The world of golf lost several notable figures this year.
A 29-time PGA Tour winner, the wife and partner of a renowned course architect, a celebrated golf columnist and one of the founding members of the LPGA are among those who died in 2019.
We take a moment to honor each and remember their many contributions to golf.
Brian Barnes
Brian Barnes will be forever remembered as the man who once beat Jack Nicklaus twice in the 1975 Ryder Cup. U.S. captain Arnold Palmer approached Great Britain & Ireland counterpart Bernard Hunt and asked him to name his best player to play Nicklaus in singles. Hunt picked Barnes.
Gordon Brand Jr.
Gordon Brand Jr., a member of Europe’s historic Ryder Cup team in 1987, died in August at age 60.
Ernie Denham
Bellarmine men’s golf coach Ernie Denham died in a fire at a three-story condominium in August.
Alice Dye
Known as the “First Lady” of golf architecture, Alice Dye died in February at age 91. Architectural partners with the legendary Pete Dye, Alice designed several courses alongside her husband, including TPC Sawgrass, Whistling Straits and Harbour Town.
Sam Hall
A product of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Hall did two stints as head men’s golf coach at Southern Miss (1969-1970, 1990-2000), and also led the women’s program during the 1990s. Hall, who died Dec. 15 at the age of 86, was a four-year letterwinner for the Golden Eagles from 1955-58 and compiled hundreds of wins in an amateur-golf career that spanned five decades. His name lives on in the Golden Eagles’ annual Sam Hall Intercollegiate, played at Hattiesburg Country Club.
Arie Irawan
Professional golfer Arie Irawan died in his hotel room from “apparent natural causes” after missing the cut at PGA Tour Series-China’s Sanya Championship in April. Irawan was 28.
Dan Jenkins
Legendary golf writer and Hall of Famer Dan Jenkins died in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, in March. He was 89.
Keith Kleven
After a long fight with Alzheimer’s disease, physical therapist Keith Kleven died in May shortly after his 76th birthday. In the golf community, Kleven is perhaps best known for being Tiger Woods’ physical therapist.
Gene Littler
Twenty-nine time PGA Tour winner and 1961 U.S. Open champion Gene Littler died in February at age 88 in his hometown of San Diego. Littler was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1990.
Mark Parsinen
A successful businessman turned developer and architect, Mark Parsinen created two of Scotland’s most important new courses of the last century: Kingsbarns and Castle Stuart.
T. Boone Pickens
Oklahoma State super booster and a member of Augusta National Golf Club, T. Boone Pickens died in September at age 91. Pickens “died of natural causes” and was surrounded by friends and family at the time of his death.
Marilynn Smith
LPGA founder Marilynn Smith, one of 13 women who founded the LPGA in 1950, died in April at age 89. Smith was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2006.
Hilary Watson
Hilary Watson, the wife of eight-time major champion Tom Watson, died on Nov. 27 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Since being diagnosed in 2017, Hilary underwent chemotherapy, radiation treatment and had surgery to remove the tumor. An avid competitor in cutting horse, Hilary Watson inspired her husband to give the sport a try.
Jack Whitaker
Legendary sportscaster Jack Whitaker, who landed on Normandy just after D-Day in World War II before becoming one of the signature voices during the iconic age of network TV sports coverage, died at the age of 95. But it was one word – “mob” – that got him booted from the CBS Masters telecast for six years. Whitaker was working the tournament in 1966 when he said something that upset Augusta National Golf Club chairman Clifford Roberts.
