2008 In Memoriam


December 26, 2008

At the close of each year, the United States Golf Association recognizes USGA champions, volunteers, staff members and other friends and authorities of the game who passed away during the previous 12 months. Below is a list of some of those we lost in 2008.

William C. Battle, 87, president of the USGA in 1988-89, died May 31 in Charlottesville, Va. Battle was the son of John S. Battle, who served as Virginia governor from 1950-1954. In 1969, the younger Battle made his own Democratic bid for governor, losing to Linwood Holton, Virginia's first Republican governor since Reconstruction. Battle served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was awarded the Silver Star. He was in the same squadron in the South Pacific as John F. Kennedy and participated in his rescue from the island on which Kennedy and his crew were marooned. Prior to the national election in 1959, Battle was Kennedy's Virginia campaign manager and coordinator for the southeastern states. Battle was U.S. Ambassador to Australia from 1962 through 1964. He then joined the family law firm Perkins, Battle and Minor, which merged to form McGuire, Woods, Battle and Booth. Battle retired in 1983 as president and chief executive of Fieldcrest Mills, a textile firm that now is a part of Pillowtex Corp. He was a founder of the University of Virginia's Auxiliary Services Foundation, which owns and operates Birdwood, the school's golf course.

Tommy Bolt was one of two former U.S. Open champions to pass away in 2008. (USGA Museum)

Tommy Bolt , 92, the 1958 U.S. Open champion and winner of 15 PGA Tour events, died Aug. 30 in Cherokee Village, Ark. Bolt defeated Gary Player by four strokes at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., to win the 1958 U.S. Open. He played on U.S. Ryder Cup teams in 1955 and 1957 and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002. Bolt, born March 31, 1916, in Haworth, Okla., served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He caddied as a youngster but didn't devote himself to the game until he was in his mid 30s. He was known for two very different traits -- a silky, classic golf swing and a rough temperament. "I launched far more [clubs] because they expected me to than I did because I was mad at anything that had gone wrong with my golf," Bolt once said in an interview. Though his temperament became a source of his showmanship, it was Bolt's ability to maneuver the ball and his solid swing that earned him a place in golf history. He spent his later years playing golf, fishing and telling stories in Crystal River, Fla.

R. William Clarke, 85, of Phoenix, Md., died Sept. 22. He was the president of the PGA of America in 1973 and 1974. Clarke was the head golf professional at Hillendale C.C. in Phoenix for 35 years, from 1954 to 1989.

Carol Belcher Collins, 81, a member of the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Committee since its inception in 1987, died June 26 at her home in Enid, Okla. Collins was the daughter of U.S. Representative Page Belcher. A longtime rules official, Collins served in that capacity at the U.S. Women's Open, U.S. Women's Amateur, U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur and the NCAA Championship. In 2006, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Golf Hall of Fame. From 1964 through 1992, she won the women's club championship at Oakwood C.C. in Enid, Okla., 23 times and set numerous course records in her home state. She was a member of Oakwood's board of directors.

James A. Curtis, 80, a member of the USGA Executive Committee from 1992-1996, died March 6 after a long illness. A former director of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association, he was instrumental in helping bring the 1996 U.S. Amateur and the 1997 U.S. Women's Open to Pumpkin Ridge G.C. in North Plains, Ore.

Dai Davies 69, of England, died May 19 of esophageal cancer. One of Britain's most respected golf correspondents, he wrote for the Birmingham Post from 1965 to 1982, before joining The Guardian, where he worked until 2004. A longtime member of the Golf Writers Association of America, he was also the author of three books about the game, including Beyond the Fairways , published in 1999.

William Dyer, 95, was the past president of the Virginia and West Virginia senior golf associations. Late in his life Dyer shot his age more than 280 times. He died on March 18.

Max Elbin, 88, president of the PGA of America when tournament players broke away to form the PGA Tour, died of heart failure Dec. 12 in Bethesda, Md. He was also the longtime head professional at Burning Tree, the private club near Washington, D.C., and gave golf lessons to six U.S. presidents. Elbin began serving the first of three terms as PGA president in 1965. At the time, touring professionals, led by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, led a move to create a separate division, which became the PGA Tour. An agreement between the two organizations was signed in 1968, shortly after the end of Elbin's third term. In the agreement the PGA of America retained the rights to the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup received little attention at the time but is now one of the most popular events in golf and is still conducted by the PGA of America.

Frank Freer, 90, longtime member of the USGA's Amateur Public Links Committee and a pillar of the Sacramento, Calif., golf community, died July 19. Freer's love of the game began when he caddied at Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento as a teenager. Along with his USGA committee membership, he was a board member of the Northern California Golf Association and a charter member and past president of the Sacramento Golf Council. Freer was instrumental in bringing the 1963 U.S. Amateur Public Links and the 1992 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links to Sacramento's Haggin Oaks Golf Complex. His most visible role was as director of the annual California State Fair Amateur Championship, which he ran from 1951 to 1998. While the tournament at Haggin Oaks was one of the most prestigious amateur events in Northern California and its 300 contestants included top amateurs such as Ken Venturi, Freer gave it a personal touch. Contestants would drive to his house to sign up to play and stay for a visit. At the conclusion of the event, Freer hosted a big picnic on the back nine that also served as the awards ceremony.

Ross Goodner, 81, died Sept. 11. Goodner was a respected golf writer who was a former senior editor at Golf Digest. His best-known book, written in 1978, was Golf's Greatest: The Legendary World Golf Hall of Famers.

Dick Gordon, 97, longtime sportswriter for the Minneapolis Star , died Dec. 8 in St. Paul, Minn. His first big story was Bob Jones' decision to retire from competitive golf in 1930. A student at Princeton University at the time, Gordon filed the story in the Daily Princetonian during the U.S. Open at Interlachen and the story was picked up by newspapers in New York City. After 26 months as a U.S. Marine serving in the South Pacific during World War II, Gordon worked full-time for the Minneapolis Star from 1946 to 1976. He also covered many sports events for Sports Illustrated, including the USA victory in the ice hockey competition at the 1960 Winter Olympics.

George Haines , 64, of Gladwyne, Pa., a longtime contributor to the USGA's Golf Journal, died July 16 of pneumonia. From the mid 1970s until the 1990s he authored "The Golf School" historical section for the Journal . He was also the author of the 2005 book, USGA Championships Held at Merion . Haines taught math and coached six sports at the Haverford School from 1976 until 1989 and is in that school's Athletic Hall of Fame. Haines graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and qualified for the NCAA championships in both golf and squash before earning a degree from the Wharton School of Business in 1965. An accomplished amateur golfer, he won the New Jersey Amateur Championship in 1968 and 1979. At that time he was the only player to win the New Jersey Amateur in match and stroke play. He also played in 10 U.S. Amateurs, as well as 20 Canadian Amateur Championships and seven British Amateur Championships.

Barclay Howard, 55, of Scotland, died of leukemia May 20. As a member of the 1995 and 1997 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup teams, Howard halved his two singles matches and helped GB&I defeat the USA, 14 to 10, in 1995. In 1997 he won the silver medal as low amateur at the British Open at Royal Troon and was also a member of that year's GB&I Walker Cup team.

Andrew Jewell, 23, a member of the men's golf team at Northern Kentucky University, died as the result of an epileptic seizure on April 2. Jewell, a senior business management major, was a member of the men's golf team. Head coach Daryl Landrum described Jewell as the fiercest competitor he has ever coached. In September, 2007, Jewell shot a round of 4 under par that helped lead the Norse to victory at the NKU Fall Invitational at the Perry Golf Course. He tied for fifth in the May 2007 NCAA Division II Super Regional golf tournament.

Charlie Jones , 77, the longtime announcer for NBC sports, died June 12. Jones' distinctive voice was heard on a number of NBC golf telecasts, including as a part of the announcing team that covered the 1996 U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles in Southern Pines, N.C. He worked for NBC for more than 30 years and was co-author of the golf book, Be the Ball.

Carl Jonson , 92, an official of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) for four decades, died April 14. He was president of the PNGA from 1967-67 and a member of the USGA Regional Affairs Committee for 20 years (1964-84). A founding member of Sahalee C.C. in Sammamish, Wash., which will host the 2010 U.S. Senior Open, Jonson was the club's president in 1967-70. As a PNGA official, Jonson made arrangements for Northwest golf clubs to host PNGA championships and would travel to each one to assist in running the championship. He also created the PNGA's electronic handicapping service, one of the first in the nation. Jonson was the driving force in initiating the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, begun in 1967, as well as the PNGA Senior Men's Amateur Championship (1965), which he won in 1975 and '77. In 1978, he helped found the PNGA Hall of Fame; in 1987 he was inducted into that hall of fame. A decade later, he received the association's Distinguished Service Award, the PNGA's highest honor.

Bob Labbance, 56, of Montpelier, Vt., one of New England's foremost golf writers and historians and instrumental in the development of the USGA's Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History, died Aug. 23 of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. Since 2006, Labbance had served as one of six golf historians in a working group that helped create and review the entire content and narrative story of American golf for the Palmer Center. From reviewing scripts for films to reading and editing the final copy, Labbance was a key part of the working team that helped ready the Palmer Center for its opening in June, 2008. "I consulted Bob about the early years, from the 1890s through the 1920s, of golf history for the Palmer Center," said Rand Jerris, Director of the USGA Museum. "He was an expert on golf course architecture and had a fine general understanding of the game in that period, as well as a great mind for detail." Labbance had been a member of the USGA Museum and Library Committee since 2006. He was the golf editor of Turf Magazine and also contributed articles to the USGA Golf Journal, Golf Magazine, Links and Golf Course Management . An authority on early golf course design, he was a panelist for GolfWeek's "Top 100 Courses." Editing and doing the photography for golf magazines in Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. The author of 13 books, he also wrote history, biography and fiction on topics ranging from golf to baseball. His recent works included The Old Man , a biography of three-time U.S. Amateur Champion Walter Travis; The Life and Work of Wayne Stiles ; and The Vardon Invasion: Harry's Triumphant 1900 American Tour , with Brian Siplo and 1970 U.S. Open Champion Tony Jacklin.

Joe King , 88, a longtime rules official who won the USGA's 1998 Joe Dey Award for meritorious service to the game as a volunteer, died Sept. 7. King was a rules official at more than 50 USGA championships, including 23 U.S. Open Championships. He worked his first U.S. Open in 1975 at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club. King was first appointed to the Sectional Affairs Committee in 1970. He was also a member of the Regional Affairs Committee. In 1995, he received the USGA's Isaac B. Grainger Award for 25 years of volunteer USGA service. King's involvement in golf administration began in 1948 when he was named director of the Alabama Golf Association, a position he held for more than 40 years. He was president of that body in 1959 and again in 1969. He was also a past director of the Southern Golf Association and president of the Alabama Seniors Golf Association in 1985. King was named Amateur of the Year by the Dixie Section of the PGA in 1969 and 1980. In 1993, the Alabama Golf Association named its Achievement Award in his honor and made King one of its first recipients. He also received the Alabama Senior Golf Association's Distinguished Service Award in 1993.

Jim Latham , 79, former longtime USGA agronomist, of Deltona, Fla., died July 16. He worked for the USGA on two different occasions, from 1956-1960 as an agronomist in the Northeast and Southeast Regions, and then again from 1984-1994 as director of the Great Lakes Region.  Following his retirement from the USGA, he was a member of the Turfgrass and Environmental Research Committee for eight years. He was named a recipient of the 2003 USGA Piper & Oakley Award, presented to recognize one who has generously contributed to the programs and activities of the USGA Green Section. Latham's wife, Lois, operated the North Central's regional office during his career. 

Jim McKay, 86, honored and genial sports broadcaster, died June 7 in Monkton, Md., after a long illness. McKay was the voice of the Olympic Games for ABC and the host of the network's weekly "Wide World of Sports," for 40 years. He was for many years the most prominent voice in telecasts of USGA championships. McKay anchored the broadcasts of the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open, first with co-anchor Byron Nelson and later with Dave Marr, along with various amateur championship during a 30-year period beginning in the 1970s. He also served as television host for The Masters. McKay was born James Kenneth McManus in Philadelphia, Pa. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-46 and was captain of a minesweeper for a portion of that time. A former newspaper reporter for The Baltimore Sun, he was the first television sports journalist to win an Emmy. He won 13 in all, including one in the news category for his narration of the tragedy at the Munich Olympics in 1972, when Palestinian terrorists took hostage and later killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. In 1990, he received the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences inaugural Lifetime Achievement in Sports Award for his six-decade career. McKay also won the George Polk Memorial Award in 1972 and the prestigious Peabody Award. His versatile broadcasting career included anchoring assignments at the Indianapolis 500, the British Open, the World Cup, the Kentucky Derby and 12 summer and winter Olympic games, including coverage of gymnastics, skiing, track and field and figure skating.

Martha Meyer, 71, of Atlanta, Ga., died July 17. She was a founding member of the USGA Women's Mid-Amateur Committee, serving from its inception in 1987 to 2005. Meyer then co-chaired the 2005 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship at Ansley G.C. in Roswell, Ga. She was a board member at the club and had been Ansley women's club champion 19 times. Meyer also served as a rules official at many NCAA Women's Championships and was a longtime volunteer with the Georgia State Golf Association. Meyer was retired from a career in state government where she worked with four Georgia governors and was head of the state's Consolidated Human Resources project, serving as personnel director for more than 20,000 employees.

Orville Moody, 74, the 1969 U.S. Open champion and 1989 U.S. Senior Open champion, died of multiple myeloma, a form of cancer, Aug. 8 in Allen, Texas. He was the last player to win the U.S. Open after going through local and sectional qualifying. He closed with a 72 at The Champions Golf Club in Houston to edge Deane Beman, Al Geiberger and Bob Rosburg by one stroke and win his first USGA championship. "Sarge" Moody was a five-time runner-up on the PGA Tour and also won tournaments in Hong Kong, Morocco and Australia. A long putter helped revive his career when he joined the Senior PGA Tour in 1984, and his 11 victories on that circuit included the 1989 U.S. Senior Open. "The USGA was proud to call Orville Moody an Open and Senior Open champion," USGA Executive Director David Fay said. "While his victory in the 1969 Open at The Champions was a surprise, Orville's superb ball-striking talents were, thankfully, showcased over the next quarter century, both on the regular and senior tour."

Torakichi Nakamura, 92, died Feb. 11. Nakamura, with his partner Koichi Ono, defeated the legendary USA players Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret to win the 1957 Canada Cup, which is now the World Cup, in Japan, startling the golf world.

Bobby Nichols, 66, men's golf coach at Tennessee Tech and a former PGA Tour player, died March 16 of cancer. Not to be confused with the 1964 PGA Champion with the same name, Nichols coached the Tennessee Tech team for 32 years. He played on the PGA Tour from 1970 to '72. He won the 1991 Tennessee Open as well as the Tennessee Senior Open in 1994, '96 and '97.

Elizabeth Price-Fisher, 85, the stately former British Ladies Open Amateur champion and Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup player, died May 23. She was twice runner-up in the British Ladies Open championship and captured the gold medal as winner in 1959. Price-Fisher played on six GB&I Curtis Cup teams, with an individual record of 7-4-1 as her team went 2-3-1 in those matches.

Ted Robinson, 84, former president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (1983-84), died March 2. He designed more than 160 courses, including Sahalee C.C. in Redmond, Wash., site of the 1998 PGA Championship and 2010 U.S. Senior Open.

Bob Sommers, 81, longtime director of USGA Communications, died July 26 at his home in Port St. Lucie, Fla. After a stint in the U.S. Coast Guard, he earned a degree in economics from the University of Maryland. He was a respected sports writer for The Baltimore Evening Sun and The Washington Star before joining the Association in 1966. At the USGA, he ran the Communications department and was editor and publisher of Golf Journal until he retired in 1991. He wrote several books, including the esteemed The U.S. Open: Golf's Ultimate Challenge . Sommers was the recipient of the 2001 Memorial Journalism Award, presented at The Memorial tournament, and also the 2004 Lincoln Werden Golf Journalism Award, presented by the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association.

Mike Souchak , 81, of Belleair, Fla., who twice finished third in the U.S. Open (1959, '60) and recorded 11 top-10 finishes in major championships, died July 10 after suffering a heart attack. The big-hitting Souchak was among the longest drivers on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and early '60s. He won 15 tour titles and for nearly 50 years held the Tour's 72-hole scoring record of 257, which he fired in the 1955 Texas Open. The record stood until Mark Calcavecchia scored a total of 256 at the 2001 Phoenix Open. Souchak led the 1960 U.S. Open after the third round before Arnold Palmer charged home with a 65 to win. He was a member of the victorious 1959 and '61 U.S. Ryder Cup teams.

Arthur P. Weber, 88, died Nov. 24. He wrote the Code of Environmental Conduct for golf course maintenance that was adopted by the USGA and recognized by the Audubon Society. In 1961 he co-founded the Old Westbury Golf and Country Club on Long Island, N.Y. The club was the first in the U.S. to adopt a formal program of environmental awareness. Weber was a longtime member of the USGA Green Section Committee. He held degrees in chemical and nuclear engineering degrees and during World War II he was part of the small team of experts assembled by the U.S. Government to work on the Manhattan Project.

Arthur E. Williams, 87, past president of the Arizona Golf Association and a longtime USGA rules official, died July 14 in Phoenix, Ariz. Williams was a director of the Arizona Golf Association from 1987 through 1995, serving as president in 1994 and '95. He was a strong advocate of the association's junior golf programs. Williams also served as president of the Arizona Golf Foundation from 1996-2001, where he again championed junior golf.

These obits were compiled by Rhonda Glenn, USGA Manager, Communications. She can be reached via e-mail at rglenn@usga.org.