Early years

North was born in Thorp, Wisconsin, and raised in Monona, Wisconsin. He attended Monona Grove High School, graduating in 1968. He won the 1969 Wisconsin State Amateur Championship at Merrill Hills Country Club in Waukesha, Wisconsin by defeating Richard Sucher in a match play final.

College career

North accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Buster Bishop's Florida Gators men's golf team from 1969 to 1972. He was a three-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection, and an All-American in 1970, 1971 and 1972. North graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1972, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as "Gator Great."

Professional career

North turned professional in 1972. He had a moderately successful career on the PGA Tour made remarkable by the fact that two of his three wins on the Tour were in the U.S. Open. The first PGA Tour win of North's career came at the 1977 American Express Westchester Classic. He was 28 years old when he won the 1978 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. He moved into the lead after the second round, and was one shot ahead going into Sunday, but an erratic final round left him needing to make a five on the last hole to take the championship. He struggled up the 18th, finding the rough twice and then landing in a greenside bunker, but he made a four-foot putt to win by one stroke over J. C. Snead and Dave Stockton.

At the 1985 U.S. Open, North found himself two shots behind Taiwan's Chen Tze-chung going into the final round, but three shots clear of the rest of the field. Chen moved into a four-shot lead early, but threw the tournament wide open by shooting a quadruple bogey eight on the fifth hole. The lead swung between North, Chen, Denis Watson, Payne Stewart, and Dave Barr, who had surged into contention, but North went into the last hole with a two-shot lead, and his bogey five was enough to give him a second major championship.

North played on the 1985 Ryder Cup team. In 1990, he won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Since turning 50 in 2000 North has played intermittently on the Champions Tour. His best finish at this level is second in the 2001 Emerald Coast Classic.

Broadcast career

In 1993, North joined ESPN as an on-course reporter. In 2004, he was promoted to the lead on-course reporter for ESPN and ABC Sports. He also has been the lead analyst on ESPN's golf studio shows with host Scott Van Pelt since 2003. According to ESPN, his preview shows for major championships have been so in-depth that Tour players have been known to watch them to help with course strategy. From 2003 to 2014, North concluded his U.S. Open preview show by dressing up in a doctor's outfit and using an often modified formula to pick the winner of the tournament. North eliminates groups of players who he believes will not win by writing them on large white placards which he then tosses over the edge of the set. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.

Amateur wins (2)

• 1969 Wisconsin Amateur
• 1971 Western Amateur

Professional wins (14)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Aug 21, 1977	American Express Westchester Classic	66-70-65-71=272	−16	2 strokes	George Archer
2	Jun 18, 1978	U.S. Open	70-70-71-74=285	+1	1 stroke	J. C. Snead, Dave Stockton
3	Jun 16, 1985	U.S. Open	70-65-70-74=279	−1	1 stroke	Dave Barr, Chen Tze-chung, Denis Watson

Major championships are shown in bold.

Other wins (4)

• 1978 World Cup (with John Mahaffey)
• 1979 PGA Grand Slam of Golf (tie with Gary Player)
• 1980 Center Open (Argentina)
• 1990 PGA Grand Slam of Golf

Champions Tour wins (1)

• 2008 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Tom Watson)

Other senior wins (6)

• 2000 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Jim Colbert)
• 2001 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Jim Colbert)
• 2005 ING Par-3 Shootout, Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Raphael Division (with Tom Watson)
• 2006 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Raphael Division (with Tom Watson)
• 2007 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Raphael Division (with Tom Watson)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
1978	U.S. Open	1 shot lead	+1 (70-70-71-74= 285)	1 stroke	J. C. Snead, Dave Stockton
1985	U.S. Open	2 shot deficit	−1 (70-65-70-74=279)	1 stroke	Dave Barr, Chen Tze-chung, Denis Watson

Results timeline

Tournament	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	T37	T24	T32	T12
U.S. Open	DNP	T12	T14	CUT	1	T11
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT
PGA Championship	T39	4	T49	CUT	T42	CUT

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	T24	CUT	CUT	T30	T41	DNP	DNP	CUT	T36	CUT
U.S. Open	T8	T43	T22	T10	CUT	1	67	CUT	CUT	CUT
The Open Championship	T45	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T47	DNP
PGA Championship	T15	T11	T70	CUT	DNP	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	T58

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Masters Tournament	T27	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T51	T37	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
The Open Championship	T39	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
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	0	0	0	0	3	13	9
U.S. Open	2	0	0	2	4	8	21	12
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	3
PGA Championship	0	0	0	1	1	3	15	8
Totals	2	0	0	3	5	14	53	32

• Most consecutive cuts made - 7 (1974 PGA - 1977 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s - 1 (five times)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1985
• World Cup: 1978 (winners)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]