Gary McCord

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Gary McCord
Gary Mccord.jpg
McCord in October 2008
Personal information
Full nameGary Dennis McCord
Born (1948-05-23) May 23, 1948 (age 76)
San Gabriel, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Paradise Valley, Arizona, U.S.
Edwards, Colorado, U.S.
SpouseDiane
ChildrenKrista
Career
College UC Riverside
Turned professional1971
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins3
Number of wins by tour
Korn Ferry Tour1
PGA Tour Champions2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
PGA Championship T54: 1984
U.S. Open DNP
The Open Championship DNP

Gary Dennis McCord (born May 23, 1948) is an American professional golfer, commentator and author.

Contents

Early life and amateur career

McCord was born in San Gabriel, California, and raised in southern California, graduating from Ramona High School in Riverside. He was a two-time Division II All-American for the UC Riverside Highlanders of the University of California, Riverside. [1] He won the NCAA Division II individual championship in 1970 [2]

Professional career

In 1971, McCord turned professional. He played in over 400 PGA Tour events but never won. [3] His best two finishes on the PGA Tour were at the Greater Milwaukee Open, placing second in both 1975 and 1977. During his years on tour, he had two dozen top-10 finishes. [3]

One year in his career won the PGA Tour category of "Fewest Putts." He helped reach this benchmark by, late in the season, deliberately missing the green and then chipping close to ensure few putts. [4]

McCord was involved in an embarrassing episode during the 1984 FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis. When lining up a putt on the 15th green, McCord's pants split open, exposing his backside as he was not wearing any underwear. McCord wrapped a towel around his midriff and went off to find a replacement pair of pants. Eventually Peter Jacobsen offered McCord his rain pants for a "fee" of $20. [5]

Broadcasting career

At age 37 in 1986, McCord joined CBS Sports as a golf analyst. He was noted for his outspokenness and irreverence, traits that got him banished from the CBS commentary team for the Masters Tournament.

During the network's Masters coverage in 1994, McCord remarked that the 17th green was so fast it seemed to be "bikini-waxed", and that "body bags" were located behind the green for players who missed their approach shots. Several months later, Augusta National Golf Club used its influence with CBS to have him removed from the Masters commentary team. [6] [7] While McCord continued to cover every other golf event aired by CBS, he did not return to Augusta with the network. He was not the first CBS commentator to be banned: Jack Whitaker referred to the gallery at the end of the 18-hole playoff in 1966 as a "mob" rather than "patrons" and was banned for the next five Masters; he was allowed to return in 1972. [8]

After 33 years, McCord was not brought back for CBS’s 2020 golf broadcast team.

McCord also plays a limited schedule on the Champions Tour. After turning 50 in May 1998, he won his first title at the Toshiba Senior Classic in March 1999, and also won that year's Ingersoll-Rand Senior Tour Championship. Back in 1991, he won the Gateway Open on the Ben Hogan Tour, the second-tier golf tour in the U.S., now called the Korn Ferry Tour.

McCord has also written two books, Just a Range Ball in a Box of Titleists and Golf for Dummies. In 1996, he appeared as himself in the Kevin Costner movie Tin Cup , a movie he says is based on his life. [9] He and fellow former CBS commentator Peter Kostis are partners in the Kostis/McCord Learning Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. McCord formerly served as a co-announcer on the EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour series [10] along with David Feherty.

Personal life

McCord lives with his wife, Diane, in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and Edwards, Colorado.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (3)

Ben Hogan Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runners-up
1Mar 30, 1991 Ben Hogan Gateway Open 67-69-69=205−115 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Tom Garner, Flag of the United States.svg Paul Trittler,
Flag of the United States.svg Rocky Walcher

Senior PGA Tour wins (2)

Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other Senior PGA Tour (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runners-up
1Mar 14, 1999 Toshiba Senior Classic 65-68-69=204−9Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Allen Doyle, Flag of the United States.svg Al Geiberger,
Flag of the United States.svg John Jacobs
2Nov 7, 1999 Ingersoll-Rand Senior Tour Championship 71-74-64-67=276−121 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Fleisher, Flag of the United States.svg Larry Nelson

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1999 Toshiba Senior Classic Flag of the United States.svg Allen Doyle, Flag of the United States.svg Al Geiberger,
Flag of the United States.svg John Jacobs 		Won with birdie on fifth extra hole
Doyle and Geiberger eliminated by eagle on first hole
2 2000 LiquidGolf.com Invitational Flag of the United States.svg J. C. Snead, Flag of the United States.svg Tom Wargo Wargo won with birdie on third extra hole
Snead eliminated by par on first hole
3 2002 Turtle Bay Championship Flag of the United States.svg Hale Irwin Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament19801981198219831984
PGA Championship CUTCUTT54

Note: McCord only played in the PGA Championship.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Chancellor To Present Gary McCord With Alumni Award Of Distinction" . Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  2. ↑ "NCAA History - Division II Champions". NCAA. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Gary McCord – Profile". PGATour. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  4. ↑ Yocum, Guy (August 31, 2015). "My Shot: Peter Oosterhuis". Golf Digest. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  5. ↑ Zullo, Allan and Rodell, Chris, "Golf is a Funny Game", Andrew McMeels Publishing, Forest Fairview, North Carolina, 2008.
  6. ↑ "McCord wants Masters return". Rome News-Tribune. Rome, GA. Associated Press. September 9, 1994. p. 5B.
  7. ↑ "History of the Masters golf tournament on TV (1956–present)". Classic Sports TV and Media. April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  8. ↑ Rothenberg, Fred (April 12, 1979). "Jack Whitaker's welcome now". Boca Raton News. Associated Press. p. 2B.
  9. ↑ "Gary McCord interview sneak peek - Feherty 2012".
  10. ↑ "Game Info". EA Sports. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
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