Richard Horace Sikes (March 6, 1940 – November 2, 2023) 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 1960s and 1970s. A native of Paris, Arkansas, Sikes had a stellar amateur and college career as a member of the

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

team at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

. He won the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 1961 and 1962. In 1963, he won the NCAA Championship, was runner-up at the

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

, and played on the victorious

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...

team. Sikes' victory at the NCAA Championship was the only Razorbacks national championship recognized by the NCAA until

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington ...

's track and field teams of the mid-1980s to mid-1990s started winning them, and

Nolan Richardson Nolan Richardson Jr. (born December 27, 1941) is an American former basketball head coach best known for his tenure at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas, where he won the 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tourn ...

's basketball program won the 1994 men's basketball crown. Sikes was victorious at the 1964 Sahara Invitational during his rookie season on the PGA Tour, and earned ''

Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. The magazine started by John F. ...

's'' Rookie of the Year Award. He played briefly on the Senior PGA Tour from 1990 to 1992 with his best finish a T36 at Raley's Senior Gold Rush in 1992. In 2002, Sikes was inducted into the Arkansas Golf Hall of Fame. Sikes died on November 2, 2023, at the age of 83. His obituary stated he was a resident of Springdale, but did not specify he died there.

Amateur wins

*1961 U.S. Amateur Public Links *1962 U.S. Amateur Public Links *1963 NCAA Championship (individual)

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (2)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other wins (2)

*1962 Arizona Open (as an amateur) *1981 Southern California PGA Championship

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

(winners) *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

(winners) * Americas Cup: 1963 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sikes, R. H. American male golfers Arkansas Razorbacks men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Arkansas People from Paris, Arkansas 1940 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen