John Chandler Harper (March 10, 1914 – November 8, 2004) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1950. He won seven times on the PGA Tour and played in the Ryder Cup in 1955.
Harper was born, raised and lived his entire life in Portsmouth, Virginia. He was prominent in Virginia golf, winning the Virginia State Amateur three times (1930, 1932, 1934) and the Virginia State Open nine times (1932, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1952, 1960, 1967, 1968, 1970), a record which stands today. His golfing career was interrupted by service in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Harper's competitive career lasted from 1938 to 1955; and like most professional golfers of his generation, he spent most of his time as a club professional. Harper compensated for his lack of driving distance with a strong short game; Ben Hogan said that Harper was the best putter on Tour.
After Curtis Strange's father died when he was 14, Harper became Strange's mentor. He was also a long-time friend of Bobby Jones. He was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1973 and to the PGA Hall of Fame in 1968. In 1956, Harper founded Bide-A-Wee Golf Course in his hometown of Portsmouth, and managed the course until he retired in 1992. He died at the age of 90 of complications from pneumonia.
Professional wins (21)
PGA Tour wins (7)
- 1942 (1) Miami Biltmore International Four-Ball (with Herman Keiser)
- 1950 (2) Tucson Open, PGA Championship
- 1953 (1) El Paso Open
- 1954 (1) Texas Open
- 1955 (2) Virginia Beach Open, Colonial National Invitation
Major championship is shown in bold.
Other wins (12)
- 1932 Virginia Open (as an amateur)
- 1938 Virginia Open
- 1940 Virginia Open
- 1941 Virginia Open
- 1952 Virginia Open
- 1954 Middle Atlantic PGA Championship
- 1960 Virginia PGA Open
- 1967 Virginia PGA Open
- 1968 Virginia PGA Open, Virginia PGA Open
- 1969 Virginia PGA Open
- 1970 Virginia PGA Open
Senior wins (2)
- 1968 PGA Seniors' Championship, World Senior Championship
Major championships
Wins (1)
Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
Results timeline
Note: Harper never played in The Open Championship.
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary
- Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)
U.S. national team appearances
- Ryder Cup: 1955 (winners)
- Hopkins Trophy: 1954 (winners)
See also
- List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
- List of men's major championships winning golfers
References
