Rex Bernice Baxter Jr. (born February 28, 1936) is 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 ...

and Senior PGA Tour.

Early life and amateur career

Baxter is a native of

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

. Baxter won the U.S. Junior Amateur at Tulsa's

Southern Hills Country Club Southern Hills Country Club is a private golf and country club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. History The club was established in 1935 from land donated by multimillionaire oilman Waite Phillips (Frank Phillips, Waite's brother, was the namesake and fou ...

in 1953. He attended the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, where he was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n 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 and individually the 1957 NCAA national champion.

Professional career

Baxter won the 1963

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 also won the 1970 PGA Professional National Championship. 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 ...

is T-33 at the 1960 U.S. Open. Late in his career, Baxter worked as a club pro at various clubs including Beechmont Country Club in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, Glen Oaks Country Club on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, and High Ridge in

Lantana, Florida Lantana is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is north from Fort Lauderdale and north of Miami. This town is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. Its population was 11,504 at the 2020 United States censu ...

. He was also an instructor for Golf Digest Schools at PGA National in

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Palm Beach Gardens is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, approximately 80 miles north of Miami. Palm Beach Gardens is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 59,182 at the ...

Awards and honors

Baxter was inducted into the University of Houston Athletics Hall of Honor in 1971; he was the first member of the golf team to receive this honor.

Amateur wins (5)

*1953 U.S. Junior Amateur Golf Championship *1956 Missouri Valley Conference tournament (individual medalist) *1957 Missouri Valley Conference tournament (individual medalist), NCAA Championship, Trans-Mississippi Amateur

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (1)

Other wins (3)

*1965

Waterloo Open Golf Classic The Waterloo Jaycees Greater Waterloo Open Golf Classic is the oldest and largest golf tournament in the state of Iowa. It has been played annually since 1934, and celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009. It is traditionally played over the course ...

*1966 Brazil Open *1970 PGA Professional National Championship

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

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 ...

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

(winners) * Americas Cup: 1958 (winners) Professional *Diamondhead Cup/ PGA Cup: 1974 (winners), 1976 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Rex American male golfers Houston Cougars men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Amarillo, Texas 1936 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen