David Knapp Stockton (born November 2, 1941) is an American retired professional golfer who has won tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.

Dave Stockton
Personal information
Full nameDavid Knapp Stockton
Born (1941-11-02) November 2, 1941 (age 83)
San Bernardino, California, U.S.
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceRedlands, California, U.S.
Career
CollegeUniversity of Southern California
Turned professional1964
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins25
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour10
PGA Tour Champions14
Other1
Best results in major championships
(wins: 2)
Masters TournamentT2: 1974
PGA ChampionshipWon: 1970, 1976
U.S. OpenT2: 1978
The Open ChampionshipT11: 1971
Achievements and awards
Senior PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year
1992
Senior PGA Tour
money list winner
1993, 1994
Senior PGA Tour
Player of the Year
1993

Stockton was born in San Bernardino, California. He attended the University of Southern California and turned professional in 1964. His first PGA Tour win came at the 1967 Colonial National Invitation. He was selected by former Colonial champions as one of two Champion's Choice invitations; he is the only Champion's Choice invitee to win the Colonial in the year of the invitation. His best year was 1974, when he won three times, but his two majors, both of which were PGA Championships, came in 1970 and 1976. In 1970 he played the final round with Arnold Palmer, shooting a seventy-three which included an eagle and a double-bogey on the seventh and the eighth holes, and making a bogey on the thirteenth despite putting a ball in the water. In the end, this effort was good enough for a two stroke victory over Palmer and Bob Murphy.[1] Due to rain at the 1976 PGA Championship, which was held at the Congressional Country Club, the final round had to be delayed until Monday. Stockton sank a fifteen-foot par putt at the seventy-second hole to avoid a three-man playoff with Raymond Floyd and Don January.[2]

Stockton joined the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) in 1991 and enjoyed continued success, topping the Senior Tour money list in 1993 and 1994. His fourteen senior titles include three senior majors, the 1992 and 1994 Senior Players Championships and the 1996 U.S. Senior Open. He remained competitive in his sixties, finishing in the top 50 on the Champions Tour money list for a thirteenth consecutive season in 2004.

Stockton played for the U.S. team in the Ryder Cup in 1971 and 1977. He was the Americans' victorious non-playing captain in the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island.

Stockton is married to former Orange Show beauty queen Catherine Hales. They have two children, Dave Jr. and Ron, who both play professional golf.

When he was an active PGA Tour player, Stockton had the reputation of being one of the best putters. In 2009, Stockton was credited with aiding the world's second-ranked golfer, Phil Mickelson with his putting, which helped him win the 2009 Tour Championship. He wrote a guide to putting called "Unconscious Putting," which was released in 2011.[3]

Professional wins (25)

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PGA Tour wins (10)

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Legend
Major championships (2)
Other PGA Tour (8)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 May 21, 1967 Colonial National Invitation −2 (65-66-74-73=278) 2 strokes   Charles Coody
2 Jun 30, 1968 Cleveland Open Invitational −8 (69-68-67-72=276) 2 strokes   Bob Dickson
3 Jul 14, 1968 Greater Milwaukee Open −13 (68-67-71-69=275) 4 strokes   Sam Snead
4 Aug 16, 1970 PGA Championship −1 (70-70-66-73=279) 2 strokes   Bob Murphy,   Arnold Palmer
5 Aug 15, 1971 Massachusetts Classic −13 (71-69-69-66=275) 1 stroke   Raymond Floyd
6 Jul 8, 1973 Greater Milwaukee Open (2) −12 (69-63-71-73=276) 1 stroke   Homero Blancas,   Hubert Green
7 Feb 17, 1974 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open −8 (68-68-71-69=276) 2 strokes   John Mahaffey,   Sam Snead
8 Jul 14, 1974 Quad Cities Open −13 (68-68-71-64=271) 1 stroke   Bruce Fleisher
9 Aug 18, 1974 Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open −16 (65-65-69-69=268) 4 strokes   Raymond Floyd
10 Aug 15, 1976 PGA Championship (2) 1 (70-72-69-70=281) 1 stroke   Raymond Floyd,   Don January

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1977 Phoenix Open   Jerry Pate Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (1)

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Senior PGA Tour wins (14)

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Legend
Senior PGA Tour major championships (3)
Other Senior PGA Tour (11)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 6, 1992 The Senior Players Championship −11 (71-67-70-69=277) 1 stroke   J. C. Snead,   Lee Trevino
2 Apr 25, 1993 Muratec Reunion Pro-Am −5 (73-72-66=211) 4 strokes   Harold Henning
3 Jun 13, 1993 Southwestern Bell Classic −6 (65-68-71=204) 1 stroke   Larry Mowry,   Walt Zembriski
4 Aug 15, 1993 Franklin Quest Championship −19 (68-66-63=197) 9 strokes   Al Geiberger
5 Aug 22, 1993 GTE Northwest Classic −16 (65-68-67=200) 4 strokes   Dale Douglass
6 Oct 10, 1993 The Transamerica −13 (68-71-64=203) 1 stroke   Simon Hobday,   Lee Trevino
7 Jun 12, 1994 Nationwide Championship −18 (67-66-65=198) 1 stroke   Bob Murphy
8 Jun 26, 1994 Ford Senior Players Championship (2) −17 (66-66-71-68=271) 6 strokes   Jim Albus
9 Aug 21, 1994 Burnet Senior Classic −13 (68-66-69=203) 1 stroke   Jim Albus
10 Feb 19, 1995 GTE Suncoast Classic −9 (70-66-68=204) 2 strokes   Bob Charles,   Jim Colbert,
  J. C. Snead
11 May 28, 1995 Quicksilver Classic −10 (72-69-67=206) 1 stroke   Isao Aoki
12 Jul 7, 1996 U.S. Senior Open −11 (70-67-67-73=277) 2 strokes   Hale Irwin
13 Aug 11, 1996 First of America Classic −10 (68-69-69=206) 1 stroke   Bob Murphy
14 Jul 27, 1997 Franklin Quest Championship (2) −15 (69-64-68=201) 2 strokes   Kermit Zarley

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–6)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1993 Ping Kaanapali Classic   George Archer,   Lee Trevino Archer won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1994 Franklin Quest Championship   Tom Weiskopf Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3 1995 Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic   Bob Charles Lost to birdie on third extra hole
2 1996 Las Vegas Senior Classic   Bob Charles,   Jim Colbert Colbert won with par on fourth extra hole
Charles eliminated by par on first hole
5 1996 Emerald Coast Classic   Bob Eastwood,   David Graham,
  Mike Hill,   Lee Trevino
Trevino won with birdie on first extra hole
6 1998 Royal Caribbean Classic   David Graham Lost to birdie on tenth extra hole

Major championships

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Wins (2)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runners-up
1970 PGA Championship 3 shot lead −1 (70-70-66-73=279) 2 strokes   Bob Murphy,   Arnold Palmer
1976 PGA Championship (2) 4 shot deficit 1 (70-72-69-70=281) 1 stroke   Raymond Floyd,   Don January

Results timeline

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Tournament 1968 1969
Masters Tournament 18
U.S. Open T9 T25
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T17 T35
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T5 T9 T10 T14 T2 T26 T39 CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT T39 T40 T43 CUT CUT T2 T36
The Open Championship T11 T31
PGA Championship 1 T40 T40 T12 T26 CUT 1 T31 T19 T35
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T26 T31
U.S. Open T51 CUT T45 CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT T43 CUT CUT T39 T59 T53 CUT T48 T68
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT CUT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 1 0 2 4 6 12 10
U.S. Open 0 1 0 1 2 3 16 9
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2
PGA Championship 2 0 0 2 2 5 24 17
Totals 2 2 0 5 8 15 54 38
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1972 Open Championship – 1975 U.S. Open)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1970 Masters – 1971 Masters)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987
The Players Championship T30 2 T17 CUT CUT T35 T45 T19 T77 CUT CUT T48 70
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Champions Tour major championships

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Wins (3)

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Year Championship Winning Score Margin Runner(s)-up
1992 Mazda Presents The Senior Players Championship −11 (71-67-70-69-277) 1 stroke   J. C. Snead   Lee Trevino
1994 Ford Senior Players Championship (2) −17 (66-66-71-68=271) 6 strokes   Jim Albus
1996 U.S. Senior Open −11 (70-67-67-73=277) 2 strokes   DeWitt Weaver

U.S. national team appearances

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Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Stockton prevails over Arnie – and his army". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. August 17, 1970. p. 3B. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  2. ^ "Stockton snatches PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 17, 1976. p. 12.
  3. ^ Stockton, Dave; Rudy, Matthew (September 15, 2011). Unconscious Putting: Dave Stockton's Guide to Unlocking Your Signature Stroke. Avery. ISBN 978-1592406609.
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