Charles Coody

Charles Coody
Personal information
Full name	Billy Charles Coody
Born	(1937-07-13) July 13, 1937 Stamford, Texas
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Career
College	Abilene Christian University Texas Christian University
Turned professional	1963
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	15
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	3
European Tour	2
PGA Tour Champions	5
Other	1 (regular) 4 (senior)
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1971
PGA Championship	4th: 1977
U.S. Open	T13: 1969
The Open Championship	T5: 1971

Billy Charles Coody (born July 13, 1937) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the 1971 Masters Tournament.

Coody was born in Stamford, Texas and raised in Abilene, Texas. He attended Abilene Christian University before transferring to and graduating in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in Business from Texas Christian University, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He made his pro debut in 1963.

Coody won two regular PGA Tour events early in his career and was known as one of the best iron players of his era. However he was considered somewhat of an underachiever until his Masters victory. In the words of his contemporary Frank Beard, "Charlie's one of our better shotmakers but he tries hard not to win." Coody held the lead at the 1969 Masters Tournament with three holes left but finished bogey-bogey-bogey to tie for 5th place.

At the 1971 Masters Tournament, Coody opened with a three-shot lead. He remained in the lead entering the final round but was expected to lose to co-leader Jack Nicklaus who had won the 1971 PGA Championship two months earlier. The event turned into a 3-way battle between Coody, Nicklaus, and a young Johnny Miller who was playing his first Masters as a professional. Miller took control with birdies on #11, #12, and #14 to build a two shot lead. However, things began to unravel when he hit his approach into the bunker on the 15th and failed to make birdie. He again hit his approach into the bunker on the 16th and made bogey. Coody, playing in the group behind Miller, went for the 15th green in two and ended up behind the same bunker Miller had just been in. Coody then chipped to 8 feet beyond the hole and made it coming back for birdie to reach 8-under. He next made another clutch birdie at the par-3 16th by striking his 6-iron to 13 feet and holing the putt to reach 9-under and take the lead alone. He made pars on the last two and won by two strokes. Nicklaus uncharacteristically played mediocre on Sunday. He had four three-putts for the round and shot 37 on the back nine without a birdie. He tied Miller for runner-up.

Coody had his share of success after his Masters victory. He represented the United States for the only time in the 1971 Ryder Cup. He finished 5th at the 1971 Open Championship. He won two events on the fledgling European Tour in 1973. He also had chances to win additional majors at the 1976 PGA Championship and 1977 PGA Championship. In 1976 he held a two stroke lead entering the final round before collapsing with a 77. The following year, at Pebble Beach, he finished two strokes out of a playoff, shooting a 73 in the final round.

However, his Masters triumph did not serve as a catalyst for Coody to become one of the greats in the game. While he posted nine top-3 finishes through the 1970s and early 1980s, he never won on the PGA Tour again. One example of his 'close calls' after his Masters win was the 1972 Hawaiian Open played at Waialae Country Club in early February. Coody fired rounds of 66-72-69-68 to finish at 13-under par 275 . . . but missed the Grier Jones/Bob Murphy playoff by a stroke (won by Jones). Coody played full-time on the PGA Tour until he reached his late 40s.

When he turned 50, Coody played on the Senior PGA Tour with a decent amount of success, winning five times. Like most Masters winners, Coody played the Masters Tournament through his old age. He retired from active competition at the 2006 event having played 38 of the last 39 Masters.

Coody was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. A college golf tournament, the Charles Coody West Texas Intercollegiate, is named for him. He also lends his name to a charity event, the Charles Coody Classic.

Coody's son Kyle was also a professional golfer in the 1980s and 1990s. Grandsons Pierceson and Parker turned pro in 2022.

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (3)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Sep 7, 1964	Dallas Open Invitational	−13 (67-67-68-69=271)	1 stroke	Jerry Edwards
2	Jun 29, 1969	Cleveland Open Invitational	−9 (67-64-71-69=271)	2 strokes	Bruce Crampton
3	Apr 11, 1971	Masters Tournament	−9 (66-73-70-70=279)	2 strokes	Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus

European Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Sep 8, 1973	W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament	−7 (70-72-69-70=281)	1 stroke	Jack Newton
2	Sep 29, 1973	John Player Classic	+5 (68-74-70-77=289)	3 strokes	Tony Jacklin

Other wins (1)

• 1971 World Series of Golf

Senior PGA Tour wins (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Nov 12, 1989	General Tire Las Vegas Classic	−11 (67-69-69=205)	Playoff	Bob Charles, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
2	Oct 7, 1990	Vantage Championship	−14 (67-65-70=202)	3 strokes	Bob Charles, Al Geiberger
3	Jun 2, 1991	NYNEX Commemorative	−17 (66-62-65=193)	3 strokes	Don Massengale
4	Oct 20, 1991	Transamerica Senior Golf Championship	−12 (67-66-71=204)	2 strokes	Lee Trevino
5	Jun 16, 1996	du Maurier Champions	−9 (69-70-67-65=271)	1 stroke	Larry Mowry

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	1989	General Tire Las Vegas Classic	Bob Charles, Chi-Chi Rodríguez	Won with birdie on second extra hole

Other senior wins (4)

• 1990 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Dale Douglass)
• 1994 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Dale Douglass)
• 1998 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (Legends Division with Dale Douglass)
• 1998 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (Legendary Division with Dale Douglass)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
1971	Masters Tournament	Tied for lead	−9 (66-73-70-70=279)	2 strokes	Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus

Results timeline

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament				CUT			CUT		T30	T5
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT		CUT	CUT	CUT	T52	T28	T16	T13
The Open Championship
PGA Championship						CUT			T8	T7

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	T12	1	T12	T29	T29	T40	T5	CUT	CUT	T34
U.S. Open	T64	T63	CUT	T29	CUT	CUT	T38		T30
The Open Championship		T5
PGA Championship	T35	CUT	15	T35		CUT	T8	4	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	T38	T40	CUT	T36	CUT	T44	CUT	CUT	CUT	T38
U.S. Open	T47
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	T41	74		T55

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT		T57	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

  Win

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	1	0	0	3	3	5	40	16
U.S. Open	0	0	0	0	0	2	18	10
The Open Championship	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1
PGA Championship	0	0	0	1	4	5	15	10
Totals	1	0	0	5	8	13	74	37

• Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1966 U.S. Open – 1971 Open Championship)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1968 PGA – 1969 Masters)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1971 (winners)

External links

• Charles Coody at the PGA Tour official site
• Charles Coody at the European Tour official site