John O. Barnum (October 6, 1911 – October 30, 1996) was 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 ...

in the 1950s and 1960s.

Professional career

Barnum is notable for his victory at the

Cajun Classic Open Invitational The Cajun Classic Open Invitational was a golf tournament in Louisiana on the PGA Tour in the late 1950s and 1960s, played at the Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette, usually in late November. It debuted as the Lafayette Open Invitational in 195 ...

. He was the second golfer, after Jim Barnes, to win a PGA Tour event after turning 50, and the only player to win his first PGA Tour event past the age of 50. His best finish in a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

was T-16 at the 1958

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 ...

. Barnum won five Michigan PGA Senior titles and was runner-up three times in the PGA Seniors' Championship (1963, 1964, 1966).

Awards and honors

* In 1972, Barnum was inducted into the

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

Sports Hall of Fame. * In 1984, Barnum elected to the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.

Amateur wins (2)

*1939 Mexican Amateur *1940 Mexican Amateur

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (1)

Other wins (8)

*1950 Michigan Open *1957 Michigan PGA Championship *1958 Michigan Open, Michigan PGA Championship *1960 Michigan Open *1961 Michigan Open, Michigan PGA Championship *1963 Jamaica Open

Senior wins (1)

*Five Michigan PGA Senior Championships

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnum, John American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Michigan Sportspeople from Grand Rapids, Michigan 1911 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen