Russ Cochran
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox golfer Russell Earl Cochran (born October 31, 1958) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions, having previously been a member on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He is one of the few natural left-handed players to win a PGA Tour event. For much of the 1980s through 1992, he was the only left-hander on the PGA Tour.
Early life and amateur career
Cochran was born, raised and has lived most of his life in Paducah, Kentucky. He grew up playing on Paxton Park Public Golf Course in Paducah, as did fellow PGA Tour player Kenny Perry, who came along a couple years later.
After graduating from St. Mary High School in Paducah, he attended the University of Kentucky and was a member of the golf team.
Professional career
In 1979, Cochran turned pro. He joined the PGA Tour in 1982.
Cochran has about 60 top-10 finishes in official PGA Tour events including a victory at the 1991 Centel Western Open when he made up seven shots over eight holes to beat Greg Norman.[1] His career year was 1991, when in addition to his win at the Western Open, he had two second-place finishes—including a playoff loss to Craig Stadler at the Tour Championship – and a third and finished 10th on the money list. His best finish in a major was a tie for seventh at the 1992 PGA Championship.[2] Cochran set the Valhalla Golf Club course record (65) in the third round of the 1996 PGA Championship which stood until broken (63) in the same tournament four years later by José María Olazábal. He played some on the Nationwide Tour in his mid-to-late 40s in preparation for the Champions Tour. His best Nationwide finish was a tie for third at the 2003 Chitimacha Louisiana Open.
Senior career
Cochran debuted on the Champions Tour with a tie for seventh at the Allianz Championship on February 15, 2009, at Boca Raton, Florida. He finished third at the U.S. Senior Open on August 2, 2009, at Carmel, Indiana, setting the Crooked Stick Golf Club course record with a third-round score of 8-under par 64. He ended the year by winning the Rookie of the Year award. In 2010, he earned his first victory on the Champions Tour, defeating Fred Funk on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff in the Posco E&C Songdo Championship in South Korea, and followed that up with another win in the tour's next event, the SAS Championship in North Carolina.
Cochran won his maiden senior major championship at the 2011 Senior British Open Championship at Walton Heath. Cochran finished two strokes ahead of the third round leader Mark Calcavecchia. He shot a final round 67 which included six birdies in the first ten holes to open up a five stroke advantage. Despite a late charge by Calcavecchia, Cochran parred the last four holes and held on for a two stroke victory. Afterwards Cochran claimed having his son on the bag was a factor in his success. "It feels great, I had my son (Reed) on the bag, I told him I was going to work hard and come away with something good and I think he was the lucky charm."[3]
In June 2013, Cochran won for the fourth time on the Champions Tour at the Principal Charity Classic. He came from two shots back with a final round 67 to finish a single stroke ahead of Jay Don Blake. This ended a two-year title drought that Cochran had spent battling rib and wrist injuries. In October 2013, he won his second title of the year at the SAS Championship, where he finished with four consecutive birdies to beat David Frost by a single stroke.
Personal life
Cochran and his wife, Jackie, have four children: three sons and a daughter. His oldest son, Ryan, played golf at the University of Florida and aspires to play professionally like his father. Russ's son Case and nephew Rick III are also professional golfers.
Professional wins (10)
PGA Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 7, 1991 | Centel Western Open | −13 (66-72-68-69=275) | 2 strokes | Template:Flagicon Greg Norman |
PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1992 | The Tour Championship | Template:Flagicon Craig Stadler | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
Tournament Players Series wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 10, 1983 | Magnolia Classic | −7 (70-70-63=203)* | 2 strokes | Template:Flagicon Sammy Rachels |
| 2 | Jul 24, 1983 | Greater Baltimore Open | −6 (71-70-66-67=274) | 1 stroke | Template:Flagicon Terry Snodgrass |
*Note: The 1983 Magnolia Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.
Other wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 3, 2011 | LIME Jamaica Open | −10 (68-70-68=206) | 2 strokes | Template:Flagicon Dave Levesque, Template:Flagicon Dave Rummells |
| 2 | Dec 1, 2012 | Half Moon Jamaica Open (2) | −13 (66-71-66=203) | 3 strokes | Template:Flagicon Dustin Risdon |
Other playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1991 | Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic | Template:Flagicon Mike Nicolette, Template:Flagicon Larry Silveira | Silveira won with birdie on first extra hole |
Champions Tour wins (5)
| Legend |
|---|
| Senior major championships (1) |
| Other Champions Tour (4) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 12, 2010 | Posco E&C Songdo Championship | −12 (73-65-66=204) | Playoff | Template:Flagicon Fred Funk |
| 2 | Sep 26, 2010 | SAS Championship | −14 (64-67-71=202) | 2 strokes | Template:Flagicon Tom Pernice Jr. |
| 3 | Jul 24, 2011 | The Senior Open Championship | −12 (72-70-67-67=276) | 2 strokes | Template:Flagicon Mark Calcavecchia |
| 4 | Jun 2, 2013 | Principal Charity Classic | −11 (71-67-67=205) | 1 stroke | Template:Flagicon Jay Don Blake |
| 5 | Oct 13, 2013 | SAS Championship (2) | −17 (66-66-67=199) | 1 stroke | Template:Flagicon David Frost |
Champions Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2010 | Posco E&C Songdo Championship | Template:Flagicon Fred Funk | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2011 | Boeing Classic | Template:Flagicon Mark Calcavecchia | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||||
| U.S. Open | T66 | |||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||
| PGA Championship | T10 | CUT | T28 | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | T21 | T33 | ||||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | T33 | CUT | CUT | |||||||
| The Open Championship | T28 | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T7 | T44 | CUT | T17 | T61 | T34 | CUT |
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 7 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 12 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (1992 U.S. Open – 1993 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)
Results in The Players Championship
| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T44 | CUT | CUT | 60 | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | CUT | WD | T49 | 27 | T69 | CUT | T10 | CUT | T71 |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T61 | CUT |
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = Tied
Senior major championships
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Senior Open Championship | Tied for lead | −12 (72-70-67-67=276) | 2 strokes | Template:Flagicon Mark Calcavecchia |
Results timeline
Results not in chronological order.
| Tournament | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tradition | T41 | T18 | T5 | T5 | WD | T57 | T47 | T43 | T53 | NT | 65 | T59 | ||||
| Senior PGA Championship | T33 | T23 | T29 | T6 | 12 | T17 | CUT | T56 | NT | WD | ||||||
| U.S. Senior Open | 3 | T28 | T17 | WD | T14 | T15 | CUT | NT | ||||||||
| Senior Players Championship | T41 | T5 | T15 | T30 | WD | 3 | T3 | T71 | 70 | T60 | WD | 74 | ||||
| The Senior Open Championship | T19 | T3 | 1 | T14 | T10 | T31 | T66 | T31 | 72 | CUT | NT | CUT | T58 | CUT | WD |
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
See also
- 1982 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 1995 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 2001 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 2003 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
References
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External links
- Pages with script errors
- American male golfers
- Kentucky Wildcats men's golfers
- PGA Tour golfers
- PGA Tour Champions golfers
- Winners of senior major golf championships
- Golfers from Kentucky
- Left-handed golfers
- Sportspeople from Paducah, Kentucky
- St. Mary High School (Paducah, Kentucky) alumni
- 1958 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American sportsmen