Michael Fetchick (October 13, 1922 – March 8, 2012) 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 in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

and the

Senior PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many year ...

. Fetchick was born in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York (state), New York, after New York City and Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. The popul ...

. He turned pro in 1950 and joined the PGA Tour in 1952. He won the 1956

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the y ...

at The Presidio in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in an 18-hole playoff over

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Progressive Cons ...

Jay Hebert Junius Joseph "Jay" Hebert (February 14, 1923 – May 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer. He won seven times on the PGA Tour including the 1960 PGA Championship. His younger brother, Lionel Hebert, also won the PGA Championship, in 19 ...

and

Don January Donald Ray January (born November 20, 1929) is an American retired professional golfer, best known for winning the 1967 PGA Championship. Early life Born in Plainview, Texas, January graduated from Sunset High School in Dallas. He was a membe ...

. In the 1950s, the Western Open was considered by some to be one of major championships in men's professional golf along with

The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...

, U.S. Open and the

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. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

. It's generally conceded by golf historians that Fetchick's victory over the sports top stars resulted in a demotion for the Western Open below the other majors. His best finish in an event considered to be one of four modern major championships was T13 at the 1957 U.S. Open. Prior to

Scott Hoch Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...

winning in 2019 at the age of 63 years and 5 months, Fetchick held the Champions Tour record for the oldest winner (1985 Hilton Head Seniors International on his 63rd birthday), and the longest time between his last PGA Tour victory and his first Champions Tour victory: 28 years, 9 months and 27 days. Fetchick also finished T-2 (playoff loss) at the 1990 NYNEX Commemorative at age 67. Fetchick died in 2012.

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (3)

Other wins (4)

*1955 Imperial Valley Open *1963

Long Island PGA Championship The Long Island PGA Championship is a professional golf tournament played on Long Island, New York. It is sponsored by the Metropolitan section of the PGA of America. The current title of the event is the MasterCard Long Island PGA Championship. ...

*1964

*1982

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other senior wins (2)

*1990

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar is a golf tournament in Missouri on the PGA Tour Champions. Since 2014, it has been played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the 18 ...

- Legendary Division (with

Bob Toski Robert John Toski, born Algustoski (born September 18, 1926), is an American professional golfer and golf instructor. He was inducted into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2013. Early years He was born in Haydenville, Massachusetts of ...

) *1992

- Legendary Division (with

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fetchick, Mike American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from New York (state) Sportspeople from Yonkers, New York 1922 births 2012 deaths