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Bruce Devlin

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Australian professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer

Bruce Devlin
Personal information
Full nameBruce William Devlin
Born (1937-10-10) 10 October 1937 (age 87)
Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight158 lb (72 kg; 11.3 st)
Sporting nationality Australia
ResidenceWeatherford, Texas, U.S.
SpouseGloria
Career
Turned professional1961
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins32
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour8
PGA Tour of Australasia1
PGA Tour Champions1
Other22
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament4th: 1964, 1968
PGA ChampionshipT6: 1965
U.S. OpenT6: 1965
The Open Championship5th: 1964
Achievements and awards
New Zealand Golf Circuit
money list winner		1963

Bruce William Devlin (born 10 October 1937) is an Australian professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer.

Early life

Devlin was born in 1937 in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. His parents, Jess and Artie, moved to Goulburn with Bruce, 6 months later, in 1938. Bruce went to school and technical college in Goulburn and played hockey, basketball and golf in and around Goulburn. Bruce married Gloria Gale in Goulburn on the 11 July 1959.

In 1952, Devlin won the Southern Tablelands Open Junior Championship. A title he successfully defended in 1953, at the Tully Park Golf Course. In 1953 he and Perce Tyrie won the Open Foursomes Championship at the Goulburn Golf Club. Then Bruce won his first Goulburn Golf Club Open Championship in 1956. Devlin won the Australian Amateur in 1959.

Bruce's determination to play professional golf, came, in short, from an ultimatum he was given, by a teacher at St Patrick's College in Goulburn. 'It's school or golf Devlin'.

Professional career

In 1961, Devlin turned pro and joined the PGA Tour the following year. During his PGA Tour career, he had eight victories all of which occurred between 1964 and 1972. In 1972, he earned $119,768 and finished eighth on the money list.

In 1970 Devlin teamed with David Graham to represent Australia in the 18th World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Australian team held a record advantage of 19 strokes going into the final round. After each of the two Australians shot one-over-par-scores of 73 in the last round, they still won, with a record aggregate of 32-under-par 544 over 144 holes, by eight strokes and finished second and third individually. Devlin and Graham again represented Australia in the 1971 World Cup, but when Devlin was not selected for the event the year after, Graham refused to play and neither Graham nor Devlin participated in any World Cup events again.

At the 72nd hole of the 1975 Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational, Devlin shot a 10 after hitting multiple shots into the water in front of the 18th green of the Torrey Pines South Course. The pond was thereafter nicknamed "Devlin’s Billabong".

Devlin is one of only four golfers to have scored a double eagle (three-under-par) at the Masters Tournament. He achieved this in the first round of the 1967 Masters, holing a 4-wood from 248 yards on the par-5 8th hole.

He was briefly featured on the famous Australian television series, Kath and Kim as Sharon's boyfriend. His feature was short-lived, as his character was killed off after only twenty minutes, leaving Sharon in tears once again.

Later career

On the Senior PGA Tour, Devlin won one tournament, the 1995 FHP Health Care Classic. At the end of the 1998 golf season, Devlin decided to retire from the Senior PGA Tour to concentrate on his Golf Course Architecture and Design business and his commitment to ESPN's golf telecasts.

The main focus of Devlin's career in the past 30 years has been his work as a Golf Course Architect and Designer. Devlin has designed and built more than 150 golf courses throughout the world including Australia, Japan, Scotland, the Bahamas, and the United States. About two-thirds of the golf courses he designed have been in Florida and Texas. Many of these courses have hosted all of the professional golf tours, including: The Houston Open, HealthSouth LPGA Classic, Key Biscayne Golf Classic, and The Nike Cleveland Open. His golf design business is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Devlin has also worked as a television commentator. He worked for NBC from 1977 to 1982; ESPN from 1983 to 1987; and since 1999 has occasionally covered professional golf for ESPN.

Personal life

Bruce and Gloria have three children, Kelvin, Kerrie and Kurt, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Gloria passed away in 2022.

Amateur wins

this list may be incomplete

Professional wins (32)

PGA Tour wins (8)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 15 Mar 1964 St. Petersburg Open Invitational −16 (69-64-69-70=272) 4 strokes United States Dan Sikes
2 22 May 1966 Colonial National Invitation E (67-68-70-75=280) 1 stroke United States R. H. Sikes
3 3 Sep 1966 Carling World Open −6 (73-70-74-69=286) 1 stroke United States Billy Casper
4 27 Apr 1969 Byron Nelson Golf Classic −3 (71-66-70-70=277) 1 stroke United States Frank Beard, Australia Bruce Crampton
5 8 Feb 1970 Bob Hope Desert Classic −21 (67-68-68-70-66=339) 4 strokes United States Larry Ziegler
6 28 Jun 1970 Cleveland Open −12 (69-69-66-64=268) 4 strokes United States Steve Eichstaedt
7 8 May 1972 Houston Open −10 (69-70-67-72=278) 2 strokes United States Tommy Aaron, United States Lou Graham,
United States Doug Sanders
8 20 Aug 1972 USI Classic −13 (69-68-69-69=275) 3 strokes United States Lee Elder

PGA Tour playoff record (0–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1968 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am United States Billy Casper, United States Johnny Pott Pott won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1969 Atlanta Classic United States Bert Yancey Lost to birdie on second extra hole
3 1972 Cleveland Open Australia David Graham Lost to birdie on second extra hole

PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 4 Dec 1983 Air New Zealand Shell Open −10 (67-67-66=200)* 1 stroke United States Bobby Clampett

*Note: The 1983 Air New Zealand Shell Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

New Zealand Golf Circuit wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 7 Sep 1963 Wills Classic −6 (69-74-71-71=287) 4 strokes Australia Ted Ball, Australia Kel Nagle
2 21 Sep 1963 Caltex Tournament −18 (68-68-69-69=274) 3 strokes Australia Darrell Welch
3 28 Sep 1963 New Zealand Open −11 (68-70-66-69=273) 1 stroke Australia Peter Thomson

Other Australian wins (16)

Other wins (3)

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 5 Mar 1995 FHP Health Care Classic −10 (64-66=130)* Playoff United States Dave Eichelberger

*Note: The 1995 FHP Health Care Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1995 FHP Health Care Classic United States Dave Eichelberger Won with birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament CUT 4 T15 T28 T10 4 T19
U.S. Open CUT CUT T6 T26 T23 T9 T10
The Open Championship CUT T33 5 T8 T4 T8 T10 T16
PGA Championship T39 T6 T28 WD T32
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T31 T13 T5 T8 T31 T15 T19 T42
U.S. Open T8 T27 T65 CUT T60 CUT
The Open Championship T25 T37 T26 T18 T39
PGA Championship T18 T13 CUT T24 T22 T50 T51
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983
Masters Tournament T31 CUT
U.S. Open T12 T26 T10 T65
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T30 CUT
  Top 10   Did not play

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 3 5 10 17 15
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 5 7 17 13
The Open Championship 0 0 0 2 5 8 13 12
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 5 14 11
Totals 0 0 0 5 16 30 61 51
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 18 (1968 Masters – 1972 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)

Team appearances

these lists may be incomplete

Amateur

Professional

References

  1. ^ "About Bruce Devlin". The Devlin Foundation. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  2. "Biographical Information from golfpodium.com". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011.
  3. Jenkins, Dan (23 November 1970). "Australia's Cup Runneth (32) Under". Sports Illustrated. pp. 28–29.
  4. "Aussies win cup – but Roberto gets the cheers". The Straits Times. 17 November 1970. p. 23.
  5. James, Russell (18 September 2012). "Chapter 4". David Graham: From Ridicule to Acclaim. Ryan Publishing. ISBN 9781876498702.
  6. 40th Anniversary – PGA Tour at Torrey Pines Archived 9 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Featured hole: Torrey Pines".
  8. "Bruce Devlin Golf Course Designer – Career Highlights as Professional Golfer".

External links

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