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Bruce Devlin
Personal information
Full name Bruce William Devlin
Born (1937-10-10) 10 October 1937 (age 86)
Armidale, Australia
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 158 lb (72 kg; 11.3 st)
Nationality  Australia
Career
Turned professional 1961
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins 32
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 8
PGA Tour of Australasia 1
Champions Tour 1
Other 22
Best results in Major Championships
The Masters Tournament 4th: 1964, 1968
U.S. Open T6: 1965
The Open Championship 5th: 1964
PGA Championship T6: 1965

Bruce William Devlin (born 10 October 1937) is an Australian professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer.

Early life

Devlin was born in Armidale, Australia. Devlin won the Australian Amateur in 1959.

Professional career

In 1961, Devlin turned pro and joined the PGA Tour the following year. During his PGA Tour career, he had eight victories all of which occurred between 1964 and 1972. In 1972, he earned $119,768 and finished eighth on the money list.

At the 72nd hole of the 1975 Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational, Devlin shot a 10 after hitting multiple shots into the water in front of the 18th green of the Torrey Pines South Course. The pond was thereafter nicknamed "Devlin’s Billabong".

Devlin is one of only four golfers to have scored a double eagle (three-under-par) at the Masters Tournament. He achieved this in the first round of the 1967 Masters, holing a 4-wood from 248 yards on the par-5 8th hole.

Senior career and designer

On the Senior PGA Tour, Devlin won one tournament, the 1995 FHP Health Care Classic. At the end of the 1998 golf season, Devlin decided to retire from the Senior PGA Tour to concentrate on his Golf Course Architecture and Design business and his commitment to ESPN's golf telecasts.

The main focus of Devlin's career in the past 30 years has been his work as a Golf Course Architect and Designer. Devlin has designed and built more than 150 golf courses throughout the world including Australia, Japan, Scotland, the Bahamas, and the United States. About two-thirds of the golf courses he designed have been in Florida and Texas. Many of these courses have hosted all of the professional golf tours, including: The Houston Open, HealthSouth LPGA Classic, Key Biscayne Golf Classic, and The Nike Cleveland Open. His golf design business is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Devlin has also worked as a television commentator. He worked for NBC from 1977 to 1982; ESPN from 1983 to 1987; and since 1999 has occasionally covered professional golf for ESPN.

Amateur wins

this list may be incomplete

  • 1958 Lake Macquarie Amateur, New South Wales Amateur
  • 1959 Australian Amateur

Professional wins (31)

PGA Tour wins (8)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 15 Mar 1964 St. Petersburg Open Invitational −16 (69-64-69-70=272) 4 strokes United States Dan Sikes
2 22 May 1966 Colonial National Invitation E (67-68-70-75=280) 1 stroke United States R. H. Sikes
3 3 Sep 1966 Carling World Open −6 (73-70-74-69=286) 1 stroke United States Billy Casper
4 27 Apr 1969 Byron Nelson Golf Classic −3 (71-66-70-70=277) 1 stroke United States Frank Beard, Australia Bruce Crampton
5 8 Feb 1970 Bob Hope Desert Classic −21 (67-68-68-70-66=339) 4 strokes United States Larry Ziegler
6 28 Jun 1970 Cleveland Open −12 (69-69-66-64=268) 4 strokes United States Steve Eichstaedt
7 8 May 1972 Houston Open −10 (69-70-67-72=278) 2 strokes United States Tommy Aaron, United States Lou Graham,
United States Doug Sanders
8 20 Aug 1972 USI Classic −13 (69-68-69-69=275) 3 strokes United States Lee Elder

PGA Tour playoff record (0–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1968 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am United States Billy Casper, United States Johnny Pott Pott won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1969 Atlanta Classic United States Bert Yancey Lost to birdie on second extra hole
3 1972 Cleveland Open Australia David Graham Lost to birdie on second extra hole

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 4 Dec 1983 Air New Zealand Shell Open −10 (67-67-66=200)* 1 stroke United States Bobby Clampett

*Note: The 1983 Air New Zealand Shell Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Other Australian wins (16)

  • 1959 Victorian Close Championship (as an amateur)
  • 1960 Australian Open (as an amateur)
  • 1962 Wills Classic, Victorian Open
  • 1963 Queensland Open, Victorian Open, Adelaide Advertiser Tournament (tie with Frank Phillips)
  • 1964 Victorian PGA Championship
  • 1965 Wills Masters, Dunlop International
  • 1967 Lakes Open
  • 1968 Dunlop International
  • 1969 Australian PGA Championship, Dunlop International, City of Sydney Open
  • 1970 Australian PGA Championship

New Zealand Golf Circuit wins (3)

  • 1963 Wills Classic, Caltex Tournament, New Zealand Open

Other wins (3)

  • 1963 French Open
  • 1970 Alcan Golfer of the Year Championship, World Cup (team with David Graham)

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 5 Mar 1995 FHP Health Care Classic −10 (64-66=130)* Playoff United States Dave Eichelberger

*Note: The 1995 FHP Health Care Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1995 FHP Health Care Classic United States Dave Eichelberger Won with birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament CUT 4 T15 T28 T10 4 T19
U.S. Open CUT CUT T6 T26 T23 T9 T10
The Open Championship CUT T33 5 T8 T4 T8 T10 T16
PGA Championship T39 T6 T28 WD T32
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T31 T13 T5 T8 T31 T15 T19 T42
U.S. Open T8 T27 T65 CUT T60 CUT
The Open Championship T25 T37 T26 T18 T39
PGA Championship T18 T13 CUT T24 T22 T50 T51
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983
Masters Tournament T31 CUT
U.S. Open T12 T26 T10 T65
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T30 CUT

     Top 10      Did not play WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 3 5 10 17 15
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 5 7 17 13
The Open Championship 0 0 0 2 5 8 13 12
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 5 14 11
Totals 0 0 0 5 16 30 61 51
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 18 (1968 Masters – 1972 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)

Team appearances

these lists may be incomplete

Amateur

  • Eisenhower Trophy (representing Australia): 1958 (team winners and individual leader, tie), 1960
  • Commonwealth Tournament (representing Australia): 1959
  • Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing New South Wales): 1957 (winners), 1958 (winners), 1959 (winners), 1960 (winners)

Professional

  • World Cup (representing Australia): 1963, 1964, 1966, 1970 (winners), 1971
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