Al Geiberger (1 USPGA, 2 Ryder Cup's.)

1937

Allen Lee Geiberger, Sr. (born September 1, 1937) is an American former professional golfer.

Geiberger won 11 tournaments on the PGA Tour, one of which was the 1966 PGA Championship, a major title.[1] He won the Tournament Players Championship in 1975, and played on the Ryder Cup teams in 1967 and 1975. Geiberger also won 10 times on the Senior PGA Tour, now called the Champions Tour.

During the second round of the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic in 1977, Geiberger became the first player in history to post a score of 59 (−13) in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. Starting on the 10th tee of the Colonial Country Club in Cordova, Tennessee, he shot a bogey-free round of six pars, 11 birdies, and an eagle on the 7,193-yard (6,577 m) layout.[2] Geiberger won the tournament, though not handily. He shot even-par 72 in the first and third rounds and was two strokes down to Gary Player on Sunday after a 38 (+2) on the front nine put him at 241 (−11) for 63 holes. He regained the lead with a 32 (−4) on the back nine to finish at 273 (−15), two strokes ahead of Player and Jerry McGee.[3]

Scorecard: Friday, June 10, 1977[2]

Hole 10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18   1    2   3  4  5  6  7  8  9 
Par 4 4 3 4 4 3 5 4 5 5 4 3 4 3 4 5 4 4
Score 3 4 2 4 4 2 4 3 4 3 3 2 4 3 3 4 4 3
To par −1 −1 −2 −2 −2 −3 −4 −5 −6 −8 −9 −10 −10 −10 −11 −12 −12 −13

Personal life[edit]

Geiberger was born in Red Bluff, California, the son of Ray and Mabel Geiberger. His first big tournament win was the 1954 National Jaycee Championship. He graduated from Santa Barbara High School, attended Menlo College and graduated from the University of Southern California in 1959. He turned pro in 1959 and joined the PGA Tour in 1960. His first PGA Tour win was the 1962 Ontario Open.[4][5]

Geiberger has six children. His son Brent Geiberger is also a professional golfer who won two PGA Tour events. Another son, John, is the coach of the Pepperdine University golf team, winners of the NCAA Championship in 1997.[4] Geiberger's father was one of the victims on the Tenerife airport disaster in 1977.[6]

Geiberger had surgery in 1980 to remove his colon due to inflammatory bowel disease and has an ileostomy.