James Christian Albus (born June 18, 1940) 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 ...
.
Early life and amateur career
Albus was born in
Staten Island, New York
Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
. He attended
New Dorp High School, and went on to
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...
, where he was a successful baseball player. It was while he was at college that he took up golf, which was unusually late for a future pro. He transferred to
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
and graduated in 1965.
Professional career
In 1968, he became a golf professional and worked as a club professional at courses that included
La Tourette Golf Course and
Piping Rock Club. He won a number of local and regional tournaments while he was a club professional and played in five
U.S. Opens and seven
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 ...
s. He was Met PGA Player of the Year in 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1988. Albus' greatest success came after he turned 50 and began playing on the Senior PGA Tour, now known as the
PGA Tour Champions
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 ...
, where he has won six tournaments, including a
senior major, the 1991
Senior Players Championship
The Senior Players Championship, stylised by the PGA Tour as The SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, is one of the five major championships on golf's PGA Tour Champions. The inaugural event was played in 1983 and the age minimum is 50, the standard f ...
.
Albus has been inducted into the
Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame as well as the PGA Metropolitan Section Hall of Fame. He played his last event associated with the PGA Tour organization in 2009.
Professional wins (19)
Regular career wins (11)
*1970
Metropolitan Open
*1975
Long Island PGA Championship
*1976 Long Island PGA Championship
*1978
New York State Open
*1981
Metropolitan PGA Championship, Long Island PGA Championship
*1982 Metropolitan PGA Championship
*1984 Metropolitan Open
*1986 Long Island PGA Championship
*1987
Long Island Open
*1988 Long Island Open
Senior PGA Tour wins (6)
Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–3)
Other senior wins (2)
*2001 Georgia-Pacific Super Seniors Match-Play Championship,
Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. From 2014 to 2019, it was played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the ...
- Legendary Division (with
Simon Hobday)
Results in major championships
Timeline
''Note: Albus 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 ...
nor
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 36 hole cut
"T" = tied
Results in senior major championships
Wins (1)
Timeline
''Results may not be in chronological order.''
''Note: The
Senior British Open Championship did not become a major until 2003.
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
U.S. national team appearances
*
PGA Cup: 1977 (tie), 1981 (tie), 1982 (winners)
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albus, Jim
American male golfers
PGA Tour Champions golfers
Winners of senior major golf championships
Golfers from New York (state)
Bucknell University alumni
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Sportspeople from Staten Island
Sportspeople from Sarasota, Florida
1940 births
Living people
20th-century American sportsmen