Philadelphia Amateur, Pennsylvania Amateur *1974 Pennsylvania Amateur *1975 Pennsylvania Amateur, Porter Cup *1976 Pennsylvania Amateur, Sunnehanna Amateur *1978 Pennsylvania Amateur, Sunnehanna Amateur *1979 Pennsylvania Amateur, British Amateur *1981 Pennsylvania Amateur, Porter Cup *1982 U.S. Amateur *1983 U.S. Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur *1984 Northeast Amateur *1985 Northeast Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur *1987 Porter Cup, U.S. Mid-Amateur, Philadelphia Amateur *1988 Sunnehanna Amateur *1991 Northeast Amateur

Professional wins

Other wins (10)

''this list may be incomplete'' *1974 Pennsylvania Open Championship *1975 Philadelphia Open Championship *1977 Philadelphia Open Championship *1978 Philadelphia Open Championship, Pennsylvania Open Championship *1980 Philadelphia Open Championship *1983 Pennsylvania Open Championship *1986 Philadelphia Open Championship *1987 Philadelphia Open Championship *1990 Pennsylvania Open Championship ''all as an amateur''

Champions Tour wins (8)

Champions Tour playoff record (2–2)

Other senior wins

*1997

Diners Club Matches The Hyundai Team Matches were a series of 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 n ...

(with Gil Morgan) *2006 Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions Championship (unofficial Champions Tour event)

Results in major championships

''Note: Sigel never played in the PGA Championship'' LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur * Walker Cup: 1977 (winners), 1979 (winners),

(winners), 1983 (winners, playing captain), 1985 (winners, playing captain), 1987 (winners), 1989, 1991 (winners), 1993 (winners) * Eisenhower Trophy: 1978 (winners), 1980 (winners),

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

(winners), 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992

References

External links

*
Sponsor biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigel, Jay American male golfers Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Pennsylvania Lower Merion High School alumni People from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 1943 births Living people