best amateur golfers Archives - Silver Club Golfing Society

#42 – Marvin Harvey “Bud” Ward

Steve Scott — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 12:00:35 +0000

Marvin Harvey “Bud” Ward (May 1, 1913 – January 2, 1968) was an American golfer best known for twice winning the U.S. Amateur, in 1939 and 1941.

Ward was born in Elma, Washington. He excelled as an amateur golfer, winning the U.S. Amateur twice, the Western Am three times and his home state Washington Amateur twice. He played on the Walker Cup team in 1938 and 1947. His best performance in a major came in 1939 U.S. Open when he finished one shot out of a playoff with Byron Nelson, Craig Wood, and Denny Shute.

Ward was elected to the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Hall of Fame in 1979, the Pacific Northwest section of the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 1981, and the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame. Ward turned professional in 1949 and worked as a club pro until his death in 1968 from cancer. He died in San Mateo, California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Ward

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The Top 50 Amateur Golfers of All Time

Christopher Hunt — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 22:00:34 +0000

Silver Club Golfing Society’s list of the top 50 Amateur Golfers of All Time (#50AMGOAT) is here in all its glory. While we had to make many tough choices and many great players didn’t make the cut, It was fun to dive into the history books to arrive at a comprehensive list. A couple of ground rules: while there is a special place for those like Bobby Jones who stayed career amateurs, this constraint would leave too many incredible golfers who either mastered or dabbled in professional golf like Phil Mickelson or Jay Sigel. Second, we had to weigh different eras and accomplishments. So we erred on the side of inclusivity. We didn’t bother with a point system or purely objective way of ordering these players. Instead, we sat around over a couple drinks and talked it out – we had a blast coming up with the list and we hope that you enjoy it as well. Without further ado…

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Honorable Mentions

Will Smith — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 22:12:45 +0000

Legendary Amateur Ed Updegraff had a long and distinguished amateur career, winning the Western Am (1957, 1959), Sunnehanna Am (1962), Pacific Coast Am (1967) and the U.S. Senior Amateur (1981). He was a semi-finalist at 1963 British Amateur. He played on three winning WalkerCup teams (1963, 1965, 1969) and captained the 1975 team to a win. Interestingly enough, Updegraff also finished in a tie for 4th place at the 1969 Tucson Open on the PGA Tour but failed to sign his scorecard and was disqualified! We are sure he felt better after receiving the Bob Jones Award from the @USGA in 1999. 2011 and 2013 WalkerCup Captain Jim Holtgrieve has had a long and distinguished amateur career and has given so much back to the game. He won the inaugural U.S. Mid Amateur in 1981, was runner up at the 1983 British Am and made it to the semis in the 1980 U.S. Am as well as being a 3 time Walker Cup competitor. A classic pose from O. Gordon Brewer Jr, former president at Pine Valley, arguably the world’s greatest course. As a player, he made it into a mind-boggling 42 USGA national championships, capping his competitive career with two victories in the U.S. Senior Amateur (1994, ’96). He also won five Crump Cups.

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