R. H. Sikes | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Full name | Richard Horace Sikes |
Nickname | R.H. or Dick[1] |
Born | Paris, Arkansas, U.S. | March 6, 1940
Died | November 2, 2023 | (aged 83)
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Weight | 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st) |
Sporting nationality | United States |
Children | 1 |
Career | |
College | University of Arkansas |
Turned professional | 1964 |
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions Tour |
Professional wins | 4 |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 2 |
Other | 2 |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | T39: 1966 |
PGA Championship | T13: 1965 |
U.S. Open | T46: 1967 |
The Open Championship | 12th: 1966 |
Richard Horace Sikes (March 6, 1940 – November 2, 2023) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s.
A native of Paris, Arkansas, Sikes had a stellar amateur and college career as a member of the golf team at the University of Arkansas. He won the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 1961 and 1962. In 1963, he won the NCAA Championship, was runner-up at the U.S. Amateur, and played on the victorious Walker Cup team. Sikes' victory at the NCAA Championship was the only Razorbacks national championship recognized by the NCAA until John McDonnell's track and field teams of the mid-1980s to mid-1990s started winning them, and Nolan Richardson's basketball program won the 1994 men's basketball crown.[2]
Sikes was victorious at the 1964 Sahara Invitational during his rookie season on the PGA Tour, and earned Golf Digest's Rookie of the Year Award. He played briefly on the Senior PGA Tour from 1990 to 1992 with his best finish a T36 at Raley's Senior Gold Rush in 1992.
In 2002, Sikes was inducted into the Arkansas Golf Hall of Fame.
Sikes died on November 2, 2023, at the age of 83.[3]