| Butch Baird | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Fred Baird |
| Born | (1936-07-20)July 20, 1936 (age 88) Chicago, Illinois |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  United States |
| Residence | Scottsdale, Arizona |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1959 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions Tour |
| Professional wins | 14 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 2 |
| PGA Tour Champions | 2 |
| Other | 9 (regular) 1 (senior) |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | CUT: 1977 |
| PGA Championship | T28: 1966 |
| U.S. Open | T4:1976 |
| The Open Championship | CUT: 1978 |
Fred "Butch" Baird (born July 20, 1936) is an Americanprofessional golfer who played on thePGA Tour and theSenior PGA Tour (now known as theChampions Tour).
Baird was born inChicago, Illinois. He learned the game at the age of 14 from his father. He turned pro in 1959 after working in theTexas oil fields for a few years after high school.[1]
Baird won two official PGA Tour events during his career: the 1961Waco Turner Open and the 1976San Antonio Texas Open. The San Antonio victory came 15 years, 5 months and 10 days after the Waco win, and was the record for longest time span between victories in PGA history until eclipsed byRobert Gamez in 2005.[2][3] His career year came in 1976, when in addition to his San Antonio win, he finished 46th on the money list with $58,192. Also in 1976, came his best finish in amajor championship — a T-4 at theU.S. Open.[4]
Baird now lives inScottsdale, Arizona as do many other professional golfers. He has a golf-memorabilia marketing business, BBJM Golf Enterprises, with partner Jack Mishler. His son,Briny, is also a professional golfer.
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 7,1961 | Waco Turner Open | −7 (73-72-68-68=281) | 1 stroke |  Rex Baxter |
| 2 | Oct 17,1976 | San Antonio Texas Open | −15 (68-70-70-65=273) | Playoff | Miller Barber |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1976 | San Antonio Texas Open | Miller Barber | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 19,1986 | Cuyahoga Seniors International | −3 (70-71-69=210) | 4 strokes | Chi-Chi Rodríguez |
| 2 | Jun 18,1989 | Northville Long Island Classic | −9 (58-62-63=183)* | Playoff | Frank Beard,Don Bies,Orville Moody |
*Note: The 1989 Northville Long Island Classic was played over 16 holes for each round due to flooding.[5]
Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1987 | MONY Senior Tournament of Champions | Don January | Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole |
| 2 | 1989 | Northville Long Island Classic | Frank Beard,Don Bies,Orville Moody | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| !Tournament | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | CUT | T42 | |||||
| The Open Championship | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T28 | T32 |
| !Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | ||||||||||||
| U.S. Open | T52 | T4 | CUT | T53 | |||||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | ||||||||||||
| PGA Championship | T40 | CUT | T42 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied