Ky Laffoon (December 23, 1908 – March 17, 1984) 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 ...

. (Birthdate also stated as December 24, 1907.) He won 10 times 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 ...

, with four of the victories coming in 1934. He played on the 1935

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

team. In 1939, his wife Irene threatened to leave him if he could not control his temper on golf course. Next tournament after two rounds he came to 15th hole and his ball was buried in honeysuckle. After missing three shots, he starting shouting cuss words that all the spectators could hear. His wife was one of the spectators and headed for the clubhouse after the outburst. Ky ran after her and pleaded that he wasn't cussing at his golf game, he just hates honeysuckle. He was born in Zinc, Arkansas and died in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

PGA Tour wins (10)

*1933 (1) Nebraska Open *1934 (4) Atlanta Open,

Hershey Open The Hershey Open was a golf tournament in Pennsylvania on the PGA Tour from 1933 to 1941. It was played at the Hershey Country Club in Hershey on what is now called the West Course. It was played as a 72-hole stroke play event every year excep ...

, Glens Falls Open, Eastern Open Championship *1935 (1)

Phoenix Open The Phoenix Open (branded as the WM Phoenix Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held in early February at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. The tournament was originally the Ariz ...

*1936 (1)

Inverness Invitational Four-Ball The Inverness Invitational Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1935 to 1953. It was played at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Format The tournament featured an unusual team round robin format. From 1935 to 1951, the field co ...

(with

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional Men's major golf championships, majors is third behin ...

) *1938 (2) Cleveland Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Dick Metz) *1946 (1) Montgomery Invitational

Other wins

''this list is probably incomplete'' *1933 Utah Open *1950 Illinois PGA Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Laffoon 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 ...

.''
NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1933 U.S. Open – 1938 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1935 PGA – 1936 U.S. Open)

In popular culture

The song by

Honky Tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

artist Dan Whitaker and written by Pete Covitz entitled "Ky Laffoon's Last Stand" documents his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laffoon, Ky American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Arkansas People from Boone County, Arkansas 1908 births 1984 deaths