John Harris (golfer)
Encyclopedia
John Richard Harris is an American
professional golfer
who played on the PGA Tour
and the Champions Tour
.
Harris was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
and grew up in Roseau, Minnesota
, near the Canadian border. He attended the University of Minnesota
, where he distinguished himself in both golf
and ice hockey
. Harris was the second-leading scorer on the Gophers
1974 NCAA national championship
team, and then two months later won the individual Big Ten championship in golf.
Harris played minor league hockey after college and then became a professional golfer in 1976. His best finish on the PGA Tour was a T-26 at the 1976 Hawaiian Open. He regained his amateur status in 1983 and soon became one of the dominant players on the amateur circuit in Minnesota
. He won the Minnesota State Amateur four times, the Minnesota State Mid-Amateur five times, and the 1993 U.S. Amateur at the age of 41.
After turning 50 in June 2002, Harris began a second professional golf career. His first win came in his fifth Champions Tour season at the 2006 Commerce Bank Championship
. Harris lives in the upscale Twin Cities
suburb of Eden Prairie
.
Harris took over as director of golf at the University of Minnesota
in July 2010 after the departure of Brad James. In December 2010 the Minnesota Daily
published a report that Harris kept associate women's head coach Katie Brenny from coaching, traveling with the team, or recruiting while letting his son-in-law and former caddy, Ernie Rose, perform those duties under a different title. Harris resigned as director of golf in June 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional golfer
Professional golfer
In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...
who played on the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
and the Champions Tour
Champions Tour
The Champions Tour, a golf tour run by the PGA Tour, hosts a series of events annually in the United States and the United Kingdom for golfers 50 years of age and older. Many of the PGA Tour's most successful golfers have gone on to play on the Champions Tour.The Senior PGA Championship, founded in...
.
Harris was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
and grew up in Roseau, Minnesota
Roseau, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,756 people, 1,157 households, and 713 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,153.6 people per square mile . There were 1,229 housing units at an average density of 514.4 per square mile...
, near the Canadian border. He attended the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, where he distinguished himself in both golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. Harris was the second-leading scorer on the Gophers
Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the college sports team for the University of Minnesota. The university fields both men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, gymnastics, golf, ice hockey, swimming, tennis, and track and field. Men's-specific sports include baseball, football, and...
1974 NCAA national championship
NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship
The annual NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship tournament determines the top men's ice hockey team in NCAA Division I and Division III. The semi-finals and finals of the Division I Championship are branded as the Frozen Four, a passing nod to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship - known...
team, and then two months later won the individual Big Ten championship in golf.
Harris played minor league hockey after college and then became a professional golfer in 1976. His best finish on the PGA Tour was a T-26 at the 1976 Hawaiian Open. He regained his amateur status in 1983 and soon became one of the dominant players on the amateur circuit in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. He won the Minnesota State Amateur four times, the Minnesota State Mid-Amateur five times, and the 1993 U.S. Amateur at the age of 41.
After turning 50 in June 2002, Harris began a second professional golf career. His first win came in his fifth Champions Tour season at the 2006 Commerce Bank Championship
Commerce Bank Championship
The Commerce Bank Championship was a golf tournament on the Champions Tour from 1988 to 2008. It was played annually in June/July in East Meadow, New York at the Red Course at Eisenhower Park. Commerce Bancorp was the main sponsor of the tournament....
. Harris lives in the upscale Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
suburb of Eden Prairie
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 54,901 people, 20,457 households, and 14,579 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 21,026 housing units at an average density of 649.2 per square mile...
.
Harris took over as director of golf at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in July 2010 after the departure of Brad James. In December 2010 the Minnesota Daily
Minnesota Daily
The Minnesota Daily is the campus newspaper of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, published Monday-Thursday while school is in session, and published weekly on Wednesdays during summer sessions. Published since 1900, the paper is one of the largest student-run and student-written newspapers...
published a report that Harris kept associate women's head coach Katie Brenny from coaching, traveling with the team, or recruiting while letting his son-in-law and former caddy, Ernie Rose, perform those duties under a different title. Harris resigned as director of golf in June 2011.
Amateur wins
- 1974 Big Ten Championship (individual), Minnesota State Amateur
- 1987 Minnesota State Amateur
- 1988 Minnesota State Mid-Amateur
- 1989 Minnesota State Amateur
- 1990 Minnesota State Mid-Amateur
- 1991 Minnesota State Mid-Amateur
- 1992 Minnesota State Mid-Amateur
- 1993 U.S. Amateur
- 1995 Sunnehanna AmateurSunnehanna AmateurThe Sunnehanna Amateur, officially the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions, is a men's amateur golf tournament. Founded in 1954, it is hosted annually at the Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States...
- 1997 Porter CupPorter CupThe Porter Cup is a 72-hole, medal-play elite amateur golf tournament held annually at the Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, New York. It was first played in 1959 and over the years has hosted some of the biggest names in golf...
- 1999 Minnesota State Mid-Amateur
- 2000 Minnesota State Amateur
- 2002 Terra Cotta InvitationalTerra Cotta InvitationalThe Terra Cotta Invitational is an annual amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1996 at Naples National Golf Club in Naples, Florida....
Regular career wins
- 1994 Minnesota State OpenMinnesota State OpenThe Minnesota State Open is the Minnesota state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Minnesota section of the PGA of America...
(as an amateur) - 1995 Minnesota State OpenMinnesota State OpenThe Minnesota State Open is the Minnesota state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Minnesota section of the PGA of America...
(as an amateur)
Champions Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 25, 2006 2006 Champions Tour The 2006 Champions Tour was the 27th season since the Champions Tour officially began in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour. The season consisted of 28 official money events with purses totalling $50,950,000, including five majors. One other tournament, the Bank of America Championship, with a purse of... |
Commerce Bank Championship Commerce Bank Championship The Commerce Bank Championship was a golf tournament on the Champions Tour from 1988 to 2008. It was played annually in June/July in East Meadow, New York at the Red Course at Eisenhower Park. Commerce Bancorp was the main sponsor of the tournament.... |
Playoff |  Tom JenkinsTom Jenkins Thomas Wayne Jenkins is an American golfer.Jenkins was born in Houston, Texas. He attended the University of Houston, where he was a member of the winning 1970 NCAA Division I golf team. He graduated in 1971 and turned professional. His only PGA Tour victory was the 1975 IVB-Philadelphia Golf... |
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur- Walker CupWalker CupThe Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in odd numbered years between teams comprising the leading amateur golfers of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland...
: 1993 (winners), 1995, 19971997 Walker CupThe 1997 Walker Cup, the 36th Walker Cup Match, was played on August 9 and 10, 1997, at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, New York. The event was won by the United States 18 to 6.-Format:...
(winners), 20012001 Walker CupThe 2001 Walker Cup, the 38th Walker Cup Match, was played on August 11 and 12, 2001, at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Georgia. The event was won by Great Britain and Ireland 15 to 9, marking the first time that Great Britain & Ireland retained the Cup .-Format:The format for play on... - Eisenhower TrophyEisenhower TrophyThe Eisenhower Trophy is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. It is named for Dwight D. Eisenhower, the President of the United States when the tournament was first played, who was a keen amateur golfer. Recent tournaments have...
: 1994 (winners)