Rafael Alarcón (born 5 August 1958) is a Mexican

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 ...

Early life

Alarcón was born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, playing golf from young age at Guadalajara Country Club, one of the oldest golf clubs in Mexico.

Amateur career

Alarcón played on two NCAA Division I Championship winning teams,

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, and was a three-time All-American while attending

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. In 1976, he lost in a playoff to Jim Nelford at the

Canadian Amateur Championship The Canadian Amateur Championship, begun in 1895, is the men's amateur golf championship of Canada. It is staged annually by Golf Canada. It was played at match play until 1968, went to stroke play beginning in 1969, and reverted to match play i ...

. In 1977, he was runner-up at the

Western Amateur The Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association. The Western Amateur features an international field of top-ranked amateur golfers. It was firs ...

, losing in the final. Three years after his playoff loss at the Canadian Amateur, he won the championship at Brantford Golf Club,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and another important amateur tournament in North America, the

Southern Amateur The Southern Amateur is an amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1902 and is organized by the Southern Golf Association. From 1902 to 1963, it was played at match play. Since 1964, it has been played at stroke play. In December 2021, t ...

at the Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst. Alarcón represented Mexico three times in the

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 ...

, the first time in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

at age 16. In

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, at

Pinehurst Country Club Pinehurst Resort is a golf resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Pinehurst, North Carolina, United States. It has hosted a number of prestigious golf tournaments including four U.S. Open (golf), U.S. Open Championships, one U.S. Women's Open, thr ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, the Mexican team finished 9th.

Professional career

Alarcón turned professional after the 1980 amateur season and played in North and South America, Europe and Asia. In 1981, he finished runner-up to

Tim Simpson } Timothy Jay Simpson (born May 6, 1956) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour, and currently plays on the Champions Tour. Early life and amateur career Simpson was born and raised in Atlanta, ...

at the unofficial

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

approved event Cacharel World Under-25 Championship in Nimes, France. His first professional win abroad came in 1984 at the Indian Open on the

Asia Golf Circuit The Asia Golf Circuit was the principal men's professional golf tour in Southeast Asia from the early 1960s through to the mid-late 1990s. The tour was founded in 1961 as the Far East Circuit. The first series of five tournaments was held in 196 ...

. Alarcón qualified for the 1983 PGA Tour season. Alarcón never won on the PGA Tour, to match Cesar Sanudo and Victor Regalado, who, at the time of Alarcon's active career, were the only native Mexican golfers to have done so. Alarcón's best finish was tied 19th at the 1997

Kemper Open The Kemper Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1968 to 2006. Perhaps more so than any other "regular" PGA Tour stop, the event wandered about, not just from course to course within a given metropolitan area, but along the East Coas ...

. Two years in a row,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, Alarcón finished runner-up in a tournament on the second-tier

Nike Tour Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

, namely the Nike Monterrey Open, played in his home country of Mexico. In 1995, winner

Stuart Appleby Stuart Appleby (born 1 May 1971) is an Australian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour. Early life Appleby was born in Cohuna, Victoria, and grew up on a nearby dairy farm. He be ...

needed seven extra playoff holes to beat Alarcón. Alarcón won the 1990 Mexican PGA Championship and led the Mexican PGA Tour in earnings 1989−1992. Alarcón represented Mexico seven times in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

and twice in the

Dunhill Cup The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championsh ...

. In the 1995 World Cup of Golf at

Mission Hills Golf Club Mission Hills Shenzhen is a twelve-course 18-hole course golf resort, located in the town of Guanlan () in Shenzhen, between the cities of Shenzhen and Dongguan. It is accredited as the world's largest golf facility by the Guinness World Record ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

, China, the Mexico team of Alarcón and Esteban Toledo finished tied 10th, eight strokes from second place. On 1 December 1997, Alarcón won the Compaq World Putting Championship by Dave Pelz at the Bonnett Creek Golf Club at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

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. He beat

Spike McRoy Robert Lynn "Spike" McRoy Jr. (born May 20, 1968) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. Early life McRoy was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. He got his nickname ''Spike'' from his grea ...

on the second sudden-death playoff hole, winning a first prize of $250,000. Second prize was $50,000. At 43 years of age, in 2001, Alarcon won the

Venezuela Open The Venezuela Open or Abierto de Venezuela is a men's professional golf tournament. It has only been staged intermittently since 1957, 2019 being the 35th edition of the event. Al Geiberger, Art Wall Jr., David Graham, Roberto De Vicenzo and Tony ...

on the

Tour de las Américas The Tour de las Américas (TLA) was the principal men's professional golf tour throughout Latin America and the Caribbean from 2000 through to 2012 when it was superseded by the PGA Tour Latinoamérica. History Top level tournament golf in Lat ...

. After mainly retiring from competition play in 1997, Alarcón made a few tournament appearances in Latin America and worked as a coach for

Lorena Ochoa Lorena Ochoa Reyes (; born 15 November 1981) is a Mexican former professional golfer who played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour from 2003 LPGA Tour, 2003 to 2010 LPGA Tour, 2010. She was the Women's World Golf Rankings#World number ones, top-ranked ...

. When Ochoa, also a Guadalajara native, was 11 years old, she approached Alarcón and asked him to coach her. During his time as her coach, she won 27

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

titles, including two majors and reached number one on the

Women's World Golf Rankings The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by 12 women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPG ...

, before she retired at 28 years of age. After her retirement, he has been coaching at Lorena Ochoa's Golf Academy. Alarcón also worked as a golf course designer, together with Carter Morrish at Alarcon Morrish Golf Course Design.

Awards and honors

Alarcón was appointed Jalisco State Golfer of the Century. He was awarded the National Prize for Sports, received on 20 November 2009 from the

President of Mexico The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

during a ceremony at the official presidential residence.

Amateur wins

*1976 Mexican Junior *1977 Mexican Amateur *1978 Mexican Amateur *1979

*1980 Big Eight Individual

Professional wins (3)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (0–1)

Tour de las Américas wins (1)

Other wins (1)

*1990 Mexican PGA Championship

Playoff record

Nike Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
''Note: Alarcón only played in the U.S. Open.''

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Mexico):

Professional *

(representing Mexico):

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

(representing Mexico):

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alarcón, Rafael Mexican male golfers Oklahoma State Cowboys golfers PGA Tour golfers Sportspeople from Guadalajara, Jalisco 1958 births Living people 20th-century Mexican sportsmen Golfers from Jalisco

Early life

Amateur career

Professional career

Awards and honors

Amateur wins

Professional wins (3)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

Tour de las Américas wins (1)

Other wins (1)

Playoff record

Results in major championships

Team appearances

See also

References

External links