Early life

Green was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended and played golf for Shades Valley High School in Birmingham and then Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee, Florida. While at FSU, he won the Southern Amateur in 1966 on his home course at the Country Club of Birmingham. In 1967, he became the Alabama Amateur golf champion, a title he successfully defended in 1968. He also won the Cape Coral Inter-Collegiate Tournament by eight strokes and the Miami Invitational by five strokes, among others. His fourth-place finish in the 1968 U.S. Amateur in Columbus, Ohio earned him an invitation to play in the 1969 Masters as an amateur. Green graduated from FSU in 1968 with a degree in marketing. That year he also enlisted in the Alabama National Guard at Enterprise, Alabama. However, in 1969, Green won the Southern Amateur for a second time, and as one of the top 10 amateurs in the country, he decided to turn pro. He took a year to earn his PGA of America credentials.

Career

In his 26 years on the PGA Tour, Green had 19 victories, including two major championships: the 1977 U.S. Open at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the 1985 PGA Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. He finished in the top-25 in a third of the PGA Tour events he entered. He also played on three Ryder Cup teams (1977, 1979, and 1985) and was undefeated in singles play.

In 1971, Green won the Houston Champions International and was the PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year. He went on to multiple victories throughout 1970s, but he was at his peak in the latter part of that decade.

In March of 1976, Green won three PGA Tour events in consecutive weeks, an unusual achievement in any era.

At the 1977 U.S. Open, as Green walked to the 15th tee of the final round, he was notified of a caller anonymously phoning in a death threat on his life. The police presented him with options, and he courageously opted to play on, winning by one stroke over Lou Graham.

A month later at the 1977 Open Championship at Turnberry, Green finished third behind Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus, who were respectively eleven and ten shots clear of Green in their famous "Duel in the Sun."

Green was ranked third in Mark McCormack's world golf rankings in 1977, having also won the 1977 Irish Open in August.

Green finished in the top 10 of the Masters six times in seven years from 1974 to 1980. At the 1978 Masters he came to the final hole about 30 minutes after Gary Player had finished a round of 64. Player had a 1-shot lead over Green, who hit a good drive and then a great approach to within three feet of the cup. Green had to back away from the putt when he overheard radio announcer Jim Kelly say something. When Green took the stroke, he pushed it a little to the right and the putt slid by. Green never blamed Kelly, however, telling Golf Digest, "Only an amateur would have been put off by the interruption — or would try to make excuses about it."

At the 1985 PGA Championship, Green won his second major title, two strokes ahead of defending champion Lee Trevino. It was Green's 19th and final victory on the PGA Tour.

In 1998, his second season on the Senior PGA Tour (now Champions Tour), Green won the Bruno's Memorial Classic in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. He shot a final round of 64, playing the last six holes with an eagle, four birdies, and one par to beat Hale Irwin by one stroke.

Green has also been active in golf course design, having worked on TPC Southwind, the site for the PGA Tour's St. Jude Classic; Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia; and Greystone Golf & Country Club, the site of his Bruno's Classic victory.

Green retired as a touring professional in 2009 but remains Alabama's most outstanding amateur and professional golfer.

Cancer survivor

In the spring of 2003, Green was diagnosed with oral cancer after his dentist noticed an unusual swelling on the back of his tongue after a routine cleaning and referred him to a medical specialist for evaluation. Green underwent a very difficult and painful regimen of radiation and chemotherapy treatments during the summer of 2003. By the end of 2003, however, his cancer was in remission; his weight crept up to 165 pounds from a low of 143 pounds.

Honors

Green was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Southern Amateur Hall of Fame in 2006. He received the Champions Tour Comeback Player of the Year award in 2002 and 2004, and the American Cancer Life Inspiration Award in 2004. At the 2005 Masters Tournament, Green was presented with the Ben Hogan Award for continuing to be active in golf despite a serious illness. In 2007, he was recognized again when he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Amateur wins

this list may be incomplete

• 1966 Southern Amateur
• 1967 Alabama Amateur
• 1968 Alabama Amateur
• 1969 Southern Amateur

Professional wins (28)

PGA Tour wins (19)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	May 16, 1971	Houston Champions International	−4 (68-69-72-71=280)	Playoff	Don January
2	Apr 22, 1973	Tallahassee Open	−11 (69-67-70-71=277)	1 stroke	Jim Simons
3	Sep 23, 1973	B.C. Open	−18 (69-65-65-67=266)	6 strokes	Dwight Nevil
4	Feb 10, 1974	Bob Hope Desert Classic	−19 (72-69-66-69-65=341)	2 strokes	Bert Yancey
5	Mar 17, 1974	Greater Jacksonville Open	−12 (70-67-68-71=276)	3 strokes	John Mahaffey
6	Jun 9, 1974	IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic	−17 (70-67-66-68=271)	4 strokes	Hale Irwin
7	Nov 3, 1974	Walt Disney World National Team Championship (with Mac McLendon)	−33 (64-64-63-64=255)	1 stroke	Sam Snead & J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed & Bert Yancey
8	Sep 7, 1975	Southern Open	−16 (68-66-66-64=264)	3 strokes	John Schroeder
9	Mar 14, 1976	Doral-Eastern Open	−18 (66-70-65-69=270)	6 strokes	Mark Hayes, Jack Nicklaus
10	Mar 21, 1976	Greater Jacksonville Open	−12 (72-67-67-70=276)	2 strokes	Miller Barber
11	Mar 28, 1976	Sea Pines Heritage Classic	−10 (68-67-66-73=274)	5 strokes	Jerry McGee
12	Jun 19, 1977	U.S. Open	−2 (69-67-72-70=278)	1 stroke	Lou Graham
13	Feb 5, 1978	Hawaiian Open	−14 (69-66-68-71=274)	Playoff	Billy Kratzert
14	Mar 26, 1978	Heritage Classic	−7 (70-70-70-67=277)	3 strokes	Hale Irwin
15	Feb 11, 1979	Hawaiian Open	−21 (68-67-63-69=267)	3 strokes	Fuzzy Zoeller
16	Apr 29, 1979	First NBC New Orleans Open	−15 (69-67-69-68=273)	1 stroke	Frank Conner, Bruce Lietzke, Steve Melnyk, Lee Trevino
17	Aug 16, 1981	Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open	−20 (68-65-67-64=264)	1 stroke	Bobby Clampett, Fred Couples, Roger Maltbie
18	Oct 14, 1984	Southern Open	−15 (65-66-67-67=265)	6 strokes	Rex Caldwell, Scott Hoch, Corey Pavin
19	Aug 11, 1985	PGA Championship	−6 (67-69-70-72=278)	2 strokes	Lee Trevino

PGA Tour playoff record (2-3)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1971	Houston Champions International	Don January	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1975	Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open	Don Bies	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
3	1978	Hawaiian Open	Bill Kratzert	Won with par on second extra hole
4	1978	World Series of Golf	Gil Morgan	Lost to par on first extra hole
5	1986	Doral-Eastern Open	Andy Bean	Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole

European Tour wins (1)

• 1977 Carroll's Irish Open

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

• 1975 Dunlop Phoenix
• 1985 Casio World Open

Other wins (1)

• 1980 Jerry Ford Invitational (co-winner)

Champions Tour wins (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	May 3, 1998	Bruno's Memorial Classic	−13 (70-69-64=203)	1 stroke	Hale Irwin
2	Mar 12, 2000	Audi Senior Classic	−19 (65-70-62=197)	5 strokes	Jim Colbert, Dean Overtuff, Doug Tewell
3	Sep 17, 2000	Kroger Senior Classic	−10 (66-70-64=200)	1 stroke	Larry Nelson
4	Aug 4, 2002	Lightpath Long Island Classic	−14 (67-64-68=199)	Playoff	Hale Irwin

Champions Tour playoff record (1-1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2000	Home Depot Invitational	Bruce Fleisher	Lost to birdie on third extra hole
2	2002	Lightpath Long Island Classic	Hale Irwin	Won with birdie on seventh extra hole

Other senior wins (1)

• 1999 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Gil Morgan)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1977	U.S. Open	1 shot lead	−2 (69-67-72-70=278)	1 stroke	Lou Graham
1985	PGA Championship	3 shot lead	−6 (67-69-70-72=278)	2 strokes	Lee Trevino

Results timeline

Tournament	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	CUT	DNP	DNP	T22	T14	T9	T8	T19	T8	T2	T10
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	T55	CUT	T26	T18	6	1	CUT	24
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	4	T32	T5	3	T29	T41
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	T16	DQ	T3	DNP	T30	T62	T26	T16

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	4	T11	T43	DNP	DNP	CUT	T36	T35	T19	T34
U.S. Open	T32	T37	CUT	T60	T30	CUT	T55	CUT	CUT	T9
The Open Championship	T6	T23	CUT	T19	CUT	DNP	WD	DNP	T52	DNP
PGA Championship	T68	T27	CUT	CUT	T14	1	T41	T56	WD	66

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
Masters Tournament	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	T51	CUT	CUT	CUT

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	1	0	2	6	11	18	15
U.S. Open	1	0	0	1	3	5	19	12
The Open Championship	0	0	1	3	4	6	13	10
PGA Championship	1	0	1	2	2	5	24	14
Totals	2	1	2	8	15	27	74	51

• Most consecutive cuts made - 16 (1974 Masters - 1978 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s - 3 (twice)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1977 (winners), 1979 (winners), 1985
• World Cup: 1977

[ Source: Wikipedia ]