Anthony Irvin Sills (born December 5, 1955) 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 later became a

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 ...

teaching professional.

Early life and amateur career

Sills, who is Jewish, was born and raised in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. As a youth, he caddied at the

Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a private club with a championship golf course as well tennis courts in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of the Westside of Los Angeles, California. The Riviera was designed by golf course architects George C. T ...

, including when the club hosted the

Los Angeles Open The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually in ...

. Sills attended Palisades High School and later the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, where he was a member of the

team with future PGA Tour golfer Scott Simpson.

Professional career

In 1980, Sills turned professional. He had 22 top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events including a win at the 1990 Independent Insurance Agent Open. In that tournament, he beat

Gil Morgan Gilmer Bryan Morgan II, OD (born September 25, 1946) is an American professional golfer. Early life Morgan was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma. He graduated from East Central State College in Ada, Oklahoma in 1968. Professional career In 1972, ...

with a par on the first extra hole in a sudden-death playoff. His best finish in a major championship was T-15 at the 1985 U.S. Open. His best year was 1990 when he finished 61st on the money list. After his touring days were over, Sills taught putting and the short game with ''Putting Arc'' co-founder V.J. Trolio at Old Waverly Golf Club in

West Point, Mississippi West Point is a city in Clay County, Mississippi, Clay County, Mississippi, United States, in the Golden Triangle (Mississippi), Golden Triangle region of the state. The population was 10,105 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is t ...

Personal life

Sills has a daughter, Emily, who played golf for the University of Tennessee.

Awards and honors

In 2011 Sills was inducted into the Los Angeles High Schools Sports Hall of Fame

Professional wins (1)

PGA Tour wins (1)

''*Note: The 1990 Independent Insurance Agent Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.'' PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

Results in major championships

''Note: Sills 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 ...

''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sills, Tony American male golfers USC Trojans men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Los Angeles Jewish American golfers Jews from California 1955 births Living people 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American sportsmen