James David Hill was an American professional golfer. He was the brother of golfer Mike Hill.Hill was born in Jackson, Michigan. He attended the University of Detroit, where he played on the golf team. Hill won 13 times on the PGA Tour, three of which came during his career year of 1969, when he also won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average. He was a member of the United States Ryder Cup team in 1969, 1973, and 1977.
(May 20, 1937 – September 27, 2011)
Hill was known for his quick wit and biting sarcasm, and was sometimes referred to as "the Don Rickles of the golf tour".[1] He frequently led the tour in fines and suspensions for violations such as swearing and breaking clubs.[1] Hill played in the acrimonious 1969 Ryder Cup that ended in a 16-16 tie when Jack Nicklaus made his famous "concession" of a short but missable putt to Tony Jacklin on the 18th green in the final match.
In 1970, Hill had his best finish in a major championship, placing second at the U.S. Open played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.[2] What gained him the most notoriety, though, was not his excellent play but his criticisms of the golf course. When first asked what he thought of the golf course, he said "I'm still looking for it". When asked what Hazeltine needed, he retorted, "Hazeltine really did lack only 80 acres of corn and a few cows. They ruined a good farm when they built this course".[1] Hill was far from alone among the pros in his criticism of Hazeltine, which had to be extensively redesigned before getting a chance to host another men's major, again the U.S. Open, in 1991. Afterward, Hill claimed to have paid a farmer cash to borrow his tractor.[3] If he had won the 1970 U.S. Open, Hill planned to ride the tractor out onto the golf course as he hoisted the trophy.
Another controversy involving Hill started in 1971. At the 1971 Colonial National Invitation, Hill shot rounds of 77-85 to miss the cut. On his last hole, Hill threw a ball out of a sand trap.[4] Hill was disqualified but it was for his signing a scorecard with an incorrect score on it.[5] When Hill went to play in his next tournament, the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic, Hill was told he was being fined $500 for conduct unbecoming a professional golfer.[6] Hill was required to pay the fine before teeing it up in the tournament. He did so but less than a week later, Hill filed a one-million dollar anti-trust suit against the PGA Tour.[7] In response, the tour put Hill on probation for one year.[8] Hill then increased the amount of damages he was seeking to three-million dollars.[9] The litigation was resolved out of court in less than a year and Hill was taken off probation.[10]
At the 1991 Transamerica Senior Golf Championship, Hill got into a fight on the driving range with J.C. Snead.[11]
In 1987, Hill joined the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour). He won six tournaments on that tour. Hill had a cameo appearance in the movie, Now You See Him, Now You Don't.
Hill died on September 27, 2011 in Jackson, Michigan after spending the last few years of his life battling emphysema.[12][13]
PGA Tour wins (13)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 19, 1961 | Home of the Sun Open | -11(69-66-69-65=269) | Playoff |  Tommy Bolt,  Bud Sullivan |
| 2 | Sep 10, 1961 | Denver Open Invitational | -17 (63-64-67-69=263) | 6 strokes | Bob Goalby, Art Wall, Jr. |
| 3 | Jul 14, 1963 | Hot Springs Open Invitational | -11 (69-70-70-68=277) | Playoff | Mike Souchak |
| 4 | Jun 4, 1967 | Memphis Open Invitational | -8 (65-66-68-73=272) | 2 strokes | Johnny Pott |
| 5 | Jun 1, 1969 | Memphis Open Invitational | -15 (67-67-66-65=265) | 2 strokes | Lee Elder |
| 6 | Jul 6, 1969 | Buick Open Invitational | -11 (68-68-71-70=277) | 2 strokes | Frank Beard |
| 7 | Jul 20, 1969 | IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic | -9 (71-71-68-69=279) | Playoff | Gay Brewer, Tommy Jacobs, R. H. Sikes |
| 8 | May 31, 1970 | Danny Thomas Memphis Classic | -14 (68-67-71-68=274) | 3 strokes | Frank Beard, Homero Blancas,  Bob Charles |
| 9 | Apr 16, 1972 | Monsanto Open | -13 (64-68-68-71=271) | 1 stroke | Jerry Heard |
| 10 | May 20, 1973 | Danny Thomas Memphis Classic | -5 (68-69-74-72=283) | 1 stroke | Allen Miller, Lee Trevino |
| 11 | May 12, 1974 | Houston Open | -12 (70-67-74-65=276) | 1 stroke | Rod Curl, Steve Melnyk, Andy North |
| 12 | Sep 28, 1975 | Sahara Invitational | -14 (68-66-67-69=270) | Playoff | Rik Massengale |
| 13 | Jul 4, 1976 | Greater Milwaukee Open | -18 (66-67-68-69=270) | 3 strokes | John Jacobs |
Other wins (5)
this list may be incomplete- 1959 Michigan Open
- 1971 Colorado Open
- 1976 Colorado Open
- 1977 Colorado Open
- 1981 Colorado Open
Senior PGA Tour wins (6)
- 1987 (1) Fairfield Barnett Senior Classic
- 1988 (3) MONY Senior Tournament of Champions, MONY Syracuse Senior Classic, PaineWebber Invitational
- 1989 (2) Bell Atlantic/St. Christopher's Classic, Rancho Murieta Senior Gold Rush
Other senior wins (1)
- 1988 Mazda Champions (with Colleen Walker)
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T50 | T24 |
| U.S. Open | T51 | WD | DNP | CUT | DNP | T22 | T18 | T16 | T13 |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | CUT | T17 | CUT | DNP | DNP | T11 | T17 | T15 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T5 | T27 | CUT | T37 | T11 | 7 | T15 | T39 | T45 | CUT |
| U.S. Open | 2 | CUT | T29 | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | T18 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T68 | T6 | WD | CUT | T3 | T7 | T22 | T48 | T50 | DNP |
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10
To see more of who died in 2011 click here
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