Pete Cooper | |
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Personal information | |
Full name | Richard Bernice Cooper |
Born | December 31, 1914 |
Died | October 8, 1993 | (aged 78)
Sporting nationality | United States |
Career | |
Turned professional | 1938 |
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions Tour |
Professional wins | 23 |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 5 |
Other | 17 (regular) 1 (senior) |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | T12: 1956 |
PGA Championship | T9: 1953 |
U.S. Open | T4: 1953 |
The Open Championship | CUT: 1976 |
Richard Bernice "Pete" Cooper (December 31, 1914 – October 8, 1993) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s; he was best known for winning the 1976 PGA Seniors' Championship.
Cooper turned professional in 1938. In the ten-year span between 1949 and 1958, he won five official PGA Tour events and had runner-up finishes in the 1950 Houston Open and the 1955 Tournament of Champions. His best finish in a major was T4 at the 1953 U.S. Open.[1] He helped a young Chi-Chi Rodríguez improve enough to secure a spot on the PGA Tour.
Cooper won the 1976 PGA Seniors' Championship at the age of 61 with a four-day total of 283 over runner-up Fred Wampler. The tournament was held at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Cooper lived in Lakeland, Florida, where he owned the Par 3 and Lone Palm Golf Club. He was also active in golf course design.