Gary Koch - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Gary_Koch

Gary Koch
Gary D. Koch (born November 21, 1952) is an American
professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer, who
Gary Koch
formerly played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Personal information
Champions Tour. Full name Gary D.
Koch
Born November
Contents 21, 1952
Baton
Early years
Rouge,
College career Louisiana
Professional career Height 5 ft 11 in
Post-professional career (1.80 m)
Amateur wins Weight 170 lb
(77 kg;
Professional wins (10)
PGA Tour wins (6) 12 st)

Other wins (1) Nationality United

Champions Tour wins (3) States
Residence Tampa,
Playoff record
Florida
Results in major championships
Career
Summary
College University
U.S. national team appearances
of Florida
See also
Turned professional 1975
References
Current tour(s) Champions
External links Tour
Former tour(s) PGA Tour

Early years Professional wins 10

Number of wins by tour
Koch was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1952, and raised in PGA Tour 6
Florida. He won the Florida Open in 1969 as an amateur at the
Best results in major
age of 16. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1970.[1] He
championships
attended C. Leon King High School in Tampa, Florida. The 1969
King High golf team consisting of Koch, Eddie Pearce, Brian Masters Tournament T16: 1985,
Hawke and Phil Reid won the Florida high school title setting a 1986
scoring record that stood for thirty years. PGA Championship T10: 1979
U.S. Open T6: 1982
College career The Open Championship T4: 1988

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Koch accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where
he became a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity (Florida Upsilon Chapter). While he was an
undergraduate, Koch played for coach Buster Bishop's Florida Gators men's golf team in National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1971 to 1974.[2] As a Gator golfer, he was a
four-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection, and a three-time All-American.
[2][3] He was also a member of the Gators teams that won SEC championships in 1973 and 1974 and

an NCAA Championship in 1973.[4] Individually, he was a two-time medalist in the SEC tournament
(1973, 1974), and the runner-up behind Ben Crenshaw at the 1973 NCAA championship
tournament.[2] His Gators teammates included fellow future PGA Tour professionals Woody
Blackburn, Andy Bean, Phil Hancock and Andy North.[2] Koch graduated from Florida with a
bachelor's degree in journalism in 1976, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall
of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1978.[5][6]

Professional career
Koch turned professional in 1975, and won six events as a professional on the PGA Tour during the
1970s and 1980s. His career year in professional golf came in 1984 when he finished seventeenth on
the money list and captured two titles: the Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open and the Bay Hill
Classic.

In preparation for play on the Champions Tour, Koch played some on the Nationwide Tour in his late
40s. After turning 50 in November 2002, he began play on the Champions Tour. His best finish in
this venue was a tie for second at both the ACE Group Classic and Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in
2004.

Post-professional career
Koch's career as a sportscaster began in 1990 with ESPN working Champions Tour telecasts. Before
the end of the decade, he joined NBC Sports. A long-time member of the NBC Sports announcing
team (1996–present), he is mostly known for his "Better than Most"[7] call in the third round of the
2001 Players Championship at the TPC at Sawgrass. Three down from leader Kenny Perry, Tiger
Woods was facing a long, triple-breaking, fringe putt for birdie on the 17th hole's famous Island
Green. Koch's call of that putt has gone down as one of the most famous in golf history as it was
during the height of Tiger's dominance, on an iconic hole of a well-known course, on the way to an
inevitable, yet routine Woods comeback to win the tournament.

Koch also maintains an interest in golf course design and helped design the front nine of "The Forest"
course at The Eagles Golf Course in Odessa, Florida. Koch was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of
Fame in 2012.[8] Koch currently resides in Tampa, Florida.

Amateur wins
this list may be incomplete

1970 U.S. Junior Amateur

1973 Trans-Mississippi Amateur

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Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (6)

Margin
To
No. Date Tournament Winning score of Runner(s)-up
par
victory

Apr 18,
1 Tallahassee Open 71-69-67-70=277 −11 1 stroke John Mahaffey
1976

Mar 7, 2 Dale Hayes,

2 Florida Citrus Open 70-69-65-70=274 −14
1977 strokes Joe Inman

Feb 27, 5
3 Doral-Eastern Open 69-67-65-70=271 −17 Ed Fiori
1983 strokes

Jan 29, Isuzu-Andy Williams

4 68-70-69-65=272 −16 Playoff Gary Hallberg
1984 San Diego Open

Mar 18,
5 Bay Hill Classic 69-68-72-63=272 −12 Playoff George Burns
1984

May 8, Panasonic Las Vegas Peter Jacobsen,

6 68-73-66-67=274 −14 1 stroke
1988 Invitational Mark O'Meara

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result

Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Gary Won with birdie on second extra
1 1984
Open Hallberg hole

George Won with birdie on second extra

2 1984 Bay Hill Classic
Burns hole

Other wins (1)

1969 Florida Open (as an amateur)

Champions Tour wins (3)

2003 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf – Raphael Division (with Roger Maltbie)
2008 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf – Raphael Division (with Roger Maltbie)
2009 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf – Raphael Division (with Roger Maltbie)

Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)

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No. Year Tournament Opponents Result

Vintage ARCO Craig Stadler, Tom Stadler won with birdie on first
1 2004
Invitational Watson extra hole

Playoff record
Japan Golf Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result

1 1984 Casio World Open Sandy Lyle Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament CUT CUT T42
U.S. Open 57 CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship CUT CUT T64 T10
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament CUT T35 T16 T16 T22 T25 CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT T6 T24 T34 CUT T15 CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship T14 T60 T11 T6 T4 T30
PGA Championship T46 CUT T54 CUT 66 T31 T61
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Top 10
Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made

Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 4 10 6

U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 1 3 16 5

The Open Championship 0 0 0 1 2 4 7 6

PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 1 11 7

Totals 0 0 0 1 4 12 44 24

Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice)

Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (four times)

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Walker Cup: 1973 (winners), 1975 (winners)

Eisenhower Trophy: 1974 (winners)

See also
List of Florida Gators men's golfers on the PGA Tour
List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
List of Sigma Alpha Epsilon members
List of University of Florida alumni
List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members

References
1. Associated Press, "Koch Ousts Champ in Junior Amateur (https://news.google.com/newspapers?i
d=_fwNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BHwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3346,351800&dq=gary+koch&hl=en)," St.
Petersburg Times, p. 2C (August 1, 1970). Retrieved April 20, 2010.
2. Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement (http://web.gatorzone.com/golf/men/media/2010/suppl
ement.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120402035020/http://web.gatorzone.com/golf
/men/media/2010/supplement.pdf) April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic
Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 34, 35, 37, 39, 41 (2010). Retrieved July 11, 2011.
3. 2008–09 Florida Gators Men's Golf Media Guide (http://www.gatorzone.com/golf/men/media/2008
/pdf/5_history.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150924043140/http://www.gatorzone.c
om/golf/men/media/2008/pdf/5_history.pdf) 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, University
Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 36 (2008). Retrieved July 14, 2011.
4. Robbie Andreu, "Top 25 Gator teams: #8 1973 Men's golf (http://www.gainesville.com/article/2009
0618/ARTICLES/906049959/1136/sports)," Gainesville Sun (June 18, 2009). Retrieved April 20,
2010.
5. F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats (http://www.gatorfclub.org/hall-of-fame/greats). Retrieved
December 15, 2014.
6. "Bean And Koch Inducted (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=F44sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AfsDA

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AAAIBAJ&pg=6597,7850180&dq=nat-moore+hall-of-fame&hl=en)," The Ledger, p. 1D (March 30,

1978). Retrieved June 23, 2010.
7. http://www.golfcompendium.com/2018/10/tiger-woods-better-than-most-putt.html
8. "Cozart, Koch among 2012 Florida sports hall inductees" (https://archive.today/20130203173707/
http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/jan/24/2/cozart-koch-among-2012-florida-sports-h
all-inducte-ar-350850/). tbo.com. January 24, 2012. Archived from the original (http://www2.tbo.co
m/news/breaking-news/2012/jan/24/2/cozart-koch-among-2012-florida-sports-hall-inducte-ar-3508
50/) on February 3, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2012.

External links
Gary Koch (https://www.pgatour.com/players/player.01641.html) at the PGA Tour official site
Gary Koch (http://www.owgr.com/en/Ranking/PlayerProfile.aspx?playerID=116) at the Official
World Golf Ranking official site
Golf With Gary: Biography (https://web.archive.org/web/20060317164311/http://wfla.com/golfwithg
ary/bio.htm)

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